at once to meet him, and told him of
their wrongs and hardships, and showed him their wounds, and said
the earl would be then asleep.

"Ill is it," said Kari, "that ye should suffer such wrongs for
wicked men; but what now would be most to your minds?"

"To fall on the earl," they say, "and slay him."

"This will not be fated," says Kari; "but still ye do not lack
heart, but we will first know whether he is there now."

After that they fared thither, and then the earl was up and away.

Then Kari sailed in to Hlada to meet the earl, and brought him
the Orkney scatts, so the earl said, "Hast thou taken Njal's sons
into thy keeping?"

"So it is, sure enough," says Kari.

"Wilt thou hand Njal's sons over to me?" asks the earl.

"No, I will not," said Kari.

"Wilt thou swear this," says the earl, "that thou wilt not fall
on me with Njal's sons?"

Then Eric, the earl's son, spoke and said, "Such things ought
not to be asked. Kari has always been our friend, and things
should not have gone as they have, had I been by. Njal's sons
should have been set free from all blame, but they should have
had chastisement who had wrought for it. Methinks now it would
be more seemly to give Njal's sons good gifts for the hardships
and wrongs which have been put upon them, and the wounds they
have got."

"So it ought to be, sure enough," says the earl, "but I know not
whether they will take an atonement."

Then the earl said that Kari should try the feeling of Njal's
sons as to an atonement.

After that Kari spoke to Helgi, and asked whether he would take
any amends from the earl or not.

"I will take them," said Helgi, "from his son Eric, but I will
have nothing to do with the earl."

Then Kari told Eric their answer.

"So it shall be." says Eric. "He shall take the amends from me
if he thinks it better; and tell them this too, that I bid them
to my house, and my father shall do them no harm."

This bidding they took, and went to Eric's house, and were with
him till Kari was ready to sail west across the sea to meet Earl
Sigurd.

Then Eric made a feast for Kari, and gave him gifts, and Njal's
sons gifts too. After that Kari fared west across the sea, and
met Earl Sigurd, and he greeted them very well, and they were
with the earl that winter.

But when the spring came, Kari asked Njal's sons to go on warfare
with him, but Grim said they would only do so if he would fare
with them afterwards out to Iceland. Ka