en the maid sees the cairn open, and Sigrun lying in it in the
dead man's arms. Helgi lifts up his face to the moonlight, and sings--

"Never on Sevafell
A great marvel--
No more wondrous
That hill of magic--
For Hogni's white daughter
Lies with a dead man;
A king's daughter
Alive in the arms of the dead."

There is no more terrible song than that, nor one in which love is
brought so close to death. When she remembered it after-wards Gudrid
saw well that she had indeed been lying with a dead man when that song
was sung to her. For if she could have had the wits she would have
felt at the time the death-dew on his face. But love had then bereft
her of all wits.

She called that year afterwards the Little Summer, as well because of
the glory and promise of it as for the few days it held. By the end of
June she knew herself with child. Thorstan gave a sort of sobbing gasp
when she told him and pressed her to his heart. She felt the wet from
his eyes upon her cheek, looked at him and saw tears. "You weep at my
news?" "It is because I am happy, my love." She herself was softly
elated by the gift she was to be enabled to make him, but not
otherwise. All her love was centred in him just then.

But in July the ship came home from Wineland the Good without Thorwald,
and with the heavy news. Eric, who had been ageing, was very much cast
down by it. He wished Lief to go out and fetch back the body; but Lief
did not seem inclined to move. He told Thorstan his reason. "If we
can move out, house and homestead, gear and cattle, man, woman and
child, well and good. It is a finer country than this. I will settle
there gladly. But you see how it is with our father. He won't last
long, and you will see he will refuse to move. This is his Settlement;
he has made it for himself. He is king of all this country, and he
feels it. Now if we go and leave him here, he will die--and what then?
The end of Eric's kingdom. No, I shall stay here and take up the
government after him. But I think that you should go--you and Gudrid."

Thorstan said: "I think so too. I will speak to Gudrid. But I shall
wait till after harvest."

He told Gudrid what he thought. "They have buried him heathenwise,
sitting with his weapons, looking out to sea, and heaped the stones
over him. True, they have set up a cross atop. But he should have the
rites. I must see to that. We will go, my love, if you are
willin