uth;
She, the girl with golden armlets,
Cannot care for such a gift;
But, O serpent's hoard despoiler!
If the maid must have my head--
Maid whose wrist Rhine's fire[25] wreatheth,
Closer come to crash of spear.

"She will not think that so much worth having," says Gunnar; "but still
to get it thou wilt have to come nearer!"

Thorgeir said to his brothers--

"Let us run all of us upon him at once; he has no shield and we shall
have his life in our hands."

So Bork and Thorkel both ran forward and were quicker than Thorgeir.
Bork made a blow at Gunnar, and Gunnar threw his bill so hard in the way
that the sword flew out of Bork's hand; then he sees Thorkel standing on
his other hand within stroke of sword. Gunnar was standing with his body
swayed a little on one side, and he makes a sweep with his sword, and
caught Thorkel on the neck, and off flew his head.

Kol Egil's son said, "Let me get at Kolskegg," and turning to Kolskegg
he said, "This I have often said, that we two would be just about an
even match in fight".

"That we can soon prove," says Kolskegg.

Kol thrust at him with his spear; Kolskegg had just slain a man and had
his hands full, and so he could not throw his shield before the blow,
and the thrust came upon his thigh, on the outside of the limb and went
through it.

Kolskegg turned sharp round, and strode towards him, and smote him with
his short sword on the thigh, and cut off his leg, and said, "Did it
touch thee or not?"

"Now," says Kol, "I pay for being bare of my shield."

So he stood a while on his other leg and looked at the stump.

"Thou needest not to look at it," said Kolskegg; "'tis even as thou
seest, the leg is off."

Then Kol fell down dead.

But when Egil sees this, he runs at Gunnar and makes a cut at him;
Gunnar thrusts at him with the bill and struck him in the middle, and
Gunnar hoists him up on the bill and hurls him out into Rangriver.

Then Starkad said, "Wretch that thou art indeed, Thorir Easterling, when
thou sittest by; but thy host and father-in-law Egil is slain."

Then the Easterling sprung up and was very wroth. Hjort had been the
death of two men, and the Easterling leapt on him and smote him full on
the breast. Then Hjort fell down dead on the spot.

Gunnar sees this and was swift to smite at the Easterling, and cuts him
asunder at the waist.

A little while after Gunnar hurls the bill at Bork, and struck him in
the middle, and the bill