must be. Yet it will be hard to take care that thou mayest not
seem to be a truce-breaker, or peace-breaker, and yet carry out
thy point. But now I have been told that Kolskegg means to try a
suit, and regain a fourth part of Moeidsknoll, which was paid to
thy father as an atonement for his son. He has taken up this
suit for his mother, but this too is Gunnar’s counsel, to pay in
goods and not to let the land go. We must wait till this comes
about, and then declare that he has broken the settlement made
with you. He has also taken a cornfield from Thorgeir Otkell’s
son, and so broken the settlement with him too. Thou shalt go to
see Thorgeir Otkell’s son, and bring him into the matter with
thee, and then fall on Gunnar; but if ye fail in aught of this,
and cannot get him hunted down, still ye shall set on him over
and over again. I must tell thee that Njal has “spaed” his
fortune, and foretold about his life, if he slays more than once
in the same stock, that it would lead him to his death, if it so
fell out that he broke the settlement made after the deed.
Therefore shalt thou bring Thorgeir into the suit, because he has
already slain his father; and now, if ye two are together in an
affray, thou shalt shield thyself; but he will go boldly on, and
then Gunnar will slay him. Then he has slain twice in the same
stock, but thou shalt fly from the fight. And if this is to drag
him to his death he will break the settlement afterwards, and so
we may wait till then.”
After that Thorgeir goes home and tells his father secretly.
Then they agreed among themselves that they should work out this
plot by stealth.
67. OF THORGEIR STARKAD’S SON
Sometime after Thorgeir Starkad’s son fared to Kirkby to see his
namesake, and they went aside to speak, and talked secretly all
day; but at the end Thorgeir Starkad’s son gave his namesake a
spear inlaid with gold, and rode home afterwards; they made the
greatest friendship the one with the other.
At the Thingskala-Thing in the autumn, Kolskegg laid claim to the
land at Moeidsknoll, but Gunnar took witness, and offered ready
money, or another piece of land at a lawful price to those under
the Threecorner.
Thorgeir took witness also, that Gunnar was breaking the
settlement made between them.
After that the Thing was broken up, and so the next year wore
away.
Those namesakes were always meeting, and there was the greatest
friendship between them. Kolskegg spoke to Gunnar and said, “I
am told that there is great friendship between those namesakes,
and it is the talk of many men that they will prove untrue, and I
would that thou wouldst be ware of thyself.”
“Death will come to me when it will come,” says Gunnar, “wherever
I may be, if that is my fate.”
Then they left off talking about it.
About autumn, Gunnar gave out that they would work one week there
