Автор литература - Njal's Saga

“He bade me seek you brothers,” says Gunnar, “and said he was

sure that he and you would look at the matter in the same light.”

“He wishes then,” says Hrut, “that I should say what I think

for kinship’s sake; and so it shall be. Thou shalt challenge

Gizur the White to combat on the island, if they do not leave the

whole award to thee; but Kolskegg shall challenge Geir the

Priest. As for Otkell and his crew, men must be got ready to

fall on them; and now we have such great strength all of us

together, that thou mayst carry out whatever thou wilt.”

Gunnar went home to his booth and told Njal.

“Just what I looked for,” said Njal.

Wolf Aurpriest got wind of this plan, and told Gizur, and Gizur

said to Otkell, “Who gave thee that counsel that thou shouldst

summon Gunnar?”

“Skamkell told me that was the counsel of both Geir the Priest

and thyself.”

“But where is that scoundrel?” says Gizur, “who has thus lied.”

“He lies sick up at our booth,” says Otkell.

“May he never rise from his bed,” says Gizur. “Now we must all

go to see Gunnar, and offer him the right to make his own award;

but I know not whether he will take that now.”

Many men spoke ill of Skamkell, and he lay sick all through the

Thing.

Gizur and his friends went to Gunnar’s booth; their coming was

known, and Gunnar was told as he sat in his booth, and then they

all went out and stood in array.

Gizur the White came first, and after a while he spoke and said,

“This is our offer — that thou, Gunnar, makest thine own award

in this suit.”

“Then,” says Gunnar, “it was no doubt far from thy counsel that I

was summoned.”

“I gave no such counsel,” says Gizur, “neither I nor Geir.”

“Then thou must clear thyself of this charge by fitting proof.”

“What proof dost thou ask?” says Gizur.

“That thou takest an oath,” says Gunnar.

“That I will do,” says Gizur, “if thou wilt take the award into

thine own hands.”

“That was the offer I made a while ago,” says Gunnar; “but now,

methinks, I have a greater matter to pass judgment on.”

“It will not be right to refuse to make thine own award,” said

Njal; “for the greater the matter, the greater the honour in

making it.”

“Well,” said Gunnar, “I will do this to please my friends, and

utter my award; but I give Otkell this bit of advice, never to

give me cause for quarrel hereafter.”

Then Hrut and Hauskuld were sent for, and they came thither, and

then Gizur the White and Gier the Priest took their oaths; but

Gunnar made his award, and spoke with no man about it, and

afterwards he uttered it as follows:

“This is my award,” he says; “first, I lay it down that the

storehouse must be paid for, and the food that was therein; but

for the thrall, I will pay thee no fine, for that thou hiddest

his faults; but I award him back to thee; for as the saying is,

`Birds of a feather flock most together.’ Then, on the other

hand, I see that thou hast summoned me in scorn and mockery, and

for that I award to myself no less a sum than what the house that

was burnt and the stores in it were worth; but if ye think it

better that we be not set at one again, then I will let you have

your choice of that, but if so I have already made up my mind

what I shall do, and then I will fulfil my purpose.”

“What we ask,” said Gizur, “is that thou shouldst not be hard on

Otkell, but we beg this of thee, on the other hand, that thou

wouldst be his friend.”

“That shall never be,” said Gunnar, “so long as I live; but he

shall have Skamkell’s friendship; on that he has long leant.”

“Well,” answers Gizur, “we will close with thee in this matter,

though thou alone layest down the terms.”

Then all this atonement was made and hands were shaken on it, and

Gunnar said to Otkell, “It were wiser to go away to thy kinsfolk;

but if thou wilt be here in this country, mind that thou givest

me no cause of quarrel.”

“That is wholesome counsel,” said Gizur; “and so he shall do.”

So Gunnar had the greatest honour from that suit, and afterwards

men rode home from the Thing.

Now Gunnar sits in his house at home, and so things are quiet for

a while.

52. OF RUNOLF, THE SON OF WOLF AURPRIEST

There was a man named Runolf, the son of Wolf Aurpriest, he kept

house at the Dale, east of Markfleet. He was Otkell’s guest once

when he rode from the Thing. Otkell gave him an ox, all black,

without a spot of white, nine winters old. Runolf thanked him

for the gift, and bade him come and see him at home whenever he

chose to go; and this bidding stood over for some while, so that

he had not paid the visit. Runolf often sent men to him and put

him in mind that he ought to come; and he always said he would

come, but never went.

Now Otkell had two horses, dun coloured, with a black stripe down

the back; they were the best steeds to ride in all the country

round, and so fond of each other that whenever one went before

the other ran after him.

There was an Easterling staying with Otkell, whose name was

Audulf; he had set his heart on Signy, Otkell’s daughter. Audulf

was a tall man in growth, and strong.

53. 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 side, 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 selfdoom

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,