then steinthor ran thereto , and cast his shield over thord even as thorleif fetched a blow at him , and with the other hand he smote at thorleif kimbi , and smote the leg from him below the knee ; and while that was a-doing freystein rascal thrust at steinthor , aiming at his middle ; and when steinthor saw that , he leapt up aloft , and the thrust went between his legs , and these three things , whereof we have told even now , he did in one and the same nick of time .