said that he had run away before his
thralls. [Sidenote: Hrut's fight] Hrut's followers said that they had
odds to deal with. Hrut said he would never heed that; said they
should fare all the worse the more they were in number. The men of
Salmon-river-Dale now jumped off their horses, and got ready to fight.
Hrut bade his men not trouble themselves about the odds, and goes for
them at a rush. Hrut had a helmet on his head, a drawn sword in one
hand and a shield in the other. He was of all men the most skilled at
arms. Hrut was then so wild that few could keep up with him. Both
sides fought briskly for a while; but the men of Salmon-river-Dale
very soon found that in Hrut they had to deal with one for whom they
were no match, for now he slew two men at every onslaught. After that
the men of Salmon-river-Dale begged for peace. Hrut replied that they
should surely have peace. All the house-carles of Hoskuld who were yet
alive were wounded, and four were killed. Hrut then went home, being
somewhat wounded himself; but his followers only slightly or not at
all, for he had been the foremost in the fight. The place has since
been called Fight-Dale where they fought. After that Hrut had the
cattle killed. Now it must be told how Hoskuld got men together in a
hurry when he heard of the robbery and rode home. Much at the same
time as he arrived his house-carles came home too, and told how their
journey had gone anything but smoothly. Hoskuld was wild with wrath at
this, and said he meant to take at Hrut's hand no robbery or loss of
lives again, and gathered to him men all that day. Then Jorunn, his
wife, went and talked to him, and asked him what he had made his mind
up to. He said, "It is but little I have made up my mind to, but I
fain would that men should oftener talk of something else than the
slaying of my house-carles". [Sidenote: Jorunn's good advice] Jorunn
answered, "You are after a fearful deed if you mean to kill such a man
as your brother, seeing that some men will have it that it would not
have been without cause if Hrut had seized these goods even before
this; and now he has shown that, taking after the race he comes from,
he means no longer to be an outcast, kept from what is his own. Now,
surely he cannot have made up his mind to try his strength with you
till he knew that he might hope for some backing-up from the more
powerful among men; for, indeed, I am told that messages have been
passing in quiet between Hr