“It is a pity Thorvald Tinker is not with us here!” said Cormac.
Said Thorgils with a smile, “Most likely he is better off than we, to-day!”
But before long they came to land in Norway.
CHAPTER NINETEEN. How Cormac Fought In Ireland, And Went Home To Iceland; And How He Met Steingerd Again.
While they were abroad there had been a change of kings; Hakon was dead, and Harald Greyfell reigned in his stead. They offered friendship to the king, and he took their suit kindly; so they went with him to Ireland, and fought battles there.
Once upon a time when they had gone ashore with the king, a great host came against him, and as the armies met, Cormac made this song:—
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“I dread not a death from the foemen,
Though we dash at them, buckler to buckler,
While our prince in the power of his warriors
Is proud of me foremost in battle.
But the glimpse of a glory comes o'er me
Like the gleam of the moon on the skerry,
And I faint and I fail for my longing,
For the fair one at home in the North.”
“Ye never get into danger,” said Thorgils, “but ye think of Steingerd!”
“Nay,” answered Cormac, “but it's not often I forget her.”