Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 1.djvu/354

 advisable to be the bearer of an alarm of war to the king, as be bad set heavy penalties on those who raised such alarms falsely, yet they thought it unsuitable that the king should remain in ignorance of what they saw. Then one of them went into the room and asked Eyvind Finsson to come out as fast as possible, for it was very needful. Eyvind immediately came out, and went to where he could see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way; and he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself before the king, said, " Short is the hour for acting, and long the hour for feasting." The king cast his eyes upon him, and said, u What now is in the way?" Eyvind said —

Then said the king, " Thou art too brave a fellow, Eyvind, to bring us any false alarm of war." The others all said it was a true report. The king ordered the tables to be removed, and then he went out to look at the ships; and when it could be clearly seen that these were ships of war, the king asked his men what resolution they should take—whether to give battle with the men they had, or go on board ship and sail away northwards along the land. "For it is