The day following, Thorarin went again to the Lawhill, and brought
forward his errand in the following words:--"King Olaf sends his message
to his friends here in the country, among whom he reckons Gudmund
Eyjolfson, Snorre Gode, Thorkel Eyjolfson, Skapte the lagman, and
Thorstein Halson, and desires them by me to come to him on a friendly
visit; and adds, that ye must not excuse yourselves, if you regard his
friendship as worth anything." In their answer they thanked the king for
his message and added, that they would afterwards give a reply to it
by Thorarin when they had more closely considered the matter with their
friends. The chiefs now weighed the matter among themselves, and each
gave his own opinion about the journey. Snorre and Skapte dissuaded from
such a dangerous proceeding with the people of Norway; namely, that
all the men who had the most to say in the country should at once leave
Iceland. They added, that from this message, and from what Einar had
said, they had the suspicion that the king intended to use force and
strong measures against the Icelanders if he ruled in the country.
Gudmund and Thorkel Eyjolfson insisted much that they should follow King
Olaf's invitation, and called it a journey of honour. But when they had
considered the matter on all sides, it was at last resolved that they
should not travel themselves, but that each of them should send in
his place a man whom they thought best suited for it. After this
determination the Thing was closed, and there was no journey that
summer. Thorarin made two voyages that summer, and about harvest was
back again at King Olaf's, and reported the result of his mission,
and that some of the chiefs, or their sons, would come from Iceland
according to his message.