st of that day, but every now and then
he went inside his house. At last he had gone to his seat, when
in came a woman who had been out of doors, and she said, "You
were too far off to see outside how that proud fellow rode by the
farm-yard!"

"What proud fellow was that," says Lyting "of whom thou
speakest?"

"Hauskuld Njal's son rode here by the yard," she says.

"He rides often here by the farm-yard," said Lyting, "and I can't
say that it does not try my temper; and now I will make thee an
offer, Hauskuld, to go along with thee if thou wilt avenge thy
father and slay Hauskuld Njal's son."

"That I will not do," says Hauskuld, "for then I should repay
Njal, my foster-father, evil for good, and mayst thou and thy
feasts never thrive henceforth."

With that he sprang up away from the board, and made them catch
his horses, and rode home.

Then Lyting said to Grani Gunnar's son, "Thou wert by when Thrain
was slain, and that will still be in thy mind; and thou, too,
Gunnar Lambi's son, and thou, Lambi Sigurd's son. Now, my will
is that we ride to meet him this evening, and slay him."

"No," says Grani, "I will not fall on Njal's son, and so break
the atonement which good men and true have made."

With like words spoke each man of them, and so, too, spoke all
the sons of Sigfus; and they took that counsel to ride away.

Then Lyting said, when they had gone away, "All men know that I
have taken no atonement for my brother-in-law Thrain, and I shall
never be content that no vengeance -- man for man -- shall be
taken for him."

After that he called on his two brothers to go with him, and
three house-carles as well. They went on the way to meet
Hauskuld as he came back, and lay in wait for him north of the
farm-yard in a pit; and there they bided till it was about
mideven (1). Then Hauskuld rode up to them. They jump up all of
them with their arms, and fall on him. Hauskuld guarded himself
well, so that for a long while they could not get the better of
him; but the end of it was at last that he wounded Lyting on the
arm, and slew two of his serving-men, and then fell himself.
They gave Hauskuld sixteen wounds, but they hewed not off the
head from his body. They fared away into the wood east of
Rangriver, and hid themselves there.

That same evening, Rodny's shepherd found Hauskuld dead, and went
home and told Rodny of her son's slaying.

"Was he surely dead?" she asks; "was his head off?"

"It was not