our outlaw, and then put my
life in peril, and for that I had of you great honour."

"More honour shalt thou now have," says the Earl.

Now Thrain thought within himself, and could not make up his mind how
the Earl would take it, so he denies that Hrapp is there, and bade the
Earl to look for him. He spent little time on that, and went on land
alone, away from other men, and was then very wroth, so that no man
dared to speak to him.

"Show me to Njal's sons," said the Earl, "and I will force them to tell
me the truth."

Then he was told that they had put out of the harbour.

"Then there is no help for it," says the Earl, "but still there were two
water-casks alongside of Thrain's ship, and in them a man may well have
been hid, and if Thrain has hidden him, there he must be; and now we
will go a second time to see Thrain."

Thrain sees that the Earl means to put off again and said--

"However wroth the Earl was last time, now he will be half as wroth
again, and now the life of every man on board the ship lies at stake."

They all gave their words to hide the matter, for they were all sore
afraid. Then they took some sacks out of the lading, and put Hrapp down
into the hold in their stead, and other sacks that were tight were laid
over him.

Now comes the Earl, just as they were done stowing Hrapp away. Thrain
greeted the Earl well. The Earl was rather slow to return it, and they
saw that the Earl was very wroth.

Then said the Earl to Thrain--

"Give thou up Hrapp, for I am quite sure that thou hast hidden him."

"Where shall I have hidden him, Lord?" says Thrain.

"That thou knowest best," says the Earl; "but if I must guess, then I
think that thou hiddest him in the water-casks a while ago."

"Well!" says Thrain, "I would rather not be taken for a liar, far sooner
would I that ye should search the ship."

Then the Earl went on board the ship and hunted and hunted, but found
him not.

"Dost thou speak me free now?" says Thrain. "Far from it," says the
Earl, "and yet I cannot tell why we cannot find him, but methinks I see
through it all when I come on shore, but when I come here, I can see
nothing."

With that he made them row him ashore. He was so wroth that there was no
speaking to him. His son Sweyn was there with him, and he said, "A
strange turn of mind this to let guiltless men smart for one's wrath!"

Then the Earl went away alone aside from other men, and after that he
went back to them at