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Page 41
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 be 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."
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