er put it out of her head, nor believe it nonsense. Fate hung
heavy on her like a pall of smoke.

She had Skeggi of Whitewaterstrand pointed out to her by her room-mate,
and recognised him as a young man she had often seen at the house. Now
immediately she looked upon him with tenderness, and received his
advances to acquaintance with such kindness that he conceived high
hopes and went about with his chest swelling with pride. But all the
time he was talking to her, or at her, rather, with the other girls,
her heart was calling to him, "Do not marry me, do not, do not----"
which he, unfortunately, interpreted in the opposite sense.

Oddly enough, though every one in the Settlement had heard the
soothsay, and nobody doubted it, she was the only person concerned who
took it closely to heart. Young Skeggi was earnest to have her to
wife, and asked Heriolf to put his case forward to Thorbeorn.
Thorbeorn, however, would have nothing to say to him. Skeggi
disappeared, and Gudrid had a moment's ease.

The first things foretold by Thorberg came about with the quickening of
the year. With the first blowing of the warm wet wind of the west, the
fogs began to roll away off the land and pile themselves upon the
flanks of the mountains. Then, when the earth had warmth enough in her
body to thaw the iron mail about her ribs, the sickness in the
Settlement abated. Men felt the light, and saw whence it came. The
sun showed himself, first like a silver coin, then with sensible heat.
The cattle were put out to pasture, the sheep could move and nibble
about the foothills. Hens began to lay, cows to give milk, sheep to
drop lambs. Thorbeorn made ready to sail to Ericsfrith, and Gudrid was
able to forget that she was marked with a curse.

So the day for sailing came, a bright spring day with a soft wind,
which crisped the waters of the bay and heaped froth upon the stones.
At parting, old Heriolf twinkled his kind and frosty eyes upon Gudrid.
"Farewell, my child," he said; "you are a notable woman who will do
great things." She smiled, but sadly. "It seems I am to bring
unhappiness to many," she said. "No, no, that's not how I look at it,"
said Heriolf. "Men must die, we all know. But more than one are to
have your love and kindness while they live--and that is more than they
ought to expect. If I were not so old, or my son Biorn were at home,
we would keep you in the family. Who wants a long life? Not I, though
I hav