XII.] THORMOD THE SCALD. 227 



Bonders, which was the best side." " And hast thou been 

 in the battle too ? " asks he of Thormod. 



Thormod replies, " I was with them that had the best." 



"Art thou wounded? " says Kimbe. 



" Not much to signify," says Thormod. 



Kimbe sees the gold ring, and says, " Thou art a King's 

 man : give me thy gold ring, and I will hide thee." 



Thormod replies, " Take the ring if thou canst get it ; / 

 have lost that which is more worthy 



Kimbe stretches out his hand to seize the ring ; but Thor- 

 mod, swinging his sword, cuts off his hand ; " and it is 

 related, that Kimbe behaved no better under his wound than 

 those he had just been blaming." 



Thormod then enters the house where the wounded men- 

 are lying, and seats himself in silence by the door. 



As the people go in and out, one of them casts a look at 

 Thormod, and says, " Why art thou so dead pale ? Art thou 

 wounded ? " He answers carelessly, with a half-jesting rhyme ; 

 then rises and stands awhile by the fire. A woman, who is 

 attending on those who are hurt, bids him "go out, and bring 

 in firewood from the door." He returns with the wood, and 

 the girl then looking him in the face, says, " Dreadfully 

 pale is this man;" and asks to see his wounds. She exa- 

 mines his wound in his side, and feels that the iron of the 

 arrow is still there ; she then takes a pair of tongs and tries 

 to pull it out, "but it sat too fast, and as the wound was 

 swelled, little of it stood out to lay hold of." Thormod bids 

 her " cut deep enough to reach the iron, and then to give 

 him the tongs, and let him pull." She did as he bade. He 

 takes the ring from his hand, and gives it to the girl, saying, 

 " It is a good man's gift ! King Olaf gave it to me this 

 morning." Then Thormod took the tongs and pulled the 

 iron out. The arrow-head was barbed, and on it there hung 

 some morsels of flesh. When he saw that he said, " The 

 King has fed 11s well ! I am fat, even at the heart-roots*!" 

 And so saying, he leant back, and died. 1 



1 When a man was wounded in the abdomen, it was the habit of the 



