ODD DOINGS AT CRAGNESS
Now time wears toward harvest, and in the dales all is quiet and busy,
so that men when they meet have little gossip, save only of the doings
of Thurid the crone. For she travelled far and wide in the night, and
men saw her so distant from home that it was said she rode the wind;
she was seen near the farm of Burning-Flosi, far to the east, and near
the hall of Snorri the Priest, to the west. Ever when seen in the dark
she strode furiously; by day she was always bent and slow. Old men
spoke of her youth, when she was brisk and handy; it seemed as if her
youth came again in these fits, foretelling her death.
Moreover by Asdis's work nothing now lagged, and the field was plowed,
sowed, and harrowed, so that never had such a crop stood on those poor
acres, and that by the work of two women. Some questioned whether
indeed Rolf were not about; but there was no place in the hut for
hiding a man, howbeit busybodies pried about there much. Now all that
they found was what looked to be a grave, not far from the home-mead.
So then the tale ran that Rolf was dead, and there buried; but when
questioned Asdis would only laugh and say:
"Whether it is a grave, or the place where stood a little tree that I
uprooted for fuel, that ye may guess."
But she was always so blithe that it was sure her son still lived.
Now on a day word came to Ondott from Thorstein Angle his cousin, that
three men for sure dwelt on the island of Drangey; they were Grettir
the Strong and Illugi his brother and some man unknown; but whether
more men dwelt there no one could say, for so high were the cliffs
that nothing could be seen from the mainland, and another three might
for a twelvemonth lie there hidden. Many believed that others were
there. So Ondott was satisfied that Rolf lay in hiding there afar off,
and would not trouble the Cragness-dwellers for a long time to come.
Now came harvest rich and full, a bountiful year; men worked hard in
the fields, the women too, and at night sleep was sound. There came a
morning when it was found that Cragness had been entered at night and
the whole hall ransacked, its passages, lofts, and store-rooms. Goods
were taken from their places and laid aside; chests had been moved,
opened, and emptied; and there was scarce a corner of the place but
had been searched. Yet gold and silver, whether in money, rings, or
vessels, were left behind, nor were they even gathered together for
booty. So it was seen that no common thief had been there, and men
wondered wherefore that had been done.
But Grani sent all his men to work in the field, and the women to
righting the house; then he took the bow from under the settle where
it was hid with its arrows, and he thrust it within the dais whereon
were the seats of honor.
Now a night passed again, and no one heard the dogs bark; but in the
morning it was seen that the thief had come again, and all the settles
were out of their places, as if one had searched beneath them. No
other places were searched, and nothing had been taken; all thought it
strange that the dogs had not barked. Then another day passed, and men
came home to sleep as tired as before; so then Grani took the bow and
hid it up under the thatch, when all had gone to their beds.
In the morning nothing had happened save that the seats on the dais
had all been moved, and the dais was found set up against the wall.
Now the dais was heavy, and that work had been done with much
strength. While men were marvelling the neatherd came in, and said he
had been awake early in the byre, with a sick calf. Before sunrise he
looked out of the window; the light was not strong, but he could see a
little way. There he saw the crone Thurid standing, near the house;
but when he ran out to speak with her, she had moved toward the
cliffs. Whether she saw or heard him he could not say, but suddenly
she began to go with long strides. A little mist hung above the crags;
into that mist she went, seeming to walk upon the air; and while he
stood astonished the mist wreathed around her, and she was lost from
sight. He said to himself that was the end of the old woman; but in an
hour, looking toward the upland, he saw her walking to the hut of
Asdis, and that matter he could not explain.
Grani sent all men about their work again; he took the bow from the
hall, with its quiver, and carried them to the great store-house, and
hid them beneath sacks of grain. Then a night passed, and nothing
happened; but on the second night noises were heard; men took lights
and searched in the hall, finding nothing. Yet in the morning it was
seen that someone had been at work under the thatch of the hall, by
every rafter; and it was a bold deed to do that ransacking in the
dark, for a fall might mean death. No one had seen Thurid nor any
living soul; yet a tatter of cloth was found, like as it had been torn
from the old woman's gray cloak.
Now Grani takes the bow from the store-house, and thinks much by
himself, and at last hides it in a haystack, an old one; and there the
bow lies deep within. That night he sets men to watch in the
store-house, and fetches dogs from a tenants farm, and hopes now to
catch the thief.
But one comes by night, and enters the store-house by the thatch, and
takes the watchmen asleep, binding them with their heads in the bags
that lay there. And all the store-house was searched and everything
moved, and the thief away before day, but nothing taken. Those dogs
which had been brought and tied by the door had had their leashes cut,
and were off to their master; but the dogs of the place had given no
sign. Those were the best watch-dogs in the dales, and had belonged to
Hiarandi. No footprints were found about the place, and the watchmen
said but one person had been there, marvellous silent and strong.
Grani took much thought where now to hide the bow, and bespoke the
matter with Einar and Ondott; but they found no better place than
where it lay, so there they let it bide. And Ondott went with men to
the hut of Asdis, and called for the woman Thurid. Asdis said she
slept within, and would not come out. So Ondott spoke to her from the
doorway, as the crone lay within by the hearth; a bundle of rags she
was.
"Is it thou that comest to our house," asked Ondott, "making this
mischief there?"
"She speaks to no one save me," said Asdis, "and never when
questioned."
"Tell her," said Ondott, "that if more searchings go on at Cragness,
we will hale the old woman before the bishop and exorcise her for
sorcery, since there must be witchcraft in these doings. So take heed
to her, goodwife, and thyself as well."
"Thou art brave," said Asdis, "to threaten two women."
So Ondott rides away again, and that was the end of those happenings
at Cragness. Some said the thief could not find what he sought; but
some that Thurid was the thief, and Ondott had frighted her.
Time now fell for the harvest feast, and all preparations were made
for receiving guests; great store of good things was made ready, and
food and fodder for man and beast.
Comes at last Helga to Grani, and begs him not to hold the feast at
all, for her mind misgives her because of it. He says that the guests
must be on the way, and bids her work at the cooking, and forget those
thoughts. She goes away sorrowful, and says no more of this to anyone.
Then on the morrow the guests are seen riding, both Snorri the Priest,
that old man, and Kolbein Flosi's son, each with a large company.