d.
"Thou hast behaved like a madman, and here the truth of the old
saw will be proved; `but a short while is hand fain of blow.'
Methinks what thou hast got to look to now is whether thou wilt
be able to save thy life or not."

"Sure enough," says Lyting, "I had hard work to get away, but
still I wish now that thou wouldest get me atoned with Njal and
his sons, so that I might keep my farm."

"So it shall be," says Hauskuld.

After that Hauskuld made them saddle his horse, and rode to
Bergthorsknoll with five men. Njal's sons were then come home
and had laid them down to sleep.

Hauskuld went at once to see Njal, and they began to talk.

"Hither am I come," said Hauskuld to Njal, "to beg a boon on
behalf of Lyting, my uncle. He has done great wickedness against
you and yours, broken his atonement and slain thy son."

"Lyting will perhaps think," said Njal, "that he has already paid
a heavy fine in the loss of his brothers, but if I grant him any
terms, I shall let him reap the good of my love for thee, and I
will tell thee before I utter the award of atonement, that
Lyting's brothers shall fall as outlaws. Nor shall Lyting have
any atonement for his wounds, but on the other hand, he shall pay
the full blood-fine for Hauskuld."

"My wish," said Hauskuld, "is, that thou shouldest make thine own
terms."

"Well," says Njal, "then I will utter the award at once if thou
wilt."

"Wilt thou," says Hauskuld, "that thy sons should be by?"

"Then we should be no nearer an atonement than we were before,"
says Njal, "but they will keep to the atonement which I utter."

Then Hauskuld said, "Let us close the matter then, and handsel
him peace on behalf of thy sons."

"So it shall be," says Njal. "My will then is, that he pays two
hundred in silver for the slaying of Hauskuld, but he may still
dwell at Samstede; and yet I think it were wiser if he sold his
land and changed his abode; but not for this quarrel; neither I
nor my sons will break our pledges of peace to him; but methinks
it may be that some one may rise up in this country against whom
he may have to be on his guard. Yet, lest it should seem that I
make a man an outcast from his native place, I allow him to be
here in this neighbourhood, but in that case he alone is
answerable for what may happen."

After that Hauskuld fared home, and Njal's sons woke up as he
went and asked their father who had come, but he told them that
his foster-son Hauskuld had