was to settle the terms himself. He made his award there and
then, and laid it at one hundred in silver. Njal paid down the
money on the spot, and they were at peace after that.
41. SIGMUND COMES OUT TO ICELAND
There was a man whose name was Sigmund. He was the son of Lambi,
the son of Sighvat the Red. He was a great voyager, and a comely
and a courteous man; tall too, and strong. He was a man of proud
spirit, and a good skald, and well trained in most feats of
strength. He was noisy and boisterous, and given to jibes and
mocking. He made the land east in Homfirth. Skiolld was the
name of his fellow-traveller; he was a Swedish man, and ill to do
with. They took horse and rode from the east out of Hornfirth,
and did not draw bridle before they came to Lithend, in the
Fleetlithe. Gunnar gave them a hearty welcome, for the bonds of
kinship were close between them. Gunnar begged Sigmund to stay
there that winter, and Sigmund said he would take the offer if
Skiolld his fellow might be there too.
“Well, I have been so told about him,” said Gunnar, “that he is
no betterer of thy temper; but as it is, thou rather needest to
have it bettered. This, too, is a bad house to stay at, and I
would just give both of you a bit of advice, my kinsman, not to
fire up at the egging on of my wife Hallgerda; for she takes much
in hand that is far from my will.”
“His hands are clean who warns another,” says Sigmund.
“Then mind the advice given thee,” says Gunnar, “for thou art
sure to be sore tried; and go along always with me, and lean upon
my counsel.”
After that they were in Gunnar’s company. Hallgerda was good to
Sigmund; and it soon came about that things grew so warm that she
loaded him with money, and tended him no worse than her own
husband; and many talked about that, and did not know what lay
under it.
One day Hallgerda said to Gunnar, “It is not good to be content
with that hundred in silver which thou tookest for my kinsman
Brynjolf. I shall avenue him if I may,” she says.
Gunnar said he had no mind to bandy words with her, and went
away. He met Kolskegg, and said to him, “Go and see Njal; and
tell him that Thord must be ware of himself though peace has been
made for, methinks, there is faithlessness somewhere.”
He rode off and told Njal, but Njal told Thord, and Kolskegg rode
home, and Njal thanked them for their faithfulness.
Once on a time they two were out in the “town,” Njal and Thord; a
he-goat was wont to go up and down in the “town,” and no one was
allowed to drive him away. Then Thord spoke and said, “Well,
this is a wondrous thing!”
“What is it that thou see’st that seems after a wondrous
fashion?” says Njal.
“Methinks the goat lies here in the hollow, and he is all one
gore of blood.”
Njal said that there was no goat there, nor anything else.
