NJAL'S ADVICE.
"I have thought over the suit, and it will do so. Thou shalt ride from
home with two men at thy back. Over all thou shalt have a great rough
cloak, and under that, a russet kirtle of cheap stuff, and under all,
thy good clothes. Thou must take a small axe in thy hand, and each of
you must have two horses, one fat, the other lean. Thou shalt carry
hardware and smith's work with thee hence, and ye must ride off early
to-morrow morning, and when ye are come across Whitewater westwards,
mind and slouch thy hat well over thy brows. Then men will ask who is
this tall man, and thy mates shall say--'Here is Huckster Hedinn the
Big, a man from Eyjafirth, who is going about with smith's work for
sale'. This Hedinn is ill-tempered and a chatterer--a fellow who thinks
he alone knows everything. Very often he snatches back his wares, and
flies at men if everything is not done as he wishes. So thou shalt ride
west to Borgarfirth offering all sorts of wares for sale, and be sure
often to cry off thy bargains, so that it will be noised abroad that
Huckster Hedinn is the worst of men to deal with, and that no lies have
been told of his bad behaviour. So thou shalt ride to Northwaterdale,
and to Hrutfirth, and Laxriverdale, till thou comest to Hauskuldstede.
There thou must stay a night, and sit in the lowest place, and hang thy
head down. Hauskuld will tell them all not to meddle nor make with
Huckster Hedinn, saying he is a rude unfriendly fellow. Next morning
thou must be off early and go to the farm nearest Hrutstede. There thou
must offer thy goods for sale, praising up all that is worst, and
tinkering up the faults. The master of the house will pry about and find
out the faults. Thou must snatch the wares away from him, and speak ill
to him. He will say--'Twas not to be hoped that thou wouldst behave well
to him, when thou behavest ill to every one else. Then thou shalt fly at
him, though it is not thy wont, but mind and spare thy strength, that
thou mayest not be found out. Then a man will be sent to Hrutstede to
tell Hrut he had best come and part you. He will come at once and ask
thee to his house, and thou must accept his offer. Thou shalt greet
Hrut, and he will answer well. A place will be given thee on the lower
bench over against Hrut's high-seat. He will ask if thou art from the
North, and thou shalt answer that thou art a man of Eyjafirth. He will
go on to ask if there are very many famous men there. 'Shabby fellows
enough and to spare,' thou must answer. 'Dost thou know Reykiardale and
the parts about?' he will ask. To which thou must answer--'I know all
Iceland by heart'.
"Are there any stout champions left in Reykiardale?' he will ask.
'Thieves and scoundrels,' thou shalt answer. Then Hrut will smile and
think it sport to listen. You two will go on to talk of the men in the
Eastfirth Quarter, and thou must always find something to say against
them. At last your talk will come to Rangrivervale, and then thou must
say, there is small choice of men left in those parts since Fiddle Mord
died. At the same time sing some stave to please Hrut, for I know thou
art a skald. Hrut will ask what makes thee say there is never a man to
come in Mord's place; and then thou must answer, that he was so wise a
man and so good a taker up of suits, that he never made a false step in
upholding his leadership. He will ask--'Dost thou know how matters fared
between me and him?'
"'I know all about it,' thou must reply, 'he took thy wife from thee,
and thou hadst not a word to say.'
"Then Hrut will ask--'Dost thou not think it was some disgrace to him
when he could not get back his goods, though he set the suit on foot?'
"'I can answer thee that well enough,' thou must say, 'Thou challengedst
him to single combat; but he was old, and so his friends advised him not
to fight with thee, and then they let the suit fall to the ground.'
"'True enough," Hrut will say. 'I said so, and that passed for law among
foolish men; but the suit might have been taken up again at another
Thing if he had the heart.'
"'I know all that,' thou must say.
"Then he will ask--'Dost thou know anything about law?"
"'Up in the North I am thought to know something about it,' thou shalt
say. 'But still I should like thee to tell me how this suit should be
taken up.'
"'What suit dost thou mean?' he will ask.
"'A suit,' thou must answer, 'which does not concern me. I want to know
how a man must set to work who wishes to get back Unna's dower.'
"Then Hrut will say--'In this suit I must be summoned so that I can hear
the summons, or I must be summoned here in my lawful house'.
"'Recite the summons, then,' thou must say, and I will say it after
thee.'
"Then Hrut will summon himself; and mind and pay great heed to every
word he says. After that Hrut will bid thee repeat the summons, and thou
must do so, and say it all wrong, so that no more than every other word
is right.
"Then Hrut will smile and not mistrust thee, but say that scarce a word
is right. Thou must throw the blame on thy companions, and say they put
thee out, and then thou must ask him to say the words first, word by
word, and to let thee say the words after him. He will give thee leave,
and summon himself in the suit, and thou shalt summon after him there
and then, and this time say every word right. When it is done, ask Hrut
if that were rightly summoned, and he will answer 'there is no flaw to
be found in it'. Then thou shalt say in a loud voice, so that thy
companions may hear--
"'I summon thee in the suit which Unna Mord's daughter has made over to
me with her plighted hand.'
"But when men are sound asleep, you shall rise and take your bridles and
saddles, and tread softly, and go out of the house, and put your saddles
on your fat horses in the fields, and so ride off on them, but leave the
others behind you. You must ride up into the hills away from the home
pastures and stay there three nights, for about so long will they seek
you. After that ride home south, riding always by night and resting by
day. As for us we will then ride this summer to the Thing, and help thee
in thy suit." So Gunnar thanked Njal, and first of all rode home.