The story of Burnt Njal From the Icelandic of the Njals Saga

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE SLAY­ING OF KOL, WHOM ATLI SLEW.

Now we must take up the sto­ry, and say that Atli asked Bergth­ora what work he should do that day.

“I have thought of some work for thee,” she says; “thou shall go and look for Kol un­til thou find him; for now shalt thou slay him this very day, if thou wilt do my will.”

“This work is well fit­ted,” says Atli, “for each of us two are bad fel­lows; but still I will so lay my­self out for him that one or oth­er of us shall die.”

“Well mayest thou fare,” she says, “and thou shalt not do this deed for noth­ing.”

He took his weapons and his horse, and rode up to Fleetlithe, and there met men who were com­ing down from Lithend. They were at home east in the Mark. They asked Atli whith­er he meant to go? He said he was rid­ing to look for an old jade. They said that was a small er­rand for such a work­man, “but still 'twould be bet­ter to ask those who have been about last night”.

“Who are they?” says he.

“Killing-​Kol,” say they, “Hall­ger­da's house-​car­le, fared from the fold just now, and has been awake all night.”

“I do not know whether I dare to meet him,” says Atli, “he is bad-​tem­pered, and may be that I shall let an­oth­er's wound be my warn­ing.”

“Thou bear­est that look be­neath the brows as though thou wert no cow­ard,” they said, and showed him where Kol was.

Then he spurred his horse and rides fast, and when he meets Kol, Atli said to him--

“Go the pack-​sad­dle bands well?”

“That's no busi­ness of thine, worth­less fel­low, nor of any one else whence thou comest.”

Atli said--“Thou hast some­thing be­hind that is earnest work, but that is to die”.

Af­ter that Atli thrust at him with his spear, and struck him about his mid­dle. Kol swept at him with his axe, but missed him, and fell off his horse, and died at once.

Atli rode till he met some of Hall­ger­da's work­men, and said, “Go ye up to the horse yon­der, and look to Kol, for he has fall­en off, and is dead”.

“Hast thou slain him?” say they.

“Well, 'twill seem to Hall­ger­da as though he has not fall­en by his own hand.”

Af­ter that Atli rode home and told Bergth­ora; she thanked him for this deed, and for the words which he had spo­ken about it.

“I do not know,” says he, “what Njal will think of this.”

“He will take it well up­on his hands,” she says, “and I will tell thee one thing as a to­ken of it, that he has earned away with him to the Thing the price of that thrall which we took last spring, and that mon­ey will now serve for Kol; but though peace be made thou must still be­ware of thy­self, for Hall­ger­da will keep no peace.”

“Wilt thou send at all a man to Njal to tell him of the slay­ing?”

“I will not,” she says, “I should like it bet­ter that Kol were una­toned.”

Then they stopped talk­ing about it.

Hall­ger­da was told of Kol's slay­ing, and of the words that Atli had said. She said Atli should be paid off for them. She sent a man to the Thing to tell Gun­nar of Kol's slay­ing; he an­swered lit­tle or noth­ing, and sent a man to tell Njal. He too made no an­swer, but Skarphedinn said--

“Thralls are men of more met­tle than of yore; they used to fly at each oth­er and fight, and no one thought much harm of that; but now they will do naught but kill,” and as he said this he smiled.

Njal pulled down the purse of mon­ey which hung up in the booth, and went out; his sons went with him to Gun­nar's booth.

Skarphedinn said to a man who was in the door­way of the booth--

“Say thou to Gun­nar that my fa­ther wants to see him.”

He did so, and Gun­nar went out at once and gave Njal a hearty wel­come. Af­ter that they be­gan to talk.

“'Tis ill done,” says Njal, “that my house­wife should have bro­ken the peace, and let thy house-​car­le be slain.”

“She shall not have blame for that,” says Gun­nar.

“Set­tle the award thy­self,” says Njal.

“So I will do,” say Gun­nar, “and I val­ue those two men at an even price, Swart and Kol. Thou shalt pay me twelve ounces in sil­ver.”

Njal took the purse of mon­ey and hand­ed it to Gun­nar. Gun­nar knew the mon­ey, and saw it was the same that he had paid Njal. Njal went away to his booth, and they were just as good friends as be­fore. When Njal came home, he blamed Bergth­ora; but she said she would nev­er give way to Hall­ger­da. Hall­ger­da was very cross with Gun­nar, be­cause he had made peace for Kol's slay­ing, Gun­nar told her he would nev­er break with Njal or his sons, and she flew in­to a great rage; but Gun­nar took no heed of that, and so they sat for that year, and noth­ing note­wor­thy hap­pened.