THE BUYING OF SLAVES. 505 



saw twelve women sitting inside. Gilli told Hoskuld to go to 

 them and see if he liked to buy any of these women. Hoskuld 

 did so. They sat all together from wall to wall in tin- booth. 

 Hoskuld looked carefully at them ; he saw that one poorly 

 dressed sat next to the edge of the tent ; he thought she \v;is 

 beautiful of face as far as he could see. He asked : ' How dear 

 will that woman be, if I want to buy her ? ' Gilli said : ' Thou 

 must pay for her three marks of silver.' Hoskuld said : ' 1 

 think thou vainest this bondmaid rather high, for this is the 

 price of three.' Gilli said : ' Thou art right ; I value her higher 

 than the others ; choose any of those eleven, and pay for her a 

 mark of silver, and let this one be my property.' Hoskuld 

 said : ' First I will see how much silver there is in my money- 

 bag (sjod), which I have at my belt.' He asked Gilli to take 

 the scales. Then Gilli said : ' This matter shall be without 

 guile from my side ; the woman had a great defect, and I want 

 thee to know it, Hoskuld, before we make this bargain.' 

 Hoskuld asked w ? hat it was. Gilli said : ' She is dumb ; I 

 have tried to get her to talk in many ways, but I have never 

 got a word from her ; it is certainly my belief that this woman 

 cannot speak.' Then Hoskuld said : ' Come with the scales 

 and let us see how much the money-bag which I have here 

 weighs.' Gilli did so ; he weighed the silver, and it was three 

 marks. Then Hoskuld said : ' Now it has happened that this 

 will be our bargain ; take thou this silver, and I will take 

 this woman ; I think that thou hast shown thyself generous 

 in this matter, for surely thou didst not want to cheat me.' 

 Then Hoskuld went home to his booth. Next morning when 

 people dressed Hoskuld said : ' Little liberality is seen on the 

 dress which Gilli the Wealthy has given to thee ; it is also true 

 that it was more difficult for him to dress twelve than it is to 

 dress one.' Hoskuld then opened a chest and took up a line 

 woman's dress and gave it her; and all people said that fine 

 clothes suited her. When the chiefs had settled matters 

 according to law, the feast and the meeting ended. Then 

 Hoskuld went to find King Hakon, and greeted him honour- 

 ably, as was fit. The King looked at him and said : ' We 

 should have accepted thy greeting, Hoskuld, even hadst thou 

 greeted us a little earlier ; but still we will do it now.' 



" It occurred one morning when Hoskuld went out to look 

 over his farm (boar), and the weather was fine, and the sun 

 shone and was low above the horizon, that he heard some 

 talking ; he went to where a brook flowed in front of the slope 

 of the tun (grass-plot). He there saw two people, and recog- 

 nised them ; it was his son Olaf and his mother (the bond- 

 woman) ; then he saw that she was not dumb, for she talked 



