Olaf's ships except "The Long Serpent" were cut adrift, and their defenders slain. Then a space was cleared in front of "The Iron Ram," and she was rowed forward with tremendous force, striking "The Long Serpent" amidships. The good ship creaked in all her beams; but as there was scarcely any wind no great damage was done. Einar Thambarskelver, who stood before the mast on "The Long Serpent," saw Earl Erik standing near the prow of "The Iron Ram," covered by many shields. He bent his bow and sent an arrow whizzing over his head, and in the next instant another, which flew between the earl's arm and his body. The earl, turning to the archer, Finn Eyvindsson, said: "Shoot that tall man on the forward deck." [Footnote A: _Löftingen_ is the elevated deck in the stern of an old war-galley, and corresponds very nearly to the poop royal of French and Spanish men-of-war of the thirteenth century.] Finn aimed an arrow at Einar just as he was bending his bow for a third shot at the earl; the arrow hit the bow in the middle, and it broke with a loud crash. "What was it that broke?" asked Olaf. "Norway from thy hands, my king," cried Einar. "So great was not the breach, I hope," the king made answer; "take my bow and shoot with that." He flung his own bow to the archer, who seized it, bent it double, and flung it back. "Too weak is the king's bow," he said. Earl Erik was now preparing for the final attack, and he could not doubt its result. King Olaf's men were in a desperate strait, from which no escape was possible. The king flung forth his spears, two at a time, from his station on the poop, and many men were transfixed by his keen shafts. He watched at the same time the combat on the forward deck, whither the earl was just directing his attack, and it seemed to him that his men made no headway. "Do you wield your swords with so little strength," he cried, "since they bite so poorly?" "No," answered a warrior; "but our swords are dull and broken."