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And now it came to pass that Biorn, the father of Thrand, died; and when Grim the hersir hears thereof he went to meet Ondott Crow, and claimed the goods left by Biorn; but Ondott said that Thrand had the heritage after his father; Grim said that Thrand was west over seas, and that Biorn was a Gothlander of kin, and that the king took the heritage of all outland men.
But Harald followed these adventurous men who had thus sought to escape his rule, with the result that he reduced all these islands to his sway." At this point of the steward's narrative the queen moved impatiently and said: "All this may be very well, Hersir Sigurd. But I fail to see how this history can bear upon the story of the boy Ole." "You shall see its bearing very soon," returned Sigurd.
"Your voice gets tired, hersir," said she, "and it may be that you would wish to keep the rest of the saga for another time!" "There is but little more to tell," returned Sigurd, looking up with anxious eyes. "And as what is left is the more important part, I beg you to hear it to the end."
"And how if the victory be mine and not yours?" asked Sigurd. "You shall have value equal to the boy, be assured of that, hersir." "Agreed," said Sigurd. "And now, what news have you from west over sea?" "Ill news and good. There has fallen a great famine in Norway.
He welcomed Thrand and told him of the claim which Grim the Hersir had raised for Bjorn's estate. "To my thinking, kinsman," he said, "it is better that the property should go to you than to the king's thralls. It is a fortunate thing for you that no one knows of your having come here, for I expect that Grim will make an attack upon one or the other of us if he can.
He saw her doubt and made a sign to Olaf to draw nearer. The boy obeyed, and stood before the queen with bowed head. "Of what parentage are you, boy?" demanded Sigurd. "Who is your mother, and what is her condition of life?" Olaf answered promptly, as he looked calmly into his master's face: "My mother is a poor bondswoman, hersir," he said.
So the sons were sent for, and when they met Onund Treefoot they all joined together and had Grim's doings closely watched. In the summer there was a beer-brewing at Grim's for a jarl named Audun, whom he had invited. When Onund and the sons of Ondott heard of it, they appeared at his house unexpectedly and set fire to it. Grim the Hersir and about thirty men were burnt in the house.
Now it seemed that Sigurd had a mind to go after him. But as he was leaving the crowd he met a certain rich merchant of the town, and he said: "Tell me, Biorn, who is this yellow haired lad that has just proved himself so skilful at the knife feat? And whence came he into Esthonia?" The merchant shook his head and said: "He is a wild and wilful loon, hersir, and of no account to any man.
When the news of it reached Grim the Hersir he proceeded against Ondott Crow and claimed Bjorn's estate. Ondott held Thrand to be the rightful heir of his father, but Grim contended that Thrand was away in the West. Bjorn, he said, came from Gautland, and the succession to the estate of all foreigners passed to the king.
But in spring came Onund north to Agdir, because he had heard of the slaying of Ondott Crow; but when he found Signy he asked her what help she would have of him. She said that she would fain have vengeance on Grim the hersir for the slaying of Ondott.
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