Sigurd Slembedegn leaped overboard and would have escaped, if he had not been betrayed by one of his own men. He was put to death by the liegemen with the most horrible tortures. He was scourged until his skin hung in tatters about him; then his bones were crushed with stones; and at last he was hanged. His marvellous fortitude during his agony filled even his executioners with admiration. He talked in a perfectly natural voice, and not a muscle of his face betrayed what he suffered. Several times he sank into a swoon; but when he revived, he was calm and unmoved. Never did a man meet a more horrible death with more heroic equanimity. Sigurd Slembedegn had the stuff in him for a great king, and if Sigurd the Crusader had sat upon the throne, when he advanced his claim, instead of the Irishman, Harold Gilchrist, the history of Norway would have taken a different turn, and his might have been one of the great names in its pages. It was true what many, both friends and foes, said after his death, that "there was no man more capable in all things than Sigurd * * * but he was born under an unlucky star." The country now had peace for some years; chiefly because the kings were too small to have serious quarrels. In 1142, however, came Eystein, a third son of Harold Gille, from Scotland, and claimed his share of the kingdom. He was considerably older than the others, and must have been often mentioned by his father during his lifetime; for no one thought of disputing his claim, nor was any proof required as to his origin. He was a dark-haired, corpulent, and somewhat indolent youth, avaricious in the extreme, and devoid of all personal attractions. Some time elapsed before he exerted any influence upon the affairs of the country, and we shall therefore leave him, until his quarrels with his brothers demand our attention.