"There is a cliff in Gudbrandsdal,
Which is called Kringlen;
There lay the men of the valley,
In all near five hundred.
Intrenching there, they built a wall,
And raised up stones many.
They lay in wait as doth a cat
That wants to catch a mouse."
In order to be informed how near the Scots had come, and thus to determine when to expect them, they sent out, says the Saga, as a spy, a Bonde of the name of Audon Skjenna[94] of Sel. He went direct to Skjenna farm, and saw Sinclair reviewing his men on the green outside that farm. When he saw them afterwards passing over Laur Bridge, which spans the Laagen immediately to the north of the Ulen river, he hastened back. The Scots, however, got sight of him, and are said to have called out, "See how the boor is running away on a 'pert.'"[95] It was necessary for the Bönder to divert the attention of the Scots from their ambuscade, and to ascertain when the main force of the enemy was below it, for that would be the time for them to begin the battle. With the latter object one of the Bönder was ordered to remain on an island called Storöen, in the Laagen; and then riding on a white horse out of gunshot of the enemy, he was to keep in a line with the enemy's main force, or with the head of it, and when it reached the appointed place to give notice by suddenly turning round. Some say that, in order the better to divert the enemy's attention, he sat backwards on the horse; while others affirm that, with the same object, he wound a large red plaid round his throat and down the chest of his white horse. Other arrangements were also made to divert the enemy's attention. On the advice of Arne Nedre-Gunstad from Ringebo,[96] the least capable of the men who had met there were stationed on Storöen, in order to deceive the enemy by a feint attack, and thereby to draw off his attention from the place where lay the real force of the Bönder. They further sent a girl of the name of Guri, generally called Pillar Guri, who knew well how to blow a horn,[97] to stand on Selsjordskampen, a mountain point on the left side of the Laagen, from which she could see the surrounding country and the approaching enemy. When the main force of the enemy got between her and the place selected by the Bönder she was to blow the horn, to attract the attention of the enemy towards the point at which she was placed, and which was opposite to the position occupied by the Bönder; and also to signal to the Bönder, who could not see the enemy from their ambuscade, how far they had advanced. It is also related that, likewise by arrangement with the Bönder, she held hanging down in front of her a long white scarf, which she twisted round her arm, and by gradually shortening it signalled to the Bönder the approach of the enemy.
Now came the Scots. Their advanced guard of sixty, according to others one hundred, men, who marched a little ahead, passed unattacked. The girl on the mountain top did not blow her horn, but waited for the main body. It is strange that the advanced guard observed nothing of the Bönder. After that came the main force of the Scots; but the Bönder remained quiet, each ready at his post. Among them was also Berdon or Bardum Sejelstad of Ringebö,[98] who, together with two other skilful marksmen, was one of the leaders chosen to take aim at Sinclair; and Berdon had stipulated that no one should shoot before he did. The Scots thought that the Bönder force was further in advance of them, and expecting no attack there, approached reliantly, and were "cheerful." As soon as they came sufficiently near, they heard the girl play on the horn from the mountain-top. The Scots stopped and listened to the unusual and melancholy strains. Sinclair's band thereupon replied to her with a march. The girl played the same air again, and the Scots replied a second time.[99] After that began the attack from the island. Many shots were fired, but no bullet reached so far. A volley and then several volleys were fired, but with the same result; and the Scots laughed at what they thought was a cowardly attack, and in derision lifted their hats after each discharge. But suddenly the signal was given to the concealed Bönder, and the scene changed. The masses of rock and timber now tumbled down, and at the same moment Sinclair fell at the first shot that was fired. Berdon Sejelstad had taken aim at him from behind some pine trees; and as Sinclair was considered to be a mighty and brave warrior, invulnerable to bullets, Berdon, in order, as he thought, to be more certain of success, took the silver button from the neck of his shirt, chewed it into a lump, and loaded his gun with it.[100] Some say also that the gun missed fire the first time. The bullet is said to have struck Sinclair in the forehead, just over his left eye. As he fell he is said to have exclaimed, "That is Berdon Sejelstad's arquebuse."[101] The place where he fell is still called "Sinclar's Dokken." Immediately after the colonel had fallen it went badly with the rest; and the Bönder threw themselves forward with courage and speed, spreading fear and death by shooting with rifles and hewing with axes. The position of the Scots was bad in the highest degree; for the narrow pass in which they were crowded, and the declivity of the mountain on which they stood, admitted of no battle-array. From north and south, and from above them, the Bönder fell upon the Scots with fury. The above-mentioned ballad says:—