Eyjolf said he had not wisdom enough to know that for a surety,
and then they sent a man to Skapti, the Speaker of the Law, to
ask whether it were good law, and he sent them back word that it
was surely good law, though few knew it.
Then this was told to Flosi, and Eyjolf Bolverk's son asked the
sons of Sigfus as to the other neighbours who were summoned
thither.
They said there were four of them who were wrongly summoned; "for
those sit now at home who were nearer neighbours to the spot."
Then Eyjolf took witness that he challenged all those four men
out of the inquest, and that he did it with lawful form of
challenge. After that he said to the neighbours, "Ye are bound
to render lawful justice to both sides, and now ye shall go
before the court when ye are called, and take witness that ye
find that bar to uttering your finding; that ye are but five
summoned to utter your finding, but that ye ought to be nine;
and now Thorhall may prove and carry his point in every suit, if
he can cure this flaw in this suit."
And now it was plain in everything that Flosi and Eyjolf were
very boastful; and there was a great cry that now the suit for
the burning was quashed, and that again the defence was better
than the prosecution.
Then Asgrim spoke to Mord, "They know not yet of what to boast
ere we have seen my son Thorhall. Njal told me that he had so
taught Thorhall law, that he would turn out the best lawyer in
Iceland whenever it were put to the proof."
Then a man was sent to Thorhall to tell him how things stood, and
of Flosi's and Eyjolf's boasting, and the cry of the people that
the suit for the burning was quashed in Mord's hands.
"It will be well for them," says Thorhall, "if they get not
disgrace from this. Thou shalt go and tell Mord to take witness
and swear an oath, that the greater part of the inquest is
rightly summoned, and then he shall bring that witness before the
court, and then he may set the prosecution on its feet again; but
he will have to pay a fine of three marks for every man that he
has wrongly summoned; but he may not be prosecuted for that at
this Thing; and now thou shalt go back."
He does so, and told Mord and Asgrim all, word for word, that
Thorhall had said.
Then Mord went to the court, and took witness, and swore an oath
that the greater part of the inquest was rightly summoned, and
said then that he had set the prosecution on its feet again, and
then he went on, "And so our foes shall have honour from
something else than from this, that we have here taken a great
false step."
Then there was a great roar that Mord handled the suit well; but
it was said that Flosi and his men betook them only to quibbling
and wrong.
Flosi asked Eyjolf if this could be good law, but he said he
could not surely tell, but said the Lawman must settle this
knotty point.
Then Thorkel Geiti's son went on their behalf to tell the Lawman
how things stood, and asked whether this were good law that Mord
had said.
"More men are great lawyers now," says Skapti, "than I thought.
I must tell thee, then, that this is such good law in all points,
that there is not a word to say against it; but still I thought
that I alone would know this, now that Njal was dead, for he was
the only man I ever knew who knew it."
Then Thorkell went back to Flosi and Eyjolf, and said that this
was good law.
Then Mord Valgard's son went to the court and took witness. "I
take witness to this," he said, "that I bid those neighbours on
the inquest in the suit which I set on foot against Flosi Thord's
son now to utter their finding, and to find it either against him
or for him; I bid them by a lawful bidding before the court, so
that the judges may hear it across the court."
Then the neighbours on Mord's inquest went to the court, and one
uttered their finding, but all confirmed it by their consent; and
they spoke thus, word for word, "Mord Valgard's son summoned nine
of us thanes on this inquest, but here we stand five of us, but
four have been challenged and set aside, and now witness has been
borne as to the absence of the four who ought to have uttered this
finding along with us, and now we are bound by law to utter our
finding. We were summoned to bear this witness, whether Flosi
Thord's son rushed with an assault laid down by law on Helgi
Njal's son, on that spot where Flosi Thord's son wounded Helgi
Njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which
proved a death-wound, and from which Helgi got his death. He
summoned us to utter all those words which it was lawful for us
to utter, and which he should call on us to answer before the
court, and which belong to this suit; he summoned us, so that we
heard what he said; he summoned us in a suit which Thorgeir
Thorir's son had handed over to him, and now we have all sworn an
oath, and found our lawful finding, and are all agreed, and we
utter our finding against Flosi, and we say that he is truly
guilty in this suit. We nine men on this inquest of neighbours
so shapen, utter this our finding before the Eastfirthers' Court
over the head of John, as Mord summoned us to do; but this is the
finding of all of us."
Again a second time they uttered their finding against Flosi, and
uttered it first about the wounds, and last about the assault,
but all their other words they uttered just as they had before
uttered their finding against Flosi, and brought him in truly
guilty in the suit.
Then Mord Valgard's son went before the court, and took witness
that those neighbours whom he had summoned in the suit which he
had set on foot against Flosi Thord's son had now uttered their
finding, and brought him in truly guilty in the suit; he took
witness to this for his own part, or for those who might wish to
make use of this witness.
Again a second time Mord took witness and said, "I take witness
to this that I call on Flosi, or that man who has to undertake
the lawful defence which he has handed over to him, to begin his
defence to this suit which I have set on foot against him, for
now all the steps and proofs have been brought forward which
belong by law to this suit; all witness borne, the finding of the
inquest uttered and brought in, witness taken to the finding, and
to all the steps which have gone before; but if any such thing
arises in their lawful defence which I need to turn into a suit
against them, then I claim the right to set that suit on foot
against them. I bid this my lawful bidding before the court, so
that the judges may hear."
"It gladdens me now, Eyjolf," said Flosi, "in my heart to think
what a wry face they will make, and how their pates will tingle
when thou bringest forward our defence."