Part 4 (2/2)
Now Eric reddened to his yellow hair, but he answered: ”Who was it told thee, lord, that I tried this medicine?”
”The snow hides much, but there are eyes that can pierce the snow Nay, more, thou wast seen, and there's an end No this--I like thee well, but Gudruda is not for thee; she is far above thee, who art but a deedless yeo for one thing only, and that is Gudruda It was in e of thee to-day”
”Then, lad, thou hast thy answer before thou askest Be sure of one thing: if but once again I find thee alone with Gudruda, it is my axe shall kiss thee and not her lips”
”That may yet be put to the proof, lord,” said Eric, and turned to seek his horse, when suddenly Gudruda caht of her
”Listen, Gudruda,” Eric said ”This is thy father's word: that o speak together nofor us,” said Gudruda, laying her hand upon her breast
”Saying good or ill, so it surely is, girl,” answered As, in the snow or in the flowers”
”Now I sees have happened to better folk, and a father's wish is to a rass Still, the sun is behind the cloud and it will shi+ne again some day Till then, Eric, fare thee well!”
”It is not thy will, lord,” said Eric, ”that I should come to thy Yule-feast as thou hast asked reroth, and pointed with his hand towards the great Golden Falls that thunder down the mountain nareater water-falls in Iceland
”A man may take two roads, Eric, from Coldback to Middalhof, one by the bridle-path over Coldback and the other down Golden Falls; but I never knew traveller to choose this way Now, I bid thee to my feast by the path over Golden Falls; and, if thou coreet thee well, and if I find thee dead in the great pool I will bind on thy hell-shoes and lay thee to earth neighbourly fashi+on But if thou comest by any other path, then my thralls shall cut thee down at hed
Now Asly because he did not think it possible that any man should try the path of the Golden Falls
Eric smiled and said, ”I hold thee to thy word, lord; perhaps I shall be thy guest at Yule”
But Gudruda heard the thunder of the hty Falls as the wind turned, and cried ”Nay, nay--it were thy death!”
Then Eric finds his horse and rides away across the snow
Now it th he ca journeyed hard across the snow Here Ospakar Blacktooth had his great hall, in which day by day a hundred men sat down to meat Now Koll entered the hall when Ospakar was at supper, and looked at hi eyes, for he had never seen so wonderful a e in stature--his hair was black, and black his beard, and on his lower lip there lay a great black fang His eyes were small and narrow, but his cheekbones were set wide apart and high, like those of a horse Koll thought hirew afraid of his errand, since in Koll's half-wittedness there was --for it was a cloak in which he wrapped hih seat, clothed in a purple robe, with his sword Whitefire on his knee, he saw Koll, and called out in a great voice:
[] An able-bodied Goblin
”Who is this red fox that creeps into my earth?”
For, to look at, Koll was very like a fox
”My name is Koll the Half-witted, Groa's thrall, lord Am I welcome here?” he answered
”That is as it may be Why do they call thee half-witted?”
”Because I love not work overmuch, lord”
”Then all s thee here?”