Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/232

 220 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA XIII. shooting with a bow, and killing a man for every arrow ; and two men stood before him, and covered him with their shields. Then Saemund Huusfreya said to his son Aasmund, that they should both shoot together at this bowman. " But I will shoot at the man who holds the shield before him." He did so, and he knocked the shield down a little before the man ; and in the same instant Aasmund shot between the shields, and the arrow hit the bowman in the forehead, so that it came out at his neck, and he fell down dead. When the Vendlanders saw it they howled like dogs, or like wolves. Then King Kettibur called to them that he would give them safety and life, but they refused terms. The heathens again made a hard assault. One of the heathens in particular fought so bravely, and ventured so near, that he came quite up to the castle-gate, and pierced the man who stood outside the gate with his sword ; and although they used both arrow and spear against him, and he had neither shield nor helmet, nothing could touch him, for he was so skilled in witchcraft that weapon could not wound him. Then Priest Andreas took consecrated fire; blew upon it ; cut tinder in pieces, and laid it on the fire ; and then laid the tinder on the arrow-point, and gave it to Aasmund. He shot this arrow at the warlock ; and the shaft hit so well that it did its busi- ness, and the man of witchcraft fell dead. Then the heathens crowded together as before, howling and whining dreadfully; and all gathered about their king, on which the Christians believed that they were liolding a council about retreating. The interpreters, who understood the Yendland tongue, heard the chief Unibur make the following speech : " These people are brave, and it is difficult to make any thing of them ; and even if we took all the goods in their town, Ave nnght willingly give as much more that we had never come here, so great has been our loss of men and