Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/371

 KINGS OF NORWAY. 359 door. A man had gone out a little before, and left the door appendix. behind him half shut. She opened the door, and stood in the doorway a little, and was silent. Finboge lay the farthest inside in the hut, and was awake. He said, " ^Tiat wilt thou have here, Freydis ? " She said, '* I want thee to get up and go out with me, for I would speak with thee." He did so. They went to a tree that was lying under the eaves of the hut, and sat down. " How dost thou like this place ? " said she. He said, " The country, methinks, is good ; but I do not like this quarrel that is come among us, for I think there is no cause for it." " Thou art right," says she, " and I think so too ; and it is my errand to thy dwelling that I want to buy the ship of you brothers, as your ship is larger than mine, and I would break up from hence." " I will let it be so," said he, " if that will please thee." Now they parted so, and she went home, and Finboge to his bed. She went up into her berth, and with her cold feet wakened Thorvald, who asked why she was so cold and wet. She answered with great warmth, *' I went to these brothers," says she, " to treat about their ship, for I want a larger ship ; and they took it so ill that they struck and abused me. And thou, useless man ! wilt neither avenge my affront nor thy own ; and now must I feel that I am away from Greenland, but I will separate from thee if thou dost not avenge this." And now he could not bear her reproaches, and told his men to rise as fast as possible and take their weapons. They did so, and went to the tents of the brothers, and went in as they all lay asleep and seized them all, and bound them, and led them out bound, one after the other ; and Freydis had each of them put to death as he came out. Now all the men were killed ; but the women were left, and nobody would kill them. Then said Freydis, " Give me an axe in my hand." This was done, and she turned on those five women, and did not give over till they were all dead. Now they returned to their own huts after this evil deed ; and people could only observe that Freydis thought she had done exceedingly well ; and she said to her comrades, " If it be our lot to return to Greenland, I shall take the life of the man who speaks of this affair ; and we shall say that we left them here when we went away." Now they got ready the ship early in spring which had belonged to the brothers, with all the goods they could get, or that the ship could carry, sailed A A 4