Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/284

 272 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA XIV. it was daylight in the morning the king was lying behind with only ten ships. Then he left the Great Drao-on, which was heavy to row, and several other vessels behind ; and cut and destroyed the Dragon, started out the ale, and destroyed all that they could not take with them. KingEystein went on board of the ship of Eindrid a son of John Mornef, sailed north into Soo-n, and then took the land-road eastwards to Viken. Kino- Insre took the vessels, and sailed with them out- (Do ' side of the isles to Yiken. King Eysten had then got east as far as Folden, and had with him 1200 men ; but when they saw King Inge's force, they did not think themselves sufficiently strong to oppose him, and they retired to the forest. Every one fled his own way, so that the king was left with but one man. King Inge and his men observed King Eystein's flight, and also that he had but few people with him, and they went immediately to search for him. Simun Skalp met the king just as he was coming out of a willow bush. Simun saluted him. " God save you, sire," said he. The king replied, " I do not know if thou art not sire here." Simun replied, " That is as it may happen." The king begged him to conceal him, and said it was proper to do so. "For there was long friendship between us, although it has now gone differently." Simun replied, it could not be. Then the king begged that he might hear mass before he died, which accordingly took place. Then Ey stein laid himself down on his face on the grass, stretched out his hands on each side, and told them to cut the sign of the cross between his shoulders, and see whether he could not bear steel as King Inge's followers had asserted of him. Simun told the man who had to put the king to death to do so immediately, for the king had been creeping about upon the grass long enough. He was accordingly slain, and he ap- pears to have suffered manfully. His body was car-