the house, and, placing himself before the King, he cried: “Short is the hour for action, but long the hour for feasting.” “What now is forward, Eyvind?” said the King, for he saw that something of import was in the air. Then Eyvind cried: “Up, King! the avengers are at hand! Eric’s bold sons approach the land! They come well armed to seek the fight. O mighty King, thy wrath be light On him who calls thee from thy rest To put thee to the battle-test. Gird on thy armour; take thy stand Here where thy foes are come to land. Quernbiter now shall bite again And drive the intruder o’er the main!” Then said the King: “Thou art too brave a fellow, Eyvind, to bring us a false alarm of war.” He ordered the tables to be removed, and went out to look at the ships; and the King asked his men what resolution they would take, to give battle there and then, or to sail away northwards and escape. They gave their voice for war, for they knew that this was what the King would choose, and made them ready speedily. A great battle was fought that day, but in the end Eyvind was killed and the King received an arrow through his shoulder, and though he fought on, his blood ebbed out until he had no strength left, and he had to be carried to his ship. They sailed on awhile toward King Hakon’s house at Alrekstad, but when he came as far as Hakon’s Hill he was nearly lifeless; so they put in to shore, and he died there by the shoreside, at the little hill beside which he had been born. They buried his body in a mighty mound, in which they laid him in full armour and in his kingly robes; that mound is to be seen not far from Bergen at this day. So great was the sorrow at his death that he was lamented alike by his friends and his enemies; for they said that never again would Norway see such a king. For all he was a Christian, they spake over his grave wishing him a good reception in Valhalla, the home of Odin and the gods. It was in the year 960 that the battle of Stord and the death of King Hakon took place. The men who had fallen in his army were buried in mounds along the sea-shore, each great man among them laid in his armour, and one of the enemy’s ships turned bottom up over him, and the whole covered in with earth and stones. These were called “ship-burial” mounds, and many of them have been found in Norway. After Hakon’s fall the sons of Eric Bloodaxe ruled over Norway. Chapter XIII The Saga of Olaf Trygveson One of the greatest Kings of Norway was named Olaf Trygveson (_i.e._ the son of Trygve), who became King of Norway in 995. He had an adventurous career, part of it being connected with the British Isles, where he spent ten years in hiding in his youth, only returning to his native country when his people called on him to take the crown.