grettir the outlaw 29
During the night he heard someone who trod heavily coming along the
ness, and then he saw a man picking up his fish, and putting them into a
basket he had on his back. Grim watched till he had filled the basket,
which he now heaved upon his shoulders. Instantly Grim threw open the
door, rushed out, and whilst the man was still stooping adjusting his
load, he swung up a very sharp axe he held, holding it in both hands,
and smote at the man’s neck. The axe hit the basket, and that somewhat
broke its force, but it glanced aside and sank into the shoulder. Then
the man started aside, and set off running with the basket to the south,
skirting a lava field that had flowed out of Erick’s-jokull, and which
now goes by the name of Hallmund’s Lava-bed.
Grim ran after him, and saw that he was making for Ball-jokull; but the
man, who was of great size and strength, though wounded and losing
blood, ran on, and did not stay till he reached a cave in the face of
the cliff, above which was the ice, and with long icicles hanging over
the front. Into this he entered. There was a fire burning inside, and
a young woman sitting by it.
Grim heard her welcome the man, and call him her father, and name him
Hallmund. He cast his basket of fish down, and groaned aloud.
Then the girl saw that blood was flowing from him, and she asked him
what had happened.
Hallmund told what had befallen him, and said that he was wounded to the
death, and that he trusted Grettir would avenge him, for he had no other
friend to do so.
After that Hallmund began a lay, and sang the history of his life, the
achievements he had wrought, and he sang on till his breath failed, and
either he was unable to finish his lay, or Grim could not remember all
of it. A good deal, however, of Hallmund’s death-song has been retained
and is given in the saga.
But Hallmund’s hope or expectation that Grettir would avenge him was
disappointed, for Grim managed to get away from Iceland, and did not
return to it again during the lifetime of Grettir.
*CHAPTER XXXII.*
*OF ANOTHER ATTEMPT AGAINST GRETTIR.*
_Thorir raises a Party against Grettir—Grettir plays the
Herdsman—A Daring Trick—Thorir a Laughing-Stock_
Now, during the summer, tidings came to Thorir of Garth that Grettir was
somewhere about on Reekheath in the north-east. There was his lair
which was examined a few years ago, and which remains in tolerable
condition, as already mentioned when his lair at Fairwood Fell was
described. Now, Thorir of Garth, when he got this tidings was resolved
to make another attempt to kill him; and no wonder, for with singular
audacity Grettir had come into his neighbourhood. Grettir no doubt
thought that he had preyed long enough on men who had not harmed him,
and that now he would prey on the goods and cattle of the man who had
made an outlaw of him, and who pursued him with such remorseless
hostility. Thorir gathered a number of men together and went in pursuit
of Grettir. Grettir was not at that time in his den but out on the moor,
and he was near a mountain-dairy that stood back somewhat from the
wayside, and there was another man with him, when they spied the party
of Thorir, all armed, coming along. They had not been observed, so they
hastily led their horses into the shed attached to the dairy, and
concealed themselves. Thorir came along, went to the dairy, looked
about to see if anyone were there who could inform him if Grettir had
been seen, noticed only a couple of horses tied up, but supposed they
belonged to the farmer whose summer dairy this was, and, without looking
further, went on.
As soon as Thorir and his band had gone out of sight, Grettir crept from
his place of hiding, and said to his companion:
"It is a pity they should have come such a ride to see me, and should be
disappointed. You watch the horses, and I will go on and have a word
with them."
"You surely will not be so rash?" exclaimed the other man.
"I cannot let them come all this way without exchanging words with me,"
said Grettir, and leaving the horses under the care of his comrade, he
strode away over the moor to a place where he was sure he could be
observed. Now, Grettir had a slouched hat on and a long staff in his
hand, and at the dairy he had found some clothes belonging to the
herdsman usually there, and these he had put on.
Directly Thorir and his party saw a man with a staff striding about on
the moor they rode to him. None of them knew Grettir’s face, for,
indeed, they had not been given the chance. So they thought this great
rough man was the herdsman, and they asked him if he had seen the outlaw
Grettir.
"What sort of man is he?" asked Grettir. "Is he armed?"
"Armed indeed is he, with a casque on his head, a long sword, and also a
short one in his girdle."
"Is he riding?"
"Most certainly he is."
"Then," said Grettir, "you had better get you along after him due south;
he has gone that way not so long agone."
When they heard this Thorir and his party struck spurs into their
horses, put them into a gallop, and away they went as hard as they could
in the direction indicated. Now, Grettir knew the country very well,
and he was well aware that south of where he stood were impassable bogs.
Thorir and his fellows were too eager in pursuit to attend to the nature
of the ground over which they rode; besides, they thought that if
Grettir had ridden that way they could ride it as well. They were
speedily mistaken, for in they floundered into a bottomless morass; some
of the horses were in to their saddles; the men got off and got out with
difficulty, and they had much ado to get their horses out at all.
Indeed, some were wallowing there more than half the day. Many curses
were heaped on the churl who had befooled them, but they could not find
him when the went after him to chastise him.
Grettir hastened back to the dairy, mounted his horse, and rode to Garth
itself, whilst the master was floundering in the bog. As he came to the
farm he saw a tall, well-dressed girl by the door, and he asked who she
was. He was told this was Thorir’s daughter. Then Grettir sang a stave
to her, the meaning of which was that he who came there was the man whom
Thorir was vainly pursuing.
Much laughter was occasioned by this failure of Thorir to take Grettir
when he was in his own neighbourhood, and by his being so deceived and
befooled by Grettir when he had him in his power.
*CHAPTER XXXIII.*
*AT SANDHEAPS.*
_A Deadly Enemy—In the Service of Steinvor—The Way to
Church—Crossing the Quivering Flood—The Priest’s Caution—A Weird
Tale—The Old Hag—The Stream-churl—Steinvor’s Husband’s Death—The
Foundation of the Story—The Troll-woman of Grettir—The Basaltic
Troll-wife—The Search under Goda-foss—Grettir’s Dive—The Fight
with the Stream-churl—Runes of the Fight—A Bag of Bones_
The summer was passing away, and Grettir could not remain without
shelter through the winter; so he considered what was best to be done.
He could not ask any farmer in the north-east to shelter him, because
they were all afraid of Thorir of Garth, who would have pursued with
implacable animosity the man who befriended and housed the outlaw.
Moreover, Thorir had his spies everywhere, and Grettir found he had to
shift quarters repeatedly to escape his deadly enemy.
Now, when the first snows fell Grettir sent his man away with his horses
across country to Biarg, and he went further away from where Thorir was;
but never stayed long anywhere, nor gave his real name. He had no
relatives in this part of the island, and no friends.
Now, a little before Yule—that is Christmas—he came to a farm called
Sandheaps, on that river which is called the Quivering Flood. This farm
belonged to a widow woman called Steinvor, who had recently lost her
husband.
Grettir came and offered his services; he said his name was Guest, that
he was out of work, and that he had come there because he heard she was
short of hands.
Steinvor looked at him, and saw that he was a very powerfully-built man,
and that there was a certain dignity and nobility in his face; so she
accepted him, against the opinion of the rest in the house, who were
frightened at the appearance of Grettir, and did not know what to make
of him, whether he were an ordinary human being or a wild man, half
mountain-goblin or troll.
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