Hrapp owned a farm at Hrappstede, but for all that he was always
at Gritwater, and he was thought to spoil everything there.
Thrain was good to him.
Once on a time it happened that Kettle of the Mark was at
Bergthorsknoll; then Njal’s sons told him of their wrongs and
hardships, and said they had much to lay at Thrain Sigfus son’s
door, whenever they chose to speak about it.
NjaI said it would be best that Kettle should talk with his
brother Thrain about it, and he gave his word to do so.
So they gave Kettle breathing-time to talk to Thrain.
A little after they spoke of the matter again to Kettle, but he
said that be would repeat few of the words that had passed
between them, “For it was pretty plain that Thrain thought I set
too great store on being your brother-in-law.”
Then they dropped talking about it, and thought they saw that
things looked ugly, and so they asked their father for his
counsel as to what was to be done, but they told him they would
not let things rest as they then stood.
“Such things,” said Njal, “are not so strange. It will be
thought that they are slain without a cause, if they are slain
now, and my counsel is, that as many men as may be should be
brought to talk with them about these things, and thus as many as
we can find may be ear-witnesses if they answer ill as to these
things. Then Kari shall talk about them too, for he is just the
man with the right turn of mind for this; then the dislike
between you will grow and grow, for they will heap bad words on
bad words when men bring the matter forward, for they are foolish
men. It may also well be that it may be said that my sons are
slow to take up a quarrel, but ye shall bear that for the sake of
gaining time, for there are two sides to everything that is done,
and ye can always pick a quarrel; but still ye shall let so much
of your purpose out, as to say that if any wrong be put upon you
that ye do mean something. But if ye had taken counsel from me
at first, then these things should never have been spoken about
at all, and then ye would have gotten no disgrace from them; but
now ye have the greatest risk of it, and so it will go on ever
growing and growing with your disgrace, that ye will never get
rid of it until ye bring yourselves into a strait, and have to
fight your way out with weapons; but in that there is a long and
weary night in which ye will have to grope your way.”
After that they ceased speaking about it; but the matter became
the daily talk of many men.
One day it happened that those brothers spoke to Kari and bade
him go to Gritwater. Kari said he thought he might go
elsewhither on a better journey, but still he would go if that
were Njal’s counsel. So after that Kari fares to meet Thrain,
and then they talk over the matter, and they did not each look at
it in the same way.
Kari comes home, and Njal’s sons ask how things had gone between
