In the middle of the night Rolf and Grani waked, and missed Frodi from
their side. Moreover they heard a noise, which was not the howling of
the storm, but was like the splintering of wood and the snarling of
men's breaths as they wrestled in fight. Then Rolf snatched a torch
from the fire and ran within the mound; Grani followed, and they
climbed on board the ship.
There lay Frodi and the viking together: they had been fighting all
about the place, and the thwarts and oars were broken; in one place
even the bulwark of the ship was torn away. But Frodi had forced the
viking into the seat where first he had sat; and there Frodi held him,
while the viking struggled still, glaring from glassy eyes, and Frodi
could do naught but keep him where he was. Little more breath had
Frodi, but yet he held his grip on the viking's arms.
Then Rolf drew his short-sword, and sprang in at the viking, and hewed
at the neck of him, so that the head sprang off at the stroke; but no
blood followed. Frodi lay and breathed deeply, but Rolf took the head
of the viking and laid it at his thigh.
With those heathen ghosts which did harm to man, there was no way to
quiet them except to hew off the head and lay it at the thigh. And
such things happened to many men, even as is here told; but the
greatest ghost-layer, says Sturla the Lawman, was Grettir the Strong.
When Frodi had got his breath, they asked him how all that had come
about. "Nothing do I know about it," answered Frodi, "save that he
came and dragged me in my sleep hither, and sought to throttle me. I
had much ado to master him."
They went back and slept until the day came, but the storm was still
so violent that they could not travel. Then they made larger the
entrance to the mound so that light came into the ship; and they
buried the viking in the ground. Now when they came to examine his
treasures, Grani and Frodi were busy long, casting aside each thing
for something better. But after Rolf had searched for only a short
while, he sat still and looked no further. Grani saw that he had
something.
"What precious thing hast thou there?" asked he.
"This," said Rolf, "which I found on the back of the viking's seat."
He showed them a bow which had hung there in a leathern case. Of some
foreign wood it was, tipped with horn, and bound at the middle with
wire of fine gold to form a grip. It seemed very strong, cunningly
made: a wonderful weapon. And there was a quiver with it, bearing
thirty arrows, long and barbed for war.
"Now," said Grani, "this is far better than jewels or fine cloths, and
it is the best weapon here. Thou shalt give it to me."
Rolf gave him the bow. And when they went again to look out upon the
storm, the clouds were breaking and sunbeams were coming through. So
they took the bow and some small gear, and started for Hawksness,
where they found Ar nigh wild for fear; but their coming made him
happy. And Grani told all that had happened to them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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