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CHAPTER XIV
THERE was a man named Thorkel, who lived at Hamar.
Ingolf went thither, and met this man’s daughter, who was a handsome woman.
Her father was well enough off, but he was not a person of much consideration
in the country. Ingolf, however, attended properly to his duties as over-looker,
but he did not work as a craftsman so much as he had done, and Márr spoke
to him once about it saying, "I see that my father is not pleased at your
being often away from home." Ingolf gave a fair answer, but it came to
the same thing again, and Márr warned him again a second and third time,
but it was no use.
One evening it happened
that he came home late, and when the men had had their supper Glum said,
"Now let us amuse ourselves, and let each of us say what or whom he most
relies on, and I will have first choice. Well, I choose three things on
which I most rely; the first is my purse, the second is my axe, and the
third is my larder." Then one man after another made his choice, and Glum
called out, "whom do you chose, Ingolf?" His answer was, "Thorkel, of
Hamar." Glum jumped up, held up a the hilt of his sword, and going up
to him said, "A pretty sort of patron you have chosen." All men saw that
Glum was wroth. He went out, and Ingolf went with him, and then Glum said
to him, "Go now to your patron and tell him you have killed Kálf." "Why,"
replied he, "how can I tell him this lie?" "You shall do as I please,"
answered Glum, so they both went together, and Glum turned into the barn,
where he saw a calf before him. "Cut it’s head off," he cried, "and then
go southward across the river and tell Thorkel that you look to him alone
for protection, and show him your bloody sword as the token of the deed
you have done." Ingolf did this; went to Thorkel, and told him as news
how he had not forgooten the blow Kálf had given him, and how he had killed
him. The answer was, "You are a fool, and you have killed a good man;
get you gone as quick as you can, I do not choose that you should be slain
on my premises." Then Ingolf came back again to meet Glum, who asked him
"Well, how did your patron turn out?" "Not over well," said he. "You will
have trouble on your hands," remarked Glum, "if Kálf, of Stockahlad should
really be killed."
Now Glum himself had killed
Kálf, at Stöckahlad, whilst Ingolf was away, and had thus taken vengeance
for him, 1 and the following
day Kálf’s death was publicly known. Thorkel said at once that a fellow
had come thither who had taken the death on himself, so that everybody
thought it was really so. The winter passed on, and Glum sent Ingolf northward,
to the house of Einar, the son of Konál, and gave him nine hundred ells
of cloth. "You have had no wages," he said, "from me," but with your saving
habits you may turn this to good account, and as regards this matter which
is laid to your charge I will take care of that. It shall not hurt you;
I paid you off for your perverseness in this way, and when you come home
you may come and pay me a visit." Ingolf answered, "One thing I beg of
you, do not let the woman be married to any one else." "This, I promise
you," said Glum. Ingolf’s horses were left where they were. Einar, the
son of Konál, got Ingolf conveyed abroad, but Thorvald began a suit at
the Hegranes Thing for the slaughter of Kálf, and it looked as if Ingolf
would be found guilty. Glum was at the Thing, and some of Ingolf’s kinsmen
came to him, and asked him to look after the case, professing their readiness
to contribute to pay the fine for him. Glum told them, "I will se to the
suit without any fine being paid."
When the court went out
to sit, and the defendant was called on for his defence, Glum stated that
the suit was null and void, "for you have proceeded against the wrong
man; I did the deed." Then he named his witnesses, who were to certify
that the suit was void; "for though Ingolf did kill the ’calf’ in the
barn, I did not make any charge against him for that. Now, I will offer
an atonement more according to the worth of the man killed, ant according
to the pride of you men of Espihole." So he did, and the people left the
Thing.
Ingolf was abroad that
winter, and could stand it no longer, but turned his cash into goods,
and purchased valuable articles, and tapestry hangings of rare quality.
Glum had given him a good cloak, and he exchanged that for a scarlet kirtle.
The summer that he had sailed there came out to Iceland the man called
Thiodolf, whose mother lived at Ćsustad. He visited Hamar, and fell in
with Helga. One day Glum was riding up to Hole, and a he went down the
hill at Saurbć, Thiodolf met him. Glum said to him, "I do not like your
visits to Hamar; I mean myself to provide for Helga’s marriage, and if
you do not give this up I shall challenge you to the ‘Holmgang.’" He answered
that he was not going to math himself with Glum, and so he left off going
thither.
Footnotes
1 This sentence
appears to be as sort of gloss introduced in one of the transcripts from
the original MS, but I have inserted it in the text, as it is essential
to the understanding of this strange story. It should be observed that
there is a double pun in the Icelandic which cannot be represented in
a translation. Not only was the man’s name Kálf, but he lived at Stocka-Hlad,
and the calf which Ingolf was made to kill was in the hlada, or
barn.
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Chapter XIV
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