that winter when philip was ill, for the first time, i used to spend every evening at abercorran house, chiefly upstairs, reading aloud or talking. i was supposed to entertain him, but he did most of the entertaining. out of his own head or out of books he told me hundreds of tales; in either case they were very much his own. i cannot imitate him. for example, he would always bring his characters before himself and his listener by comparing them to persons known to both. when he was well and out of doors he would pick out a man or woman passing us, or at a window, for a comparison. “this palomides,” he would say, “was like that butcher, but dressed differently: you could see what good legs he had.” another was “like my brother roland, and if he had been alive now he could have jumped over spiked railings up to his own shoulder, though he was not a little man.” the icelandic thorbeorg was “like our jessie: only she would use a knife, and she had fair hair.” a certain villain was “a scoundrel, but he had a face like higgs.” the man who resembled roland was an icelander, haurd by name, whom philip called roland throughout the tale. thorbeorg was his sister. this was the tale:

haurd was a head taller than most men, and he had grand hair. he was clever, strong, and bold. he swam better than all others, and his eyesight was wonderful. but he was a touchy man. not being asked in the proper manner to his sister thurid’s wedding feast, he refused to go when the bridegroom, illuge, came on purpose to fetch him. yet a little after, when geir, his own foster-brother, asked him to go just to please him, he went. however, at the feast he treated illuge lightly; refused the present of a shield—accepted a ring, but with the remark that in his opinion being a brother-in-law would not mean much to illuge. hearing haurd say such things in a lazy way for no apparent reason and taken aback by it, he did not answer. as soon as he got home, haurd gave the ring to his sister, thorbeorg, bidding her remember him when he was dead. soon afterwards, with geir and his other foster-brother, helge, who was a tramp’s son, he left home.

twenty years before that, when thorbeorg’s mother signy was married to grimkel, her brother torfe took offence in the same way, because he was not consulted. signy was very fond of him, and it was at his house that she gave birth to thorbeorg and died the same day. grief for his sister made him hate the child; he cast it out of the house, and chance alone saved its life. thus grimkel had a quarrel with torfe over signy’s marriage portion and the injury to his child, thorbeorg.

fifteen years haurd stayed away from home. he got renown as a fighter. he won honour, wealth, and an earl’s daughter, helga, for a wife. this helga was as noble a lady as thorbeorg.

geir was the first of the exiles to return. he went to take possession of the farm at netherbottom, on the death of grim, his father. here now, with geir, were living his old mother and thorbeorg, haurd’s sister. perhaps geir wished to marry thorbeorg, but he was not the king of men she wanted, though he was honest and feared nothing; so he did not win her. she preferred one named eindride, who came wooing her once in geir’s absence. she was not in love with him, but her father, grimkel, liked the match, and maybe she expected to be freer. when the wedding was over grimkel consulted a witch about the future. whatever she answered, it was bad, and the old man died that evening. until his son, haurd, came back, grimkel’s property fell into the care of the two sons-in-law, illuge and eindride.

haurd came back with helge, with sigrod his uncle, torfe’s foster-son, and thirty followers. the quarrel with torfe and illuge soon had an opportunity of growing. in a fit of anger helge killed a boy for injuring a horse which belonged to haurd. haurd offered to atone for the crime to ead, the boy’s father, but too late. torfe, replied the man, had already listened to his complaint and was taking up the case. at this, haurd drew his sword in fury and hewed the man in two and a servant with him. he burnt ead’s homestead, his stores, and two women who were afraid to come out of hiding.

haurd would have liked to win over to his part his sister thorbeorg’s husband, eindride, but instead of going himself he sent helge. if a good man had come, said thorbeorg afterwards, things might have turned out differently. eindride excused himself on account of an engagement with illuge; not content to let this end the matter, he suggested that haurd should come over himself. helge turned upon him and taunted him with being a craven if he would not break that engagement with illuge, but eindride had nothing to add. all that helge brought back to haurd was that eindride offered no help.

everyone being against them, haurd and helge were outlawed. they had to quit the homestead, and rather than leave it for torfe, they burnt it and all the hay with it. they and the household took refuge at geir’s house, netherbottom. from here they raided the country on every side, carrying off whatever they wanted. before long men gathered together to subdue them. geir was for making a fort against the attack. haurd, fearing that they would be starved out, proposed retreating to an impregnable islet which lay not far from land by a river’s mouth. haurd prevailed and they took possession. the islet consisted of precipices surmounted by a single level platform, “not half the size of the wilderness,” from which one steep pathway led to the sea. with timber from netherbottom, the outlaws built a hall on this platform; and it had underground passages. the islet was called geir’s[245] holm, and they raided from it as they had done before, both craftily and boldly. once on the islet they were safe from any attack. “it was the very place for lewis,” said philip; “only there was no water in it, and no food unless there were sea-gulls’ eggs.”

many of the landless and outlawed men of iceland attached themselves to haurd and geir, swearing to be faithful to these two and to one another, and to share in all labours. it was a law of geir’s holm that if a man was ill more than three nights he was to be thrown over the cliffs. the most that were on the island at one time was two hundred, the least eighty. haurd, geir, sigrod, helge, thord colt, and thorgar girdlebeard, were the chief men. the cruellest of all was thorgar, and the readiest for every kind of wrongdoing.

at last men met together to consider how they might stop the raiding. thorbeorg would not be left behind by eindride, though he warned her that she would hear nothing pleasant at the meeting. the crowd became silent as she entered, and she spoke immediately to some of the chief men.... here, philip got up out of bed looking very grim while he uttered the words of thorbeorg: “i know what you want[246] to do. very good. i cannot stop you by myself. but this i can do, and will—i will be the death of the man who kills haurd....” philip stood entranced and still as a statue at the window, as if he could see her so long as he remained still. his weakness, however, made him totter, and he got into bed, saying: “she was magnificent. i would have done anything for her. she said nothing else. she rode away without waiting for an answer.” torfe advised swift and violent measures against the islanders, but when ref suggested that someone should put them off their guard by pretending that they were free to go where they wished and be at peace with all men, he thought well of the plan: in fact he said they should ride that very night to a place out of sight of the islanders. next day they saw thorgar and sigrod with twelve other outlaws coming for water. twice their number were sent against them. thorgar and seven others ran away. he formed a band of his own and was only killed after a long freedom. sigrod and those who were left made a hard fight, but all were killed.

it was not easy to get a man to go next day and play the traitor on the holm, although torfe declared that whoever went would have[247] great honour. in the end, ref’s brother, kiartan, offered to go, if he could have haurd’s ring for a reward. he took the boat of thorstan goldknop, both because he disliked that man and because, being his, it would not excite suspicion. the story he told the outlaws was that, chiefly through illuge and his friends, it had been decided that they should be free to go where they wished and have peace. if they agreed, he himself would row them ashore. geir believed kiartan, especially as he came in the boat of one who was sworn never to betray them. many others also were eager to leave. but haurd thought that kiartan did not look like a man who was bringing good, and he said so. kiartan offered to swear that he was speaking truth, and still haurd told him that he had the eyes of a man whose word was not worth much. haurd did not hide his doubts. nevertheless, a full boat-load went off with kiartan, talking cheerfully. they were landed out of sight of the holm, and every one of them was penned in and killed on the spot.

kiartan returned for a second load. in spite of haurd’s advice, geir now entered the boat. so many followed him that only six were left with haurd and helga and their two sons, and[248] helge, haurd’s foster-brother. haurd was sad to see the boat going, and geir and his companions were silent. when they rounded the spit, out of sight of those on the holm, they saw the enemy waiting. close to land geir sprang overboard and swam out along the rocks. a man of eindride’s company struck him with a javelin between the shoulders, and he died. this helga saw sitting on the holm; but haurd, who was with her, saw differently. the rest were penned in and butchered.

a third time kiartan rowed out. haurd bantered him for a ferryman who was doing a good trade, but still stuck to the opinion that he was not a true man. if kiartan had not taunted him with being afraid to follow his men, haurd would never have gone in that boat. helga would not go, nor let her sons go. she wept over her husband as a doomed man. once the boat had put out he was angry with himself. when they came alongside the rocks and saw the dead body of geir, huard stood up in the boat and clove kiartan down as far as the girdle with his sword. the men on shore made friendly signs to the last, but as soon as the boat touched land all were made prisoners except haurd, who refused to be taken until he had slain four[249] men. eindride, who first laid hands on him, remembering what thorbeorg had promised her brother’s murderer, held out the axe for someone else to slaughter him; but no one would; and it was haurd himself that seized the axe, for he burst his bonds. helge followed, and they got away, though the ring of enemies was three deep. haurd would never have been overtaken, though ref was on horseback, if a spell had not been cast on him: moreover, helge began to limp with a fearful wound. even so, haurd again broke through them, killing three more. ref again caught him, yet dared not meddle with him, though he now had helge on his back, until the others made a ring about him with the aid of a spell. there was nothing for it but to drop helge and save him from his enemies by killing him. haurd was enraged because he knew that a spell was being used on him; he was so fearful to look at that no one would go for him until torfe had promised haurd’s ring to the man who did. almost a dozen set on him together to earn the ring. six of them had fallen before him when the head flew off his axe; nor did any one venture even then to close with him. from behind, however, thorstan goldknop, a big red-headed man, but mean,[250] swung at his neck with an axe, so that he died. he had killed sixteen men altogether. even his enemies said now that haurd—philip, in tears, said roland, not haurd—had been the bravest man of his time. if he had not had rogues among his followers he would have been living yet; but he never had been a lucky man. thorstan got his ring. at that time he had not heard of thorbeorg’s vow; when he did hear he took no pleasure in the ring.

sixty of the islanders had been slain. all the rest had escaped, except helga, and the two sons of helga and haurd, who had stayed on the island. it was too late to fetch away those three that evening, and before the sunrise next day they also had escaped. under cover of darkness the mother swam over first with beorn, who was four, and next with grimkel, who was eight. then carrying beorn and leading grimkel by the hand, helga climbed over the hills until they came to eindride’s house. under the fence of the yard, helga sank down with beorn. grimkel she sent up to thorbeorg to ask her to save them. haurd’s sister was sitting alone at the end of the hall, looking so grand and stern that the child stopped still without a word. “she was like a great queen of sorrows,” said[251] philip, “but she had to come down to him.” she led him outside to the light, she picked him up to take a good look at him, she asked who he was. he told her that he was haurd’s son. she asked him where his mother was, and what had happened. he told her what he could while they were walking down to the fence. the sister and the wife of haurd looked at one another. thorbeorg gave the three a hiding place in an out-house, and herself took the key. not long afterwards eindride came home with a number of men. thorbeorg served a meal for them, and they related all that had happened; but she said nothing until one of them told how thorstan goldknop had struck haurd from behind when he was unarmed. “he was no better than a hangman or a butcher,” said philip. thorbeorg cried that she knew a spell had been cast on her brother, or they would never have overcome him. that night as they were going to bed thorbeorg made a thrust at eindride with a knife, but wounded him in the hand only. he asked her if anything he could do now would satisfy her. “the head of thorstan goldknop,” she replied. next morning eindride slew thorstan and brought back the head. “he deserved it,” said philip, “and[252] thorbeorg kept her vow.” still she was not satisfied. she refused to make peace with her husband unless he would befriend helga and her sons, should they need it. eindride, supposing that they had been drowned, readily promised to do what she asked. thorbeorg showed him his mistake. she went out, and came back, leading helga and the two boys. eindride was sorry, because he had sworn already not to do anything for haurd’s family, but he had to keep his oath to thorbeorg. nor did men blame him, and they praised thorbeorg. still she was not satisfied. twenty-four men died in the next months because of haurd, and most of them at her instigation. she and eindride lived on after that in peace to a great age, leaving behind them good children and grandchildren, who in their turn had many brave and honourable descendants. “i am sorry,” said philip, “that haurd got that blow from behind. but he was a man who had to make a story before he died. and if this had not happened thorstan might have gone on living, and have missed his due. also perhaps thorbeorg would not have had a chance of showing what she was good for. now it is all over. they are put in a tale. i don’t know what happened to torfe and illuge, but[253] everyone who hears the story either hates them or forgets them: so they have their reward. if grimkel and beorn lived to be men, i am sure torfe and illuge did not die in their beds.”

with a deep sigh philip stopped. for some minutes he said nothing. when he broke his silence it was to say: “perhaps roland will really do something like haurd. he looks like it. he could. don’t you think he is one of those people who look as if men would some day have to tell stories of them to one another? he would not build a tower up on a mountain for nothing, and live there no better than a man could live at clapham junction.” here philip cried, which i never saw him do before or after that day. it was the beginning of the worst part of his illness. not for many weeks was he out of bed, and once more my companion in the house, in the yard, in our country, or at school on those rare days when he attended.