are
on the watch for him."

To bed they went, sleeping heavily from their potations, and down on them
came Sverre, who, as usual, was well informed about their situation.

"Now is your time to fight bravely, and repay yourselves for your
sufferings," he said to his men. "A fine victory lies before us. I shall
promise you this. Any one of you who can prove that he has slain a
liegeman shall be made a liegeman himself, and each of you shall be given
the title and dignity of the man you have slain."

Thus encouraged, the poorly-armed adventurers rushed down the hills into
the town. One sturdy fellow who carried only a club was asked where his
weapons were.

"They are down in the town," he said. "The earl's men have them now. We
are going there to get them."

This they did. As they came on the warriors, hastily alarmed and heavy
with their drunken sleep, flocked staggering into the streets, to be met
with sword and lance. The confusion was great and the king had much
trouble in rallying his men. Many chieftains advised flight to the ships,
but the stout-hearted Erling was not ready for that.

"It might be best," he said, "but I can't bear the thought of that
brigand priest putting himself in my son's place."

Leading his men outside the city, he awaited the attack. It came in
haste, the Birchlegs falling furiously upon the much greater force before
them. In the onset the earl was killed and his men were put to flight.
The king, as he fled by, saw the bloody face of his father lying under
the stars. He stooped and kissed him, saying:

"We shall meet again, father, in the day of joy." Then he was borne away
in the stream of flight.

This decisive victory turned the tide of the war. The death of Erling
removed Sverre's greatest opponent. King Magnus was no match for the
priest-king, and the rebel force grew until the contest assumed the shape
of civil war. Sverre no longer led a band of wanderers, but was the
leader of an army.

This was not the ordinary army recruited from the settled classes of
society, but an army made up of the lower stratum of the people, now
first demanding their share of the good things of life. Fierce and unruly
as they were, Sverre knew how to control and discipline them. He kept his
promise, as far as was possible, to reward his men with the honors of
those they had slain, but charged them with the maintenance of law and
order, punishing all who disobeyed his commands. This he could safe