ed
sport enough, and quoth he--

"The thrall must come nigher to scare me."

Thorhall bade him keep silence over that. "Better will it be that ye
have no trial together."

Thorgaut said, "Surely all might is shaken out of you, nor shall I
drop down betwixt morn and eve at such talk."

Now so things go through the winter till Yule-tide. On Yule eve the
shepherd would fare out to his sheep. Then said the good wife--

"Need is it that things go not the old way."

He answered, "Have no fear thereof, goodwife; something worth telling
of will betide if I come not back."

And thereafter he went to his sheep; and the weather was somewhat
cold, and there was much snow. Thorgaut was wont to come home when
twilight had set in, and now he came not at that time. Folk went to
church as they were wont. Men now thought things looked not unlike
what they did before; the bonder would have search made for the
shepherd, but the church-goers begged off, and said that they would
not give themselves into the hands of trolls by night; so the bonder
durst not go, and the search came to nought.

Yule-day, when men were full, they fared out and searched for the
shepherd; they first went to Glam's cairn, because men thought that
from his deeds came the loss of the herdsman. But when they came nigh
to the cairn, there they saw great tidings, for there they found the
shepherd, and his neck was broken, and every bone in him smashed.
Then they brought him to church, and no harm came to men from Thorgaut
afterwards.

But Glam began afresh to wax mighty; and such deeds he wrought, that
all men fled away from Thorhall-stead, except the good man and his
goodwife. Now the same neatherd had long been there, and Thorhall
would not let him go, because of his good will and safe ward; he was
well on in years, and was very loth to fare away, for he saw that all
things the bonder had went to nought from not being watched.

Now after midwinter one morning the housewife fared to the byre to
milk the cows after the wonted time; by then was it broad daylight,
for none other than the neatherd would trust themselves out before
day; but he went out at dawn. She heard great cracking in the byre,
with bellowing and roaring; she ran back crying out, and said she knew
not what uncouth things were going on in the byre.

The bonder went out and came to the cows, which were goring one
another; so he thought it not good to go in there, but went in to the
hay-barn