ships, and harried mostly round the coast of Ireland, where they
did many an evil deed until Eyvind undertook the defence of the
coast, when they retired to the Hebrides to harry there, and
right in to the Scotch firths. Thrand and Onund went out against
them and learned that they had sailed to an island called Bot.
Onund and Thrand followed them thither with five ships, and when
the vikings sighted them and saw how many there were, they
thought their own force was sufficient, so they took to their
arms and advanced to the attack. Onund ordered his ships to take
up a position between two rocks where there was a deep but narrow
channel, open to attack from one side only, and by not more than
five ships at once. Onund was a very wily man. He sent his five
ships forward into the channel so that, as there was plenty of
sea room behind them, they could easily retire by merely backing
their oars. One ship he brought under an island lying on their
beam, and carried a great stone to a place on the front of the
rock where it could not be seen from the enemy's ships. The
Vikings came boldly on, thinking they had caught them in a trap.
Vigbjod asked who they were that he had hemmed in. Thrand
answered that he was a brother of Eyvind the Easterner, and the
man with him was his comrade, Onund Treefoot. The vikings
laughed and said:

"Trolls take the rascal Treefoot
and lay him even with the ground.

Never yet did I see men go to battle who could not carry
themselves."

Onund said that could not be known until it was tried. Then the