Grettir rode to Thorhallsstad where he was welcomed by the bondi.
He asked Grettir whither he was bound, and Grettir said he wished to
spend the night there if the bondi permitted. Thorhall said he would
indeed be thankful to him for staying there.
"Few," he said, "think it a gain to stay here for any time. You must
have heard tell of the trouble that is here, and I do not want you to be
inconvenienced on my account. Even if you escape unhurt yourself, I know
for certain that you will lose your horse, for no one can keep his beast
in safety who comes here."
Grettir said there were plenty more horses to be had if anything
happened to this one.
Thorhall was delighted at Grettir's wishing to remain, and received him
with both hands. Grettir's horse was placed securely under lock and
key and they both went to bed. The night passed without Glam showing
himself.
"Your being here has already done some good," said Thorhall. "Glam has
always been in the habit of riding on the roof or breaking open the
doors every night, as you can see from the marks."
"Then," Grettir said, "either he will not keep quiet much longer, or he
will remain so more than one night. I will stay another night and see
what happens."
Then they went to Grettir's horse and found it had not been touched.
The bondi thought that all pointed to the same thing. Grettir stayed
a second night and again the thrall did not appear. The bondi became
hopeful and went to see the horse. There he found the stable broken
open, the horse dragged outside and every bone in his body broken.
Thorhall told Grettir what had occurred and advised him to look to
himself, for he was a dead man if he waited for Glam.
Grettir answered: "I must not have less for my horse than a sight of the
thrall."
The bondi said there was no pleasure to be had from seeing him: "He is
not like any man. I count every hour a gain that you are here."
The day passed, and when the hour came for going to bed Grettir said
he would not take off his clothes, and lay down on a seat opposite to
Thorkell's sleeping apartment. He had a shaggy cloak covering him with
one end of it fastened under his feet and the other drawn over his head
so that he could see through the neck-hole. He set his feet against a
strong bench which was in front of him. The frame-work of the outer
door had been all broken away and some bits of wood had been rigged up
roughly in its place. The partition which had once divided the hall
from the entrance passage was all broken, both above the cross-beam
and below, and all the bedding had been upset. The place looked rather
desolate. There was a light burning in the hall by night.
When about a third part of the night had passed Grettir heard a loud
noise. Something was going up on to the building, riding above the hall
and kicking with its heels until the timbers cracked again. This went on
for some time, and then it came down towards the door. The door opened
and Grettir saw the thrall stretching in an enormously big and ugly
head. Glam moved slowly in, and on passing the door stood upright,
reaching to the roof. He turned to the hall, resting his arms on the
cross-beam and peering along the hall. The bondi uttered no sound,
having heard quite enough of what had gone on outside. Grettir lay quite
still and did not move. Glam saw a heap of something in the seat,
came farther into the hall and seized the cloak tightly with his hand.
Grettir pressed his foot against the plank and the cloak held firm.
Glam tugged at it again still more violently, but it did not give way. A
third time he pulled, this time with both hands and with such force that
he pulled Grettir up out of the seat, and between them the cloak was
torn in two. Glam looked at the bit which he held in his hand and
wondered much who could pull like that against him. Suddenly Grettir
sprang under his arms, seized him round the waist and squeezed his back
with all his might, intending in that way to bring him down, but the
thrall wrenched his arms till he staggered from the violence. Then
Grettir fell back to another bench. The benches flew about and
everything was shattered around them. Glam wanted to get out, but
Grettir tried to prevent him by stemming his foot against anything he
could find. Nevertheless Glam succeeded in getting him outside the hall.
Then a terrific struggle began, the thrall trying to drag him out of
the house, and Grettir saw that however hard he was to deal with in the
house, he would be worse outside, so he strove with all his might to
keep him from getting out. Then Glam made a desperate effort and gripped
Grettir tightly towards him, forcing him to the porch. Grettir saw that
he could not put up any resistance, and with a sudden movement he dashed
into the thrall's arms and set both his feet against a stone which was
fastened in the ground at the door. For that Glam was not prepared,
since he had been tugging to drag Grettir towards him; he reeled
backwards and tumbled hind-foremost out of the door, tearing away the
lintel with his shoulder and shattering the roof, the rafters and the
frozen thatch. Head over heels he fell out of the house and Grettir fell
on top of him. The moon was shining very brightly outside, with light
clouds passing over it and hiding it now and again. At the moment when
Glam fell the moon shone forth, and Glam turned his eyes up towards it.
Grettir himself has related that that sight was the only one which ever
made him tremble. What with fatigue and all else that he had endured,
when he saw the horrible rolling of Glam's eyes his heart sank so
utterly that he had not strength to draw his sword, but lay there
well-nigh betwixt life and death. Glam possessed more malignant power
than most fiends, for he now spoke in this wise:
"You have expended much energy, Grettir, in your search for me. Nor is
that to be wondered at, if you should have little joy thereof. And now
I tell you that you shall possess only half the strength and firmness of
heart that were decreed to you if you had not striven with me. The might
which was yours till now I am not able to take away, but it is in my
power to ordain that never shall you grow stronger than you are now.
Nevertheless your might is sufficient, as many shall find to their cost.
Hitherto you have earned fame through your deeds, but henceforward there
shall fall upon you exile and battle; your deeds shall turn to evil and
your guardian-spirit shall forsake you. You will be outlawed and your
lot shall be to dwell ever alone. And this I lay upon you, that these
eyes of mine shall be ever before your vision. You will find it hard to
live alone, and at last it shall drag you to death."
When the thrall had spoken the faintness which had come over Grettir
left him. He drew his short sword, cut off Glam's head and laid it
between his thighs. Then the bondi came out, having put on his clothes
while Glam was speaking, but he did not venture to come near until he
was dead. Thorhall praised God and thanked Grettir warmly for having
laid this unclean spirit. Then they set to work and burned Glam to cold
cinders, bound the ashes in a skin and buried them in a place far away
from the haunts of man or beast. Then they went home, the day having
nearly broken.
Grettir was very stiff and lay down to rest. Thorhall sent for some men
from the next farms and let them know how things had fared. They all
realised the importance of Grettir's deed when they heard of it; all
agreed that in the whole country side for strength and courage and
enterprise there was not the equal of Grettir the son of Asmund.
Thorhall bade a kindly farewell to Grettir and dismissed him with a
present of a fine horse and proper clothes, for all that he had been
wearing were torn to pieces. They parted in friendship. Grettir rode to
Ass in Vatnsdal and was welcomed by Thorvald, who asked him all about
his encounter with Glam. Grettir told him everything and said that
never had his strength been put to trial as it had been in their long
struggle. Thorvald told him to conduct himself discreetly; if he did
so he might prosper, but otherwise he would surely come to disaster.
Grettir said that his temper had not improved, that he had even less
discretion than before, and was more impatient of being crossed. In one
thing a great change had come over him; he had become so frightened of
the dark that he dared not go anywhere alone at night. Apparitions of
every kind came before him. It has since passed into an expression,
and men speak of "Glam's eyes" or "Glam visions" when things appear
otherwise than as they are.
Having accomplished his undertaking Grettir rode back to Bjarg and spent
the winter at home.