Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/369

 KINGS OF NORWAY. 357 door within, by the cradle of Snorro her son. Then came a appendix. shadow to the door, and a woman went in with a black kirtle on, rather short, with a snood around her head ; clear yellow hair ; pale ; with large eyes, so large that no one ever saw such eyes in a human head. She went to where Gudrid was sitting, and said, "What art thou called?" "I am called Gudrid; and what art thou called?" " I am called Gudrid," said she. Then the goodwife Gudrid put out her hand to her, that she might sit down beside her. And at the same time Gudrid heard a great noise, and the woman had vanished; and at the same moment one of the Skraelingers was killed by one of Karlsefne's housemen, because he was about to take one of their weapons ; and they made off as fast as pos- sible, leaving behind them clothes and goods. No one had seen this woman but Gudrid. " Now," says Karlsefne, " we must be cautious, and take counsel ; for I think they will come the third time with hostility and many people. We shall now take the plan, that ten men go out to that ness and show themselves there, and the rest of our men shall go into the woods, and make a clearance for our cattle against the time the enemy comes out of the forest ; and we shall take the bull before us, and let him go in front." And it hap- pened so that at the place they were to meet there was a lake on the one side, and the forest on the other. The plan which Karlsefne had laid down was adopted. The Skraelingers came to the place where Karlsefne proposed to fight; and there was a battle there, and many of the Skraelingers fell. There was one stout and handsome man among the Skraelingers' people, and Karlsefne thought that he must be their chief. One of the Skraelingers had taken up an axe and looked at it a while, and wielded it against one of his comrades, and cut him down, so that he fell dead instantly. Then the stout man took the axe, looked at it a while, and threw it into the sea as far as he could. They then fled to the forest as fast as they could, and so closed the battle. Karlsefne remained there with his men the whole winter ; but towards spring he made known that he would not stay there longer, and would return to Greenland. Now they prepared for their voyage, and they took much goods from thence, — vines, grapes, and skin wares. They put to sea, and their ship came safe to Ericsfiord, and they were there for the winter. A A 3