eautiful village of Loar
standing there, to have said wistfully, "What a pity it is that so
beautiful a village should be burnt!" Olaf sent out his message-token
all the same however, and met Gudbrand and an immense assemblage,
whose humor towards him was uncompliant to a high degree indeed. Judge
by this preliminary speech of Gudbrand to his Thing-people, while Olaf
was not yet arrived, but only advancing, hardly got to Breeden on the
other side of the hill: "A man has come to Loar who is called Olaf,"
said Gudbrand, "and will force upon us another faith than we had before,
and will break in pieces all our Gods. He says he has a much greater
and more powerful God; and it is wonderful that the earth does not burst
asunder under him, or that our God lets him go about unpunished when
he dares to talk such things. I know this for certain, that if we carry
Thor, who has always stood by us, out of our Temple that is standing
upon this farm, Olaf's God will melt away, and he and his men be made
nothing as soon as Thor looks upon them." Whereupon the Bonders all
shouted as one man, "Yea!"

Which tremendous message they even forwarded to Olaf, by Gudbrand's
younger son at the head of 700 armed men; but did not terrify Olaf with
it, who, on the contrary, drew up his troops, rode himself at the head
of them, and began a speech to the Bonders, in which he invited them to
adopt Christianity, as the one true faith for mortals.

Far from consenting to this, the Bonders raised a general shout, smiting
at the same time their shields with their weapons; but Olaf's men
advancing on them swiftly, and flinging spears, they turned and ran,
leaving Gudbrand's son behind, a prisoner, to whom Olaf gave his life:
"Go home now to thy father, and tell him I mean to be with him soon."

The son goes accordingly, and advises his father not to face Olaf; but
Gudbrand angrily replies: "Ha, coward! I see thou, too, art taken by
the folly that man is going about with;" and is resolved to fight. That
night, however, Gudbrand has a most remarkable Dream, or Vision: a Man
surrounded by light, bringing great terror with him, who warns Gudbrand
against doing battle with Olaf. "If thou dost, thou and all thy people
will fall; wolves will drag away thee and thine; ravens will tear
thee in stripes!" And lo, in telling this to Thord Potbelly, a sturdy
neighbor of his and henchman in the Thing, it is found that to Thord
also has come the self same terrible Appa