t bright fire fall."

Grettir went back north with Thorfinn, and was with him till he gat
him to ship with chapmen who were bound out to Iceland: he gave him
many fair gifts of raiment, and a fair-stained saddle and a bridle
withal. They parted in friendship, and Thorfinn bade him come to him
whensoever he should come back to Norway.

[Footnote 11: The stone of steel-god's bane in Thorstein; Bylest's kin
is Hel, death. The leopard is Bessi Skald-Torfason; byrni's flame, his
sword. Thoughts-burg, a warrior's head.]

CHAP. XXV.

<i>The Slaying of Thorgils Makson</i>.

Asmund the Greyhaired lived on at Biarg, while Grettir was abroad, and
by that time he was thought to be the greatest of bonders in Midfirth.
Thorkel Krafla died during those seasons that Grettir was out of
Iceland. Thorvald Asgeirson farmed then at the Ridge in Waterdale,
and waxed a great chief. He was the father of Dalla whom Isleif had to
wife, he who afterwards was bishop at Skalholt.

Asmund had in Thorvald the greatest help in suits and in many other
matters. At Asmund's grew up a man, hight Thorgils, called Thorgils
Makson, near akin to Asmund. Thorgils was a man of great strength and
gained much money by Asmund's foresight.

Asmund bought for Thorgils the land at Brookmeet, and there he farmed.
Thorgils was a great store-gatherer, and went a-searching to the
Strands every year, and there he gat for himself whales and other
gettings; and a stout-hearted man he was.

In those days was at its height the waxing of the foster-brothers,
Thorgeir Havarson and Thormod Coalbrowskald; they had a boat and went
therein far and wide, and were not thought men of much even-dealing.
It chanced one summer that Thorgils Makson found a whale on the common
drift-lands, and forthwith he and his folk set about cutting it up.

But when the foster-brothers heard thereof they went thither, and at
first their talk had a likely look out. Thorgils offered that they
should have the half of the uncut whale; but they would have for
themselves all the uncut, or else divide all into halves, both the cut
and the uncut. Thorgils flatly refused to give up what was cut of the
whale; and thereat things grew hot between them, and forthwithal both
sides caught up their weapons and fought. Thorgeir and Thorgils fought
long together without either losing or gaining, and both were of the
eagerest. Their strife was both fierce and long, but the end of it
was, that Thorgils