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Page 44
There was a man named Thorir dwelling in Gard in Adaldal. He was
a son of Skeggi Bodolfsson, who had settled in Kelduhverfi, on
lands extending right up to Keldunes, and had married Helga the
daughter of Thorgeir at Fiskilaek. Thorir was a great chief, and
a mariner. He had two sons whose names were Thorgeir and Skeggi,
both men of promise, and pretty well grown up at that time.
Thorir had been in Norway in the summer in which Olaf came East
from England, and had won great favour with the king as well as
with Bishop Sigurd. In token of this it is related that Thorir
asked the bishop to consecrate a large sea-going ship he had
built in the forest, and the bishop did so. Later he came out to
Iceland and had his ship broken up because he was tired of
seafaring. He set up the figures from her head and stem over his
doors, where they long remained foretelling the weather, one
howling for a south, the other for a north wind.
When Thorir heard that Olaf had become sole ruler of Norway he
thought he might expect favour from him, so he dispatched his
sons to Norway to wait upon the king, hoping that they would be
received into his service. They reached the south coast late in
the autumn and engaged a rowing vessel to take them up the coast
to the North, intending to go to the king. They reached a port
to the south of Stad, where they put in for a few days. They
were well provided with food and drink, and did not go out much
because of the bad weather.
Grettir also sailed to the North along the coast, and as the
winter was just beginning he often fell in with dirty weather.
When they reached the neighbourhood of Stad the weather became
worse, and at last one evening they were so exhausted with the
snow and frost that they were compelled to put in and lie under a
bank where they found shelter for their goods and belongings.
The men were very much distressed at not being able to procure
any fire; their safety and their lives seemed almost to depend
upon their getting some. They lay there in a pitiful condition
all the evening, and as night came on they saw a large fire on
the other side of the channel which they were in. When Grettir's
companions saw the fire they began talking and saying that he who
could get some of it would be a happy man. They hesitated for
some time whether they should put out, but all agreed that it
would be too dangerous. Then they had a good deal of talk about
whether there was any man living doughty enough to get the fire.
Grettir kept very quiet, but said that there probably had been
men who would not have let themselves be baulked. The men said
that they were none the better for what had been if there were
none now.
"But won't you venture, Grettir? The people of Iceland all talk
so much about your prowess, and you know very well what we want."
Grettir said: "It does not seem to me such a great thing to get
the fire, but I do not know whether you will reward it any better
than he requires who does it."
"Why," they said, "should you take us to be men of so little
honour that we shall not reward you well?"
"Well," said Grettir, "if you really think it so necessary I will
try it; but my heart tells me that no good will come to me
therefrom."
They said it would not be so, and told him that he should have
their thanks.
Then Grettir threw off his clothes and got ready to go into the
water. He went in a cloak and breeches of coarse stuff. He
tucked up the cloak, tied a cord of bast round his waist, and
took a barrel with him. Then he jumped overboard, swam across
the channel and reached the land on the other side. There he saw
a house standing and heard sounds of talking and merriment
issuing from it. So he went towards the house.
We have now to tell of the people who were in the house. They
were the sons of Thorir who have been mentioned. They had been
there some days waiting for a change of weather and for a wind to
carry them to the North. There were twelve of them and they were
all sitting and drinking. They had made fast in the inner
harbour where there was a place of shelter set up for men who
were travelling about the country, and they had carried in a
quantity of straw. There was a huge fire on the ground. Grettir
rushed into the house, not knowing who was there. His cloak had
all frozen directly he landed, and he was a portentous sight to
behold; he looked like a troll. The people inside were much
startled, thinking it was a fiend. They struck at him with
anything they could get, and a tremendous uproar there was.
Grettir pushed them back with his arms. Some of them struck at
him with firebrands, and the fire spread all through the house.
He got away with his fire and returned to his companions, who
were loud in praise of his skill and daring, and said there was
no one like him. The night passed and they were happy now that
they had fire.
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