Sentence:  By St. Andrew ! were he within reach of my hand I could <WSD>spelder</WSD> him by one stroke of my axe, yea, <WSD>spelder</WSD> him as I would a haddock ! " he added, as another volley  of shot and arrows whizzed and rattled on the rocks around them. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To split apart.