(The crowd parts, suddenly silent, showing GUNNAR fallen.
RANNVEIG covers her face with her hands.)
HALLGERD (laughing as she leans forward and holds her breasts in
her hands)
O clear sweet laughter of my heart, flow out!
It is so mighty and beautiful and blithe
To watch a man dying—to hover and watch.
RANNVEIG
Cease: are you not immortal in shame already?
HALLGERD
Heroes, what deeds ye compass, what great deeds—-
One man has held ye from an open door:
Heroes, heroes, are ye undefeated?
GIZUR (an old white-bearded man, to the other riders)
We have laid low to earth a mighty chief:
We have laboured harder than on greater deeds,
And maybe won remembrance by the deeds
Of Gunnar when no deed of ours should live;
For this defence of his shall outlast kingdoms
And gather him fame till there are no more men.
MORD
Come down and splinter those old birds his gods
That perch upon the carven high-seat pillars,
Wreck every place his shadow fell upon,
Rive out his gear, drive off his forfeit beasts.
SECOND MAN
It shall not be.
MANY MEN
Never.
GIZUR
We'll never do it:
Let no man lift a blade or finger a clout—
Is not this Gunnar, Gunnar, whom we have slain?
Home, home, before the dawn shows all our deed.
(The riders go down quickly over the wall-top, and disappear.)