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

CHAPTER XLIX.

OF SKAMKELL'S EVIL COUN­SEL.

Now we must tell of Skamkell. He rides af­ter some sheep up along Ran­griv­er, and he sees some­thing shin­ing in the path. He finds a knife and belt, and thinks he knows both of them. He fares with them to Kirk­by; Otkell was out of doors when Skamkell came. He spoke to him and said--

“Know­est thou aught of these pret­ty things?”

“Of a sure­ty,” says Otkell, “I know them.”

“Who owns them?” asks Skamkell.

“Mal­colm the thrall,” says Otkell.

“Then more shall see and know them than we two,” says Skamkell, “for true will I be to thee in coun­sel.”

They showed them to many men, and all knew them. Then Skamkell said--

“What coun­sel wilt thou now take?”

“We shall go and see Mord Val­gard's son,” an­swers Otkell, “and seek coun­sel of him.”

So they went to Hof, and showed the pret­ty things to Mord, and asked him if he knew them?

He said he knew them well enough, but what was there in that? “Do you think you have a right to look for any­thing at Lithend?”

“We think it hard for us,” says Skamkell, “to know what to do, when such mighty men have a hand in it.”

“That is so, sure enough,” says Mord, “but yet I will get to know those things out of Gun­nar's house­hold, which none of you will ev­er know.”

“We would give thee mon­ey,” they say, “if thou wouldst search out this thing.”

“That mon­ey I shall buy full dear,” an­swered Mord, “but still, per­haps, it may be that I will look at the mat­ter.”

They gave him three marks of sil­ver for lend­ing them his help.

Then he gave them this coun­sel, that wom­en should go about from house to house with small wares, and give them to the house­wives, and mark what was giv­en them in re­turn.

“For,” he says, “'tis the turn of mind of all men first to give away what has been stolen, if they have it in their keep­ing, and so it will be here al­so, if this hath hap­pened by the hand of man. Ye shall then come and show me what has been giv­en to each in each house, and I shall then be free from fur­ther share in this mat­ter, if the truth comes to light.”

To this they agreed, and went home af­ter­wards.

Mord sends wom­en about the coun­try, and they were away half a month. Then they came back, and had big bun­dles. Mord asked where they had most giv­en them?

They said that at Lithend most was giv­en them, and Hall­ger­da had been most boun­ti­ful to them.

He asked what was giv­en them there?

“Cheese,” say they.

He begged to see it, and they showed it to him, and it was in great slices. These he took and kept.

A lit­tle af­ter, Mord fared to see Otkell, and bade that he would bring Thorg­er­da's cheese-​mould; and when that was done, he laid the slices down in it, and lo! they fit­ted the mould in ev­ery way.

Then they saw, too, that a whole cheese had been giv­en to them.

Then Mord said, “Now may ye see that Hall­ger­da must have stolen the cheese”; and they all passed the same judg­ment; and then Mord said, that now he thought he was free of this mat­ter.

Af­ter that they part­ed.

Short­ly af­ter Kolskegg fell to talk­ing with Gun­nar, and said--

“Ill is it to tell, but the sto­ry is in ev­ery man's mouth, that Hall­ger­da must have stolen, and that she was at the bot­tom of all that great scathe that be­fell at Kirk­by.”

Gun­nar said that he too thought that must be so. “But what is to be done now?”

Kolskegg an­swered, “That wilt think it thy most bound­en du­ty to make atone­ment for thy wife's wrong, and me­thinks it were best that thou farest to see Otkell, and mak­est him a hand­some of­fer.”

“This is well spo­ken,” says Gun­nar, “and so it shall be.”

A lit­tle af­ter Gun­nar sent af­ter Thrain Sig­fus' son, and Lam­bi Sig­urd's son, and they came at once.

Gun­nar told them whith­er he meant to go, and they were well pleased. Gun­nar rode with eleven men to Kirk­by, and called Otkell out. Skamkell was there too, and said, “I will go out with thee, and it will be best now to have the bal­ance of wit on thy side. And I would wish to stand clos­est by thee when thou needest it most, and now this will be put to the proof. Me­thinks it were best that thou puttest on an air of great weight.”

Then they, Otkell and Skamkell, and Hal­lkell and Hall­bjorn, went out all of them.

They greet­ed Gun­nar, and he took their greet­ing well. Otkell asks whith­er he meant to go?

“No far­ther than here,” says Gun­nar, “and my er­rand hith­er is to tell thee about that bad mishap--how it arose from the plot­ting of my wife and that thrall whom I bought from thee.”

“'Tis on­ly what was to be looked for,” says Hall­bjorn.

“Now I will make thee a good of­fer,” says Gun­nar, “and the of­fer is this, that the best men here in the coun­try round set­tle the mat­ter.”

“This is a fair-​sound­ing of­fer,” said Skamkell, “but an un­fair and un­even one. Thou art a man who has many friends among the house­hold­ers, but Otkell has not many friends.”

“Well,” says Gun­nar, “then I will of­fer thee that I shall make an award, and ut­ter it here on this spot, and so we will set­tle the mat­ter, and my good-​will shall fol­low the set­tle­ment. But I will make thee an atone­ment by pay­ing twice the worth of what was lost.”

“This choice shalt thou not take,” said Skamkell; “and it is un­wor­thy to give up to him the right to make his own award, when thou ought­est to have kept it for thy­self.”

So Otkell said, “I will not give up to thee, Gun­nar, the right to make thine own award.”

“I see plain­ly,” said Gun­nar, “the help of men who will be paid off for it one day I dare­say; but come now, ut­ter an award for thy­self.”

Otkell leant to­ward Skamkell and said, “What shall I an­swer now?”

“This thou shalt call a good of­fer, but still put thy suit in­to the hands of Gizur the white, and Geir the priest, and then many will say this, that thou be­havest like Hal­lkell, thy grand­fa­ther, who was the great­est of cham­pi­ons.”

“Well of­fered is this, Gun­nar,” said Otkell, “but still my will is thou wouldst give me time to see Gizur the white.”

“Do now what­ev­er thou lik­est in the mat­ter,” said Gun­nar; “but men will say this, that thou couldst not see thine own hon­our when thou wouldst have none of the choic­es I of­fer thee.”

Then Gun­nar rode home, and when he had gone away, Hall­bjorn said, “Here I see how much man dif­fers from man. Gun­nar made thee good of­fers, but thou wouldst take none of them; or how dost thou think to strive with Gun­nar in a quar­rel, when no one is his match in fight. But now he is still so kind-​heart­ed a man that it may be he will let these of­fers stand, though thou art on­ly ready to take them af­ter­wards. Me­thinks it were best that thou farest to see Gizur the white and Geir the priest now this very hour.”

Otkell let them catch his horse, and made ready in ev­ery way. Otkell was not sharp­sight­ed, and Skamkell walked on the way along with him, and said to Otkell--

“Methought it strange that thy broth­er would not take this toil from thee, and now I will make thee an of­fer to fare in­stead of thee, for I know that the jour­ney is irk­some to thee.”

“I will take that of­fer,” says Otkell, “but mind and be as truth­ful as ev­er thou canst.”

“So it shall be,” says Skamkell.

Then Skamkell took his horse and cloak, but Otkell walks home.

Hall­bjorn was out of doors, and said to Otkell--

“Ill is it to have a thrall for one's bo­som friend, and we shall rue this for ev­er that thou hast turned back, and it is an un­wise step to send the great­est liar on an er­rand, of which one may so speak that men's lives hang on it.”

“Thou wouldst be sore afraid,” says Otkell, “if Gun­nar had his bill aloft, when thou art so scared now.”

“No one knows who will be most afraid then,” said Hall­bjorn; “but this thou wilt have to own, that Gun­nar does not lose much time in bran­dish­ing his bill when he is wroth.”

“Ah!” said Otkell, “ye are all of you for yield­ing but Skamkell.”

And then they were both wroth.