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

CHAPTER LIII.

HOW OTKELL RODE OVER GUN­NAR.

It hap­pened next spring that Otkell said that they would ride east to the Dale, to pay Runolf a vis­it, and all showed them­selves well pleased at that. Skamkell and his two broth­ers, and Audulf and three men more, went along with Otkell. Otkell rode one of the dun hors­es, but the oth­er ran loose by his side. They shaped their course east to­wards Mark­fleet; and now Otkell gal­lops ahead, and now the hors­es race against each oth­er, and they break away from the path up to­wards the Fleetlithe.

Now, Otkell goes faster than he wished, and it hap­pened that Gun­nar had gone away from home out of his house all alone; and he had a corn-​sieve in one hand, but in the oth­er a hand-​axe. He goes down to his seed field and sows his corn there, and had laid his cloak of fine stuff and his axe down by his aide, and so he sows the corn a while.

Now, it must be told how Otkell rides faster than he would. He had spurs on his feet, and so he gal­lops down over the ploughed field, and nei­ther of them sees the oth­er; and just as Gun­nar stands up­right, Otkell rides down up­on him, and drives one of the spurs in­to Gun­nar's ear, and gives him a great gash, and it bleeds at once much.

Just then Otkell's com­pan­ions rode up.

“Ye may see, all of you,” says Gun­nar, “that thou hast drawn my blood, and it is un­wor­thy to go on so. First thou hast sum­moned me, but now thou tread­est me un­der foot, and ridest over me.”

Skamkell said, “Well it was no worse, mas­ter, but thou wast not one whit less wroth at the Thing, when thou took­est the self-​doom and clutchedst thy bill.”

Gun­nar said, “When we two next meet thou shalt see the bill.” Af­ter that they part thus, and Skamkell shout­ed out and said, “Ye ride hard, lads!”

Gun­nar went home, and said nev­er a word to any one about what had hap­pened, and no one thought that this wound could have come by man's do­ing.

It hap­pened, though, one day that he told it to his broth­er Kolskegg, and Kolskegg said--

“This thou shalt tell to more men, so that it may not be said that thou layest blame on dead men; for it will be gain­said if wit­ness­es do not know be­fore­hand what has passed be­tween you.”

Then Gun­nar told it to his neigh­bours, and there was lit­tle talk about it at first.

Otkell comes east to the Dale, and they get a hearty wel­come there, and sit there a week.

Skamkell told Runolf all about their meet­ing with Gun­nar, and how it had gone off; and one man had hap­pened to ask how Gun­nar be­haved.

“Why,” said Skamkell, “if it were a low-​born man it would have been said that he had wept.”

“Such things are ill spo­ken,” says Runolf, “and when ye two next meet, thou wilt have to own that there is no voice of weep­ing in his frame of mind; and it will be well if bet­ter men have not to pay for thy spite. Now it seems to me best when ye wish to go home that I should go with you, for Gun­nar will do me no harm.”

“I will not have that,” says Otkell; “but I will ride across the Fleet low­er down.”

Runolf gave Otkell good gifts, and said they should not see one an­oth­er again.

Otkell bade him then to bear his sons in mind if things turned out so.