Hallgerda stood in the porch, and had been talking low to Hrapp, then she spoke out loud: "None of those who are here will say that ye are welcome."
Then Skarphedinn sang a song:
"Prop of sea-waves' fire (1), thy fretting
Cannot cast a weight on us,
Warriors wight; yes, wolf and eagle
Willingly I feed to-day;
Carline thrust into the ingle,
Or a tramping whore, art thou;
Lord of skates that skim the sea-belt (2),
Odin's mocking cup (3) I mix"
"Thy words," said Skarphedinn, "will not be worth much, for thou art either a hag, only fit to sit in the ingle, or a harlot."
"These words of thine thou shalt pay for," she says, "ere thou farest home."
"Thee am I come to see, Thrain," said Helgi, "and to know if thou wilt make me any amends for those wrongs and hardships which befell me for thy sake in Norway."
"I never knew," said Thrain, "that ye two brothers were wont to measure your manhood by money; or, how long shall such a claim for amends stand over?"
"Many will say," says Helgi, "that thou oughtest to offer us atonement, since thy life was at stake."
Then Hrapp said, "'Twas just luck that swayed the balance, when he got stripes who ought to bear them; and she dragged you under disgrace and hardships, but us away from them."
"Little good luck was there in that," says Helgi, "to break faith with the earl, and to take to thee instead."