d wounded
many men; but Flosi and his men could do nothing.

At last Flosi said, "We have already gotten great manscathe in
our men; many are wounded, and he slain whom we would choose last
of all. It is now clear that we shall never master them with
weapons; many now there be who are not so forward in fight as
they boasted, and yet they were those who goaded us on most. I
say this most to Grani Gunnar's son, and Gunnar Lambi's son, who
were the least willing to spare their foes. But still we shall
have to take to some other plan for ourselves, and now there are
but two choices left, and neither of them good. One is to turn
away, and that is our death; the other, to set fire to the house,
and burn them inside it; and that is a deed which we shall have
to answer for heavily before God, since we are Christian men
ourselves; but still we must take to that counsel."

ENDNOTES:

(1) The Icelandic word is "heimsokn," a term which still lingers
in the grave offence known in Scottish law as "hamesucken."

128. NJAL'S BURNING

Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors. Then
Skarphedinn said, "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye
taking to cooking?"

"So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt
not need to be better done."

"Thou repayest me," said Skarphedinn, "as one may look for from
the man that thou art. I avenged thy father, and thou settest
most store by that duty which is farthest from thee."

Then the women threw whey on the fire, and quenched it as fast as
they lit it. Some, too, brought water, or slops.

Then Kol Thorstein's son said to Flosi, "A plan comes into my
mind; I have seen a loft over the hall among the crosstrees, and
we will put the fire in there, and light it with the vetch-stack
that stands just above the house."

Then they took the vetch-stack and set fire to it, and they who
were inside were not aware of it till the whole hall was a-blaze
over their heads.

Then Flosi and his men made a great pile before each of the
doors, and then the women folk who were inside began to weep and
to wail.

Njal spoke to them and said, "Keep up your hearts, nor utter
shrieks, for this is but a passing storm, and it will be long
before ye have another such; and put your faith in God, and
believe that he is so merciful that he will not let us burn both
in this world and the next."

Such words of comfort had he for them all, and others still