[Footnote A: Ulf Jarl, the ancestor of a long line of Danish kings, was the grandson of Thyra, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, by her first husband the Swedish Prince Styrbjörn. He was, accordingly, through his grandmother, a descendant of Gorm the Old, and of Ragnar Lodbrok.] For Olaf there was now really nothing to do but to leave the country. He determined, however, to make a last effort to maintain himself and sailed with a few ships, and as many men as remained faithful to him, up along the coast, hoping that he might yet be able to rally a sufficient force to expel Earl Haakon. When Erling Skjalgsson heard of his approach, he called together his household troops, and manned his fleet. The king, however, who had no desire to fight with Erling, had already slipped by, but was no further in advance than that he could easily be overtaken. Erling, accordingly, started in pursuit, but allowed himself by a stratagem to be separated from his main force, and after a heroic fight lost all his men and was captured by Olaf. As he stood alone among a heap of the slain, his gray locks falling down over his shoulders, the king called to him: "Thou settest thy face straight against us to-day, Erling." "Face to face do eagles fight," answered Erling; "wilt thou give me peace?" Olaf, after some deliberation, declared that he would; but on second thought half repented of his generosity. He took his axe and gently scratched the old man's cheek, saying: "Something must be done to mark the traitor to his king." One of the king's men who stood by suddenly raised his axe and cleft Erling's skull, saying: "This is the way to mark a traitor to his king." Thus died the mightiest chieftain in all Norway. No representative of the tribal aristocracy, before or since, ever possessed such power as Erling Skjalgsson. Olaf continued his voyage northward to Söndmöre where a great number of his followers left him, while at the news of Erling's death enemies blocked his way wherever he turned. He saw that his last hope was gone; and with a few friends fled through Valdalen across the mountains into Sweden, where he left his wife and daughter. Thence he travelled to Russia (1029), where he was warmly welcomed by his brother-in-law, King Jaroslav, who had married Ingegerd, the sister of Anund Jacob.