第100章

These warriors were of valiant temper, young and stalwart, of splendid bodily presence, renowned for victories over giants, full of trophies of conquered nations, and wealthy with spoil.Irecord the names of some of them -- for the rest have perished in antiquity -- Gerbiorn, Gunbiorn, Arinbiorn, Stenbiorn, Esbiorn, Thorbiorn, and Biorn.Biorn is said to have had a horse which was splendid and of exceeding speed, so that when all the rest were powerless to cross the river it alone stemmed the roaring eddy without weariness.This rapid comes down in so swift and sheer a volume that animals often lose all power of swimming in it, and perish.For, trickling from the topmost crests of the hills, it comes down the steep sides, catches on the rocks, and is shattered, falling into the deep valleys with a manifold clamour of waters; but, being straightway rebuffed by the rocks that bar the way, it keeps the speed of its current ever at the same even pace.And so, along the whole length of the channel, the waves are one turbid mass, and the white foam brims over everywhere.But, after rolling out of the narrows between the rocks, it spreads abroad in a slacker and stiller flood, and turns into an island a rock that lies in its course.On either side of the rock juts out a sheer ridge, thick with divers trees, which screen the river from distant view.Biorn had also a dog of extraordinary fierceness, a terribly vicious brute, dangerous for people to live with, which had often singly destroyed twelve men.But, since the tale is hearsay rather than certainty, let good judges weigh its credit.This dog, as I have heard, was the favourite of the giant Offot (Un-foot), and used to watch his herd amid the pastures.

Now the warriors, who were always pillaging the neighbourhood, used often to commit great slaughters.Plundering houses, cutting down cattle, sacking everything, making great hauls of booty, rifling houses, then burning them, massacring male and female promiscuously -- these, and not honest dealings, were their occupations.Fridleif surprised them while on a reckless raid, and drove them all back for refuge to the stronghold; he also seized the immensely powerful horse, whose rider, in the haste of his panic, had left it on the hither side of the river in order to fly betimes; for he durst not take it with him over the bridge.Then Fridleif proclaimed that he would pay the weight of the dead body in gold to any man who slew one of those brothers.The hope of the prize stimulated some of the champions of the king; and yet they were fired not so much with covetousness as with valour; so, going secretly to Fridleif, they promised to attempt the task, vowing to sacrifice their lives if they did not bring home the severed heads of the robbers.

Fridleif praised their valour and their vows, but bidding the onlookers wait, went in the night to the river, satisfied with a single companion.For, not to seem better provided with other men's valour than with his own, he determined to forestall their aid by his own courage.Thereupon he crushed and killed his companion with a shower of flints, and flung his bloodless corpse into the waves, having dressed it in his own clothes; which he stripped off, borrowing the cast-off garb of the other, so that when the corpse was seen it might look as if the king had perished.He further deliberately drew blood from the beast on which he had ridden, and bespattered it, so that when it came back into camp he might make them think he himself was dead.

Then he set spur to his horse and drove it into the midst of the eddies, crossed the river and alighted, and tried to climb over the rampart that screened the stronghold by steps set up against the mound.When he got over the top and could grasp the battlements with his hand, he quietly put his foot inside, and, without the knowledge of the watch, went lightly on tiptoe to the house into which the bandits had gone to carouse.And when he had reached its hall, he sat down under the porch overhanging the door.Now the strength of their fastness made the warriors feel so safe that they were tempted to a debauch; for they thought that the swiftly rushing river made their garrison inaccessible, since it seemed impossible either to swim over or to cross in boats.For no part of the river allowed of fording.

Biorn, moved by the revel, said that in his sleep he had seen a beast come out of the waters, which spouted ghastly fire from its mouth, enveloping everything in a sheet of flame.Therefore the holes and corners of the island should, he said, be searched; nor ought they to trust so much to their position, as rashly to let overweening confidence bring them to utter ruin.No situation was so strong that the mere protection of nature was enough for it without human effort.Moreover they must take great care that the warning of his slumbers was not followed by a yet more gloomy and disastrous fulfilment.So they all sallied forth from the stronghold, and narrowly scanned the whole circuit of the island;and finding the horse they surmised that Fridleif had been drowned in the waters of the river.They received the horse within the gates with rejoicing, supposing that it had flung off its rider and swum over.But Biorn, still scared with the memory of the visions of the night, advised them to keep watch, since it was not safe for them yet to put aside suspicion of danger.Then he went to his room to rest, with the memory of his vision deeply stored in his heart.