The autumn passed and but three weeks remained till the winter. The old
woman asked to be driven to the sea-shore. Thorbjorn asked what she was
going to do.
"A small thing only," she said, "yet maybe the signal of greater things
to come."
They did as she asked them. When they reached the shore she hobbled on
by the sea as if directed to a spot where lay a great stump of a tree
as large as a man could bear on his shoulder. She looked at it and bade
them turn it over before her; the other side looked as if it had been
burned and smoothed. She had a small flat surface cut on its smooth
side; then she took a knife, cut runes upon it, reddened them with her
blood and muttered some spells over it. After that she walked backwards
against the sun round it, and spoke many potent words. Then she made
them push the tree into the sea, and said it should go to Drangey and
that Grettir should suffer hurt from it. Then she went back to Vidvik.
Thorbjorn said he did not know what would come of it. The woman said he
would know more clearly some day. The wind was towards the land up the
fjord, but the woman's stump drifted against the wind, and not more
slowly than would have been expected.
Grettir was sitting in Drangey with his companions very comfortably, as
has been told. On the day following that on which the old woman had
cast her spells upon the tree they went down from the hill to look for
firewood. When they got to the western side of the island they found a
great stump stranded there.
"Here is a fine log for fuel," cried Illugi, "let us carry it home."
Grettir gave it a kick with his foot and said: "An ill tree and ill
sent. We must find other wood for the fire."
He pushed it out into the sea and told Illugi to beware of carrying it
home, for it was sent for their destruction. Then they returned to their
hut and said nothing about the tree to the thrall. The next day they
found the tree again, nearer to the ladder than on the day before.
Grettir put it back into the sea and said he would never carry it home.
That night passed and dirty weather set in with rain, so that they did
not care to go out and told Glaum to fetch fuel. He grumbled very much
and declared it was cruel to make him plague himself to death in every
kind of weather. He descended the ladder and found there the woman's
log. He thought himself lucky, laboured home with it to the hut and
threw it down with a great noise which Grettir heard.
"Glaum has got something; I must go out and see what it is," he said,
and went out, taking his wood-cutting axe with him.
"Let your cutting up of it be no worse than my carrying of it home!"
said Glaum.
Grettir was irritated with the thrall; he used his axe with both hands
and did not notice what tree it was. Directly the axe touched the tree
it turned flat and glanced off into Grettir's right leg. It entered
above his right knee and pierced to the bone, making a severe wound.
Grettir turned to the tree and said: "He who meant me evil has
prevailed; it will not end with this. This is the very log which I twice
rejected. Two disasters have you now brought about, Glaum; first you let
our fire go out, and now you have brought in this tree of ill-fortune. A
third mistake will be the death of you and of us all."
Illugi then bound the wound. It bled little; Grettir slept well that
night and three days passed without its paining him. When they opened
the bandages the flesh had grown together and the wound was almost
healed. Illugi said: "I do not think that you will suffer very long with
this wound."
"That would be well," said Grettir; "it has happened strangely however
it ends; but my mind tells me otherwise."