Skamkell came to Mossfell, and repeated all the offers to Gizur.
"It so seems to me," says Gizur, "as though these have been
bravely offered; but why took he not these offers?"
"The chief cause was," answers Skamkell, "that all wished to show
thee honour, and that was why he waited for thy utterance;
besides, that is best for all."
So Skamkell stayed there the night over, but Gizur sent a man to
fetch Geir the Priest; and he came there early. Then Gizur told
him the story and said, "What course is to be taken now?"
"As thou no doubt hast already made up thy mind -- to make the
best of the business for both sides."
"Now we will let Skamkell tell his tale a second time, and see
how he repeats it."
So they did that, and Gizur said, "Thou must have told this story
right; but still I have seen thee to be the wickedest of men, and
there is no faith in faces if thou turnest out well."
Skamkell fared home, and rides first to Kirkby and calls Otkell
out. He greets Skamkell well, and Skamkell brought him the
greeting of Gizur and Geir.
"But about this matter of the suit," he says, "there is no need
to speak softly, how that it is the will of both Gizur and Geir
that this suit should not be settled in a friendly way. They
gave that counsel that a summons should be set on foot, and that
Gunnar should be summoned for having partaken of the goods, but
Hallgerda for stealing them."
"It shall be done," said Otkell, "in everything as they have
given counsel."
"They thought most of this," says Skamkell, "that thou hadst
behaved so proudly; but as for me, I made as great a man of thee
in everything as I could."
Now Otkell tells all this to his brothers, and Hallbjorn said,
"This must be the biggest lie."
Now the time goes on until the last of the summoning days before
the Althing came.
Then Otkell called on his brothers and Skamkell to ride on the
business of the summons to Lithend.
Hallbjorn said he would go, but said also that they would rue
this summoning as time went on.
Now they rode twelve of them together to Lithend, but when they
came into the "town," there was Gunnar out of doors, and knew
naught of their coming till they had ridden right up to the
house.
He did not go in-doors then, and Otkell thundered out the summons
there and then; but when they had made an end of the summoning
Skamkell said, "Is it all right, master?"
"Ye know that best;" says Gunnar, "but I will put thee in mind of
this journey one of these days, and of thy good help."
"That will not harm us," says Skamkell, "if thy bill be not
aloft."
Gunnar was very wroth and went in-doors, and told Kolskegg, and
Kolskegg said, "Ill was it that we were not out of doors; they
should have come here on the most shameful journey, if we had
been by."
"Everything bides its time," says Gunnar; "but this journey will
not turn out to their honour."
A little after Gunnar went and told Njal.
"Let it not worry thee a jot," said Njal, "for this will be the
greatest honour to thee, ere this Thing comes to an end. As for
us, we will all back thee with counsel and force."
Gunnar thanked him and rode home.
Otkell rides to the Thing, and his brothers with him and
Skamkell.