Then they went both of them and knocked at the door, and a house- carle went to the door. She steals in by him at once, and goes till she comes to Njal's bed. She asked whether Njal were awake? He said he had slept up to that time, but was then awake. "But why art thou come hither so early?" "Rise thou up," said Rodny, "from thy bed by my rival's side, and come out, and she too, and thy sons, to see thy son Hauskuld." They rose and went out. "Let us take our weapons," said Skarphedinn, "and have them with us." Njal said naught at that, and they ran in and came out again armed. She goes first till they come to the sheepcote; she goes in and bade them follow her. Then she lit a torch, and held it up and said, "Here, Njal, is thy son Hauskuld, and he hath gotten many wounds upon him, and now he will need leechcraft." "I see death marks on him," said Njal, "but no signs of life; but why hast thou not closed his eyes and nostrils? see, his nostrils are still open!" "That duty I meant for Skarphedinn," she says. Then Skarphedinn went to close his eyes and nostrils, and said to his father, "Who, sayest thou, hath slain him?" "Lyting of Samstede and his brothers must have slain him," says Njal. Then Rodny said, "Into thy hands, Skarphedinn, I leave it to take vengeance for thy brother, and I ween that thou wilt take it well, though he be not lawfully begotten, and that thou wilt not be slow to take it." "Wonderfully do ye men behave," said Bergthora, "when ye slay men for small cause, but talk and tarry over such as this until no vengeance at all is taken; and now of this will soon come to Hauskuld, the Priest of Whiteness, and he will be offering you atonement, and you will grant him that, but now is the time to set about it, if ye seek for vengeance." "Our mother eggs us on now with a just goading," said Skarphedinn, and sang a song. "Well we know the warrior's temper (2), One and all, well, father thine, But atonement to the mother, Snake-land's stem (3) and thee were base; He that hoardeth ocean's fire (4) Hearing this will leave his home; Wound of weapon us hath smitten, Worse the lot of those that wait!" After that they all ran out of the sheepcote, but Rodny went indoors with Njal, and was there the rest of the night. ENDNOTES: (1) Mideven, six o'clock p.m. (2) "Warrior's temper," the temper of Hauskuld of Whiteness. (3) "Snake-land's stem," a periphrasis for woman, Rodny. (4) "He that hoardeth ocean's fire," a periphrasis for man, Hauskuld of Whiteness. 104. THE SLAYING OF LYTING'S BROTHERS Now we must speak of Skarphedinn and his brothers, how they bend their course up to Rangriver. Then Skarphedinn said, "Stand we here and listen, and let us go stilly, for I hear the voices of men up along the river's bank. But will ye, Helgi and Grim, deal with Lyting single-handed, or with both his brothers?" They said they would sooner deal with Lyting alone.