It happened next spring that Otkell said that they would ride
east to the Dale, to pay Runolf a visit, and all showed
themselves well pleased at that. Skamkell and his two brothers,
and Audulf and three men more, went along with Otkell. Otkell
rode one of the dun horses, but the other ran loose by his side.
They shaped their course east towards Markfleet; and now Otkell
gallops ahead, and now the horses race against each other, and
they break away from the path up towards the Fleetlithe.
Now, Otkell goes faster than he wished, and it happened that
Gunnar had gone away from home out of his house all alone; and he
had a corn-sieve in one hand, but in the other a hand-axe. He
goes down to his seed field and sows his corn there, and had laid
his cloak of fine stuff and his axe down by his side, and so he
sows the corn a while.
Now, it must be told how Otkell rides faster than he would. He
had spurs on his feet, and so he gallops down over the ploughed
field, and neither of them sees the other; and just as Gunnar
stands upright, Otkell rides down upon him and drives one of the
spurs into Gunnar's ear, and gives him a great gash, and it
bleeds at once much.
Just then Otkell's companions rode up.
"Ye may see, all of you," says Gunnar, "that thou hast drawn my
blood, and it is unworthy to go on so. First thou hast summoned
me, but now thou treadest me under foot, and ridest over me."
Skamkell said, "Well it was no worse, master, but thou wast not
one whit less wroth at the Thing, when thou tookest the selfdoom
and clutchedst thy bill."
Gunnar said, "When we two next meet thou shalt see the bill."
After that they part thus, and Skamkell shouted out and said, "Ye
ride hard, lads!"
Gunnar went home, and said never a word to any one about what had
happened, and no one thought that this wound could have come by
man's doing.
It happened, though, one day, that he told it to his brother
Kolskegg, and Kolskegg said, "This thou shalt tell to more men,
so that it may not be said that thou layest blame on dead men;
for it will be gainsaid if witnesses do not know beforehand what
has passed between you."
Then Gunnar told it to his neighbours, and there was little talk
about it at first.
Otkell comes east to the Dale, and they get a hearty welcome
there, and sit there a week.
Skamkell told Runolf all about their meeting with Gunnar, and how
it had gone off; and one man happened to ask how Gunnar behaved.
"Why," said Skamkell, "if it were a low-born man it would have
been said that he had wept."
"Such things are ill spoken," says Runolf, "and when ye two next
meet, thou wilt have to own that there is no voice of weeping in
his frame of mind; and it will be well if better men have not to
pay for thy spite. Now it seems to me best when ye wish to go
home that I should go with you, for Gunnar will do me no harm."
"I will not have that," says Otkell; "but I will ride across the
Fleet lower down."
Runolf gave Otkell good gifts, and said they should not see one
another again.
Otkell bade him then to bear his sons in mind if things turned
out so.