"Go ye to your beds, women all, for so is goodman Thorir pleased to
bid."
They cursed him for this, and to hear them was like hearkening to the
noise of many wolves. Now the bearserks came forth from the hall, and
Grettir said--
"Let us go out, and I will show you Thorfinn's cloth bower."
They were willing to be led there; so they came to an out-bower
exceeding great; a door there was to it, and a strong lock thereon,
and the storehouse was very strong withal; there too was a closet good
and great, and a shield panelling between the chambers; both chambers
stood high, and men went up by steps to them. Now the bearserks got
riotous and pushed Grettir about, and he kept tumbling away from them,
and when they least thought thereof, he slipped quickly out of the
bower, seized the latch, slammed the door to, and put the bolt on.
Thorir and his fellows thought at first that the door must have got
locked of itself, and paid no heed thereto; they had light with them,
for Grettir had showed them many choice things which Thorfinn owned,
and these they now noted awhile. Meantime Grettir made all speed home
to the farm, and when he came in at the door he called out loudly, and
asked where the goodwife was; she held her peace, for she did not dare
to answer.
He said, "Here is somewhat of a chance of a good catch; but are there
any weapons of avail here?"
She answers, "Weapons there are, but how they may avail thee I know
not."
"Let us talk thereof anon," says he, "but now let every man do his
best, for later on no better chance shall there be."
The good wife said, "Now God were in garth if our lot might better:
over Thorfinn's bed hangs the barbed spear, the big one that was
owned by Karr the Old; there, too, is a helmet and a byrni, and the
short-sword, the good one; and the arms will not fail if thine heart
does well."
Grettir seizes the helmet and spear, girds himself with the
short-sword, and rushed out swiftly; and the mistress called upon the
house-carles, bidding them follow such a dauntless man, four of them
rushed forth and seized their weapons, but the other four durst come
nowhere nigh. Now it is to be said of the bearserks that they thought
Grettir delayed his coming back strangely; and now they began to doubt
if there were not some guile in the matter. They rushed against the
door and found it was locked, and now they try the timber walls so
that every beam creaked again; at last they brought things so far that
they broke down the shield-panelling, got into the passage, and thence
out to the steps. Now bearserks'-gang seized them, and they howled
like dogs. In that very nick of time Grettir came up and with both
hands thrust his spear at the midst of Thorir, as he was about to
get down the steps, so that it went through him at once. Now the
spear-head was both long and broad, and Ogmund the Evil ran on to
Thorir and pushed him on to Grettir's thrust, so that all went up to
the barb-ends; then the spear stood out through Thorir's back and into
Ogmund's breast, and they both tumbled dead off the spear; then of
the others each rushed down the steps as he came forth; Grettir set on
each one of them, and in turn hewed with the sword, or thrust with the
spear; but they defended themselves with logs that lay on the green,
and whatso thing they could lay hands on, therefore the greatest
danger it was to deal with them, because of their strength, even
though they were weaponless.
Two of the Halogalanders Grettir slew on the green, and then came up
the house-carles; they could not come to one mind as to what weapons
each should have; now they set on whenever the bearserks gave back,
but when they turned about on them, then the house-carles slunk away
up to the houses. Six vikings fell there, and of all of them was
Grettir the bane. Then the six others got off and came down to the
boat-stand, and so into it, and thence they defended themselves with
oars. Grettir now got great blows from them, so that at all times he
ran the risk of much hurt; but the house-carles went home, and had
much to say of their stout onset; the mistress bade them espy what
became of Grettir, but that was not to be got out of them. Two more of
the bearserks Grettir slew in the boat-stand, but four slipped out
by him; and by this, dark night had come on; two of them ran into
a corn-barn, at the farm of Windham, which is aforenamed: here they
fought for a long time, but at last Grettir killed them both; then
was he beyond measure weary and stiff, the night was far gone, and the
weather got very cold with the drift of the snow. He was fain to leave
the search of the two vikings who were left now, so he walked home to
the farm. The mistress had lights lighted in the highest lofts at the
windows that they might guide him on his way; and so it was that he
found his road home whereas he saw the light.
But when he was come into the door, the mistress went up to him, and
bade him welcome.
"Now," she said, "thou hast reaped great glory, and freed me and my
house from a shame of which we should never have been healed, but if
thou hadst saved us."
Grettir answered, "Methinks I am much the same as I was this evening,
when thou didst cast ill words on me."
The mistress answered, "We wotted not that thou wert a man of such
prowess as we have now proved thee; now shall all things in the house
be at thy will which I may bestow on thee, and which it may be seeming
for thee to take; but methinks that Thorfinn will reward thee better
still when he comes home."
Grettir answered, "Little of reward will be needed now, but I keep
thine offer till the coming of the master; and I have some hope now
that ye will sleep in peace as for the bearserks."
Grettir drank little that evening, and lay with his weapons about him
through the night. In the morning, when it began to dawn, people were
summoned together throughout the island, and a search was set on foot
for the bearserks who had escaped the night before; they were found
far on in the day under a rock, and were by then dead from cold and
wounds; then they were brought unto a tidewashed heap of stones and
buried thereunder.
After that folk went home, and the men of that island deemed
themselves brought unto fair peace.