What happened to him when he got there will be told in another story.
(Saga)THE DEATH OF GUNNAR
Now of all the men gathered together at the Thing of the year 974, no man was handsomer or more splendidly clad than Gunnar. He was arrayed in the scarlet raiment given him by King Harald, and he bore on his arm a gold ring, given him by Hacon the Earl, and the horse he rode had a shining black skin.
A brave figure he made one morning as he left the Hill of Laws and passed out beyond the tents of the men of Mossfell. And as he went there came to meet him a woman whose dress was no less rich than his. She stopped as he drew near, and told him that she was Hallgerda, Hauskulds daughter, and that she knew well that he was Gunnar the traveller, and she wished to hear some of the wonders of the lands beyond the seas. So he sat down, and they two talked together for long, and they agreed well, and became friends. After a while he asked her if she had a husband.
No, she replied; men feared her, for they held that she brought them ill-luck; but at that Gunnar laughed, and said, What would you answer if I asked you to marry me?
Are you jesting? said Hallgerda.
No, of a sooth, replied Gunnar.
Then go and see what my father has to say to it, answered Hallgerda, and Gunnar went.
Hauskuld was inside his booth when Gunnar arrived. Hrut was there likewise, and bade him welcome. For a while the talk ran upon the business of the Thing, and then Gunnar turned and asked what answer Hauskuld would give if he offered to lay down money for Hallgerda.
What do you say, Hrut? inquired Hauskuld.
It ought not to be, replied Hrut. No man has aught but good to say of you; no man has aught but ill to say of her. And this I must not hide from you.
I thank you for your plain speech, said Gunnar; but my soul is still set on wedding Hallgerda. And we have spoken together, and are agreed in this matter.
But though Hrut knew that his words were vain, he told Gunnar all that had happened in respect of Hallgerda and her two husbands. And Gunnar weighed it for a while, and then he said, You know the saying, Forewarned is forearmed. Doubtless it is true, all that you have told of Hallgerda, but I am strong, and have travelled far, and if we can make a bargain, so shall it be.
So a messenger was sent for Hallgerda, and she betrothed herself, as she had done to Glum, and after that Gunnar rode over to Njal, and told him what things had happened.
Evil will come of it betwixt you and me, said Njal sadly.
No woman, or man either, shall ever work ill between us, answered Gunnar, who loved Njal more than his own father.
She works ill wherever she goes, replied Njal, and you will never cease making atonements for her; but he said no more, for he was a wise man and wasted no words, and when Gunnar asked him to come to the wedding feast he gave his promise that he would be there.
The winter after Gunnars wedding, he and Hallgerda were bidden to a great feast at Njals house. Njal and his wife greeted them heartily, and by-and-by Helgi, Njals son, came, and with him Thorhalla his wife. Then Bergthora, Njals wife, went up to Hallgerda, and said, Give place to Thorhalla, but Hallgerda would not, and she fell to quarrelling with Bergthora, and at last Bergthora taunted Hallgerda with having plotted to do Thorwald her husband to death. At that Hallgerda turned and said to Gunnar: It is nothing to be married to the strongest man in Iceland, if you avenge not these insults, Gunnar.
But Gunnar cried that he would take no part in womens quarrels, least of all in Njals house, and bade Hallgerda come home with him.
We shall meet again, Bergthora, said Hallgerda as she mounted the sleigh. Then they rode back to Lithend and spent the rest of the winter there.
When the spring came, Gunnar went to the Thing, bidding Hallgerda take heed, and to give no cause of offence to his friends. But she would give no promise, and he set forth with a heavy heart.
By ill-fortune, Njal and Gunnar owned a wood between them, and when Njal and his sons departed to the Thing, Bergthora, Njals wife, ordered Swart her servant to cut her some branches for kindling fires from this very forest. These tidings reached the ears of Hallgerda, and she muttered with a grim face, It is the last time that Swart shall steal my wood, and bade Kol, her bailiff, start early next morning and seek Swart.
And when I find him? asked Kol; but Hallgerda only turned away angrily.
You, the worst of men, ask that? said she. Why, you shall kill him, of course.
So Kol took his axe, though he was ill at ease, for he knew that evil would come of it, and he mounted one of Gunnars horses and fared to the wood.
He soon saw Swart and his men piling up bundles of firewood, so he left his horse in a hollow, and crouched down behind some bushes, till he heard Swart bid the men carry the wood to Njals house, as he himself had more work to do. He began to look about for a tall straight young stem with which to make himself a bow, when Kol sprang out of the bushes and dealt Swart such a stroke with his axe that he fell dead without a word. After that Kol went back and told Hallgerda.
And Hallgerda spoke cheering words, and said he need have no fear, for that she would protect him; but Kols heart was heavy.
Now Hallgerda had forced Kol to slay Swart, to bring about a quarrel between her husband and Njal, so she straightway sent a messenger to seek Gunnar at the Thing, and tell him what had befallen Swart. Gunnar listened in silence to the messengers tale; then he called his men around him, and they all went to Njals tent, and begged him to come out and speak to Gunnar.
Swart, your house servant has been killed by Hallgerda and Kol her man, said Gunnar gravely when Njal stood before him; and he told the tale as he had heard it from the messenger.
It is for you, Njal, to fix the atonement, he said at the end.
You will have work to atone for all Hallgerdas misdoings, answered Njal, and it will take all our old friendship to keep us from quarrelling now. But I have it in mind that at the last you shall win through, but after hard fighting. As to the atonement, as you are my friend and have no hand in this, I will fix it at twelve ounces of silver. And if it should come to be your turn to settle an award, I shall not expect to pay more than that.
So Gunnar laid down the money and gave it to Bergthora his wife when he came home with his sons from the Thing. And Bergthora was content, but said to her husband that it should not be spent, as it would some day do to make atonement for Kol.
Although Hallgerda met her husband bravely and answered him boldly, in secret she trembled a little at his stern face and sharp words, as he told her that she was to remember that whatever quarrels she might choose to begin, the ending of them would always lie with him. But she pretended not to care, and went out among her neighbours as usual, telling all who would listen the tale of the killing of Swart. At length this reached the ears of Bergthora, and she was sore angered, but bided her time in silence.
When Njal and his sons went up to the pastures to see after the cattle, and the thralls were busy working in the fields, Bergthora the mistress was left alone in the house. On this day a man mounted on a black horse and armed with a spear and a short sword rode up to the door and asked her if she could find something for him to do. He was skilled in many things, he said, but his temper was hot, and had oftentimes been his bane.
I will give you work, answered Bergthora, but you must do whatever I bid you, even though it should be to slay a man.
You have plenty of other men whom you can better trust on such business, replied the man, as if he repented of his bargain; but Bergthora only told him that she expected her servants to do as they were bid, and sent the man to put his horse in the stable.
During that summer another Thing was held and Njal and his sons went to it, and likewise Gunnar. But Bergthora was left alone in the house with her servants.
Then she called Atli, the new man, and bade him seek out Kol, that he might slay him, so Atli took his horse and his sword and spear and departed.
He found Kol in the place where some men had shown him, and he spoke to Kol civilly, but only received rude tones in answer. So, without more ado, Atli thrust at him, and Kol, though wounded, swung his axe above his head; but his eyes had grown dim, and he could not see to aim, and he fell to the ground and rolled over.
Atli left the body where it was, and rode on till he came to some of Gunnars men, and bade them go and tell Hallgerda that Kol was dead.
Did you kill him? asked the man.
Well, I dont expect Hallgerda will think that he dealt his own death-blow, answered Atli; and with that he rode back to Bergthora, who praised him for the swiftness with which he had done her bidding. But Atli did not seem content, and at last he said:
What will Njal think?
Oh, never fear him, replied Bergthora, for he took with him the money of the atonement for the slaying of Swart, and now he can pay it over for Kol. But in spite of the atonement, beware of Hallgerda, who knows nought of promises.
When Hallgerda heard of Kols slaying, she bade a messenger ride to Gunnar at the Thing, and Gunnar sent to seek out Njal and Skarphedinn his son. They came to his tent, and he greeted them, and then Njal said that Bergthora his wife had done great wrong in breaking the atonement, and that Gunnar must now fix the award for Kol.
Let it be the same as that which I paid for Swart, said Gunnar; and Njal laid down the money and they parted, and no ill blood was between them, though their wives were still resolved to do each other all the ill they could.
Njal was too wise a man not to know that Hallgerda would seek revenge on Atli for the slaying of Kol, and he begged Atli would take service far away to the east, so that Hallgerda might not reach him. But Atli told Njal that he would sooner be slain in his service than live free in the service of another master, and he would gladly stay where he was if Njal would grant him the atonement due to a free man.
This Njal granted, and Atli remained in his house.
Hallgerda soon came to know what had happened, and she sent messengers both to Bergthora and to Gunnar at the Thing to tell them about it.
Hallgerda my wife has caused Atli to be slain! said Gunnar to Njal and to Skarphedinn his son. What atonement must I make for him?
The atonement will be heavy, for he was no thrall, but a freeman, and I fear it may cause strife between us, replied Njal; but Gunnar stretched out his hand and said that no woman should sow strife betwixt him and Njal. Then Njal fixed a hundred ounces of silver, and Gunnar laid it down before him.
Hallgerda does not let our servants die of old age, said Skarphedinn, as they rode home from the Thing.
Now the words came true, that Gunnar had spoken, and blow for blow grew to be the rule between Hallgerda and Bergthora; but for all that there was no quarrel between Njal and Gunnar.
So the years went by, and many Things had been held, and much blood-money had been paid, when one spring there was a great dearth of hay throughout all Iceland, and much cattle died. Gunnar, who was wise as well as rich, had seen what was coming and had laid up stores of both dried meat and of hay. As long as they lasted, he shared them with his neighbours, but when his barns were empty he called Kolskegg his brother and two of his friends, and they all fared to Kirkby, where dwelt Otkell the son of Skarf.
This Otkell owned many flocks and herds and wide pastures, and Gunnar hoped that his barns might yet be full.
I have come to buy meat and hay, if there is any in your storehouses, for mine are empty! said Gunnar.
I have yet many storehouses untouched, answered Otkell, but I will sell you nothing.
Will you give me them, then? asked Gunnar, and I will pay you back some time in what you will.
I will neither give nor sell, said Otkell.
Let us take what we want and leave the money, said Thrain, who had come with Gunnar, but Gunnar answered: I am no robber! and was turning to go when Otkell stopped him.
Will you buy a thrall from me? He is a good thrall, said Otkell, but I have no need of him.
And Gunnar bought the thrall, and they all went home to Lithend together.
When Njal heard that Otkell would not sell to Gunnar, he was very wroth and rode up into the hills with all his sons, and took meat from his storehouses and bound it upon five horses, and hay from his barns and bound it upon ten horses, and they drove them all to Lithend, which was Gunnars house.
Never ask another man for aught when you can ask me, said Njal, and Gunnar answered:
Your gifts are great, but truly your love is greater.
In a few weeks the summer began, and, as was his custom, Gunnar rode to the Thing, leaving Hallgerda in the house at Lithend.
The day after he had ridden away with his men Hallgerda sent for Malcolm the thrall, and said to him:
I have somewhat for you to do! Take with you two horses besides the one you ride, and go to Kirkby and steal meat enough to load the two horses, and butter and cheese as well. But take heed, when all is done, to set the storehouses on fire, so that none can trace that the goods have vanished.
Malcolm the thrall lifted his head and looked at her.
I have never been a thief, in spite of all my ill-deeds, said he.
But Hallgerda only laughed and made sport of him.
Do you think men have kept silent about your misdeeds? she asked. Hie hence when I bid you, or you shall not see the new moon rise!
And Malcolm the thrall knew that she spoke no jesting words, and he did her bidding; and none would have known of the thing had he not dropped his knife when he was trying to mend the thong of his shoe, and his belt also.
A few days after that Gunnar and his men returned home, and many guests with him. The table was set by Hallgerda herself, and besides meat there were also great cheeses and jars of butter. Well Gunnar knew that Njal had not sent these, and he asked Hallgerda whence they came.
It beseems a man to eat what is before him and not to trouble himself further, answered Hallgerda; but Gunnar cried out:
I will have no part in food that is ill come by, and with that he gave her a buffet on the cheek.
I shall remember that, said Hallgerda, and she got up and went out.
The next morning, Skamkell, Otkells friend, was riding to bring in some sheep, when he saw something bright on the side of the path. He got off his horse to see what it was, and found the belt and knife which Malcolm had dropped, and he took them straight to Kirkby.
Did you ever see these things before? asked Skamkell.
Yes, often, answered Otkell; they are the knife and belt of Malcolm the thrall. And they asked many men the same question, and they all knew them likewise. Then they went toward Mord the son of Valgard and took counsel with him, how to charge Gunnars thrall with the theft and the burning; for they feared Gunnar, the mighty man of war. At last, for three silver marks Mord agreed to give them his help, and bade them follow out his plan.