Flosi summoned all his men up to the "Great Rift," and went
thither himself.
So when all his men were come, there were one hundred and twenty
of them.
Then Flosi spake thus to the sons of Sigfus, "In what way shall
I stand by you in this quarrel, which will be most to your
minds?"
"Nothing will please us," said Gunnar Lambi's son, "until those
brothers, Njal's sons, are all slain."
"This," said Flosi, "will I promise to you, ye sons of Sigfus,
not to part from this quarrel before one of us bites the dust
before the other. I will also know whether there be any man here
who will not stand by us in this quarrel."
But they all said they would stand by him.
Then Flosi said, "Come now all to me, and swear an oath that no
man will shrink from this quarrel."
Then all went up to Flosi and swore oaths to him; and then Flosi
said, "We will all of us shake hands on this, that he shall have
forfeited life and land who quits this quarrel ere it be over."
These were the chiefs who were with Flosi: -- Kol the son of
Thorstein Broadpaunch, the brother's son of Hall of the Side,
Hroald Auzur's son from Broadwater, Auzur son of Aunund Wallet-
back, Thorstein the Fair, the son of Gerleif, Glum Hildir's son,
Modolf Kettle's son, Thorir the son of Thord Illugi's son of
Mauratongue, Kolbein and Egil Flosi's kinsmen, Kettle Sigfus'
son, and Mord his brother, Ingialld of the Springs, Thorkel and
Lambi, Grani Gunnar's son, Gunnar Lambi's son, and Sigmund
Sigfus' son, and Hroar from Hromundstede.
Then Flosi said to the sons of Sigfus, "Choose ye now a leader,
whomsoever ye think best fitted; for some one man must needs be
chief over the quarrel."
Then Kettle of the Mark answered, "If the choice is to be left
with us brothers, then we will soon choose that this duty should
fall on thee; there are many things which lead to this. Thou art
a man of great birth, and a mighty chief, stout of heart, and
strong of body, and wise withal, and so we think it best that
thou shouldst see to all that is needful in the quarrel."
"It is most fitting," said Flosi, "that I should agree to
undertake this as your prayer asks; and now I will lay down the
course which we shall follow, and my counsel is, that each man
ride home from the Thing, and look after his household during the
summer, so long as men's haymaking lasts. I, too, will ride
home, and be at home this summer; but when that Lord's day comes
on which winter is eight weeks off, then I will let them sing me
a mass at home, and afterwards ride west across Loomnips Sand;
each of our men shall have two horses. I will not swell our
company beyond those which have now taken the oath, for we have
enough and to spare if all keep true tryst. I will ride all the
Lord's day and the night as well, but at even on the second day
of the week, I shall ride up to Threecorner ridge about mid-even.
There shall ye then be all come who have sworn an oath in this
matter. But if there be any one who has not come, and who has
joined us in this quarrel, then that man shall lose nothing save
his life, if we may have our way."
"How does that hang together," said Kettle, "that thou canst ride
from home on the Lord's day, and come the second day of the week
to Threecorner ridge?"
"I will ride," said Flosi "up from Skaptartongue, and north of
the Eyjafell Jokul, and so down into Godaland, and it may be done
if I ride fast. And now I will tell you my whole purpose, that
when we meet there all together, we shall ride to Bergthorsknoll
with all our band, and fall on Njal's sons with fire and sword,
and not turn away before they are all dead. Ye shall hide this
plan, for our lives lie on it. And now we will take to our
horses and ride home."
Then they all went to their booths.
After that Flosi made them saddle his horses, and they waited for
no man, and rode home.
Flosi would not stay to meet Hall his father-in-law, for he knew
of a surety that Hall would set his face against all strong
deeds.
Njal rode home from the Thing and his sons. They were at home
that summer. Njal asked Kari his son-in-law whether he thought
at all of riding east to Dyrholms to his own house.
"I will not ride east," answered Kari, "for one fate shall befall
me and thy sons."
Njal thanked him, and said that was only what was likely from
him. There were nearly thirty fighting men in Njal's house,
reckoning the house-carles.
One day it happened that Rodny Hauskuld's daughter, the mother of
Hauskuld Njal's son, came to the Springs. Her brother Ingialld
greeted her well, but she would not take his greeting, but yet
bade him go out with her. Ingialld did so, and went out with
her; and so they walked away from the farm-yard both together.
Then she clutched hold of him and they both sat down, and Rodny
said, "Is it true that thou hast sworn an oath to fall on Njal,
and slay him and his sons?"
"True it is," said he.
"A very great dastard art thou," she says, "thou, whom Njal hath
thrice saved from outlawry."
"Still it hath come to this," says Ingialld, "that my life lies
on it if I do not this?"
"Not so," says she, "thou shalt live all the same, and be called
a better man, if thou betrayest not him to whom thou oughtest to
behave best."
Then she took a linen hood out of her bag, it was clotted with
blood all over, and torn and tattered, and said, "This hood,
Hauskuld Njal's son, and thy sister's son, had on his head when
they slew him; methinks, then, it is ill doing to stand by those
from whom this mischief sprang."
"Well!" answers Ingialld, "so it shall be that I will not be
against Njal whatever follows after, but still I know that they
will turn and throw trouble on me."
"Now mightest thou," said Rodny, "yield Njal and his sons great
help, if thou tellest him all these plans."
"That I will not do," says Ingialld, "for then I am every man's
dastard if I tell what was trusted to me in good faith; but it is
a manly deed to sunder myself from this quarrel when I know that
there is a sure looking for of vengeance but tell Njal and his
sons to be ware of themselves all this summer, for that will be
good counsel, and to keep many men about them."
Then she fared to Bergthorsknoll, and told Njal all this talk; and
Njal thanked her, and said she had done well, "For there would be
more wickedness in his falling on me than of all men else."
She fared home, but he told this to his sons.
There was a carline at Bergthorsknoll, whose name was Saevuna.
She was wise in many things, and foresighted; but she was then
very old, and Njal's sons called her an old dotard, when she
talked so much, but still some things which she said came to
pass. It fell one day that she took a cudgel in her hand, and
went up above the house to a stack of vetches. She beat the
stack of vetches with her cudgel, and wished it might never
thrive, "Wretch that it was!"
Skarphedinn laughed at her, and asked why she was so angry with
the vetch stack.
"This stack of vetches," said the carline, "will be taken and
lighted with fire when Njal my master is burnt, house and all,
and Bergthora my foster-child. Take it away to the water, or
burn it up as quick as you can."
"We will not do that," says Skarphedinn, "for something else will
be got to light a fire with, if that were foredoomed, though this
stack were not here."
The carline babbled the whole summer about the vetchstack that it
should be got indoors, but something always hindered it.