ding-feast was fixed, and
the feast was held half a month before mid-summer, and they were that
winter with Njal.

Then Kari bought him land at Dyrholms, east away by Mydale, and set up a
farm there; they put in there a grieve and housekeeper to see after the
farm, but they themselves were ever with Njal.

CHAPTER XC.

THE QUARREL OF NJAL'S SONS WITH THRAIN SIGFUS' SON.

Hrapp owned a farm at Hrappstede, but for all that he was always at
Gritwater, and he was thought to spoil everything there. Thrain was good
to him.

Once on a time it happened that Kettle of the Mark was at
Bergthorsknoll; then Njal's sons told him of their wrongs and hardships,
and said they had much to lay at Thrain Sigfus' son's door, whenever
they chose to speak about it.

Njal said it would be best that Kettle should talk with his brother
Thrain about it, and he gave his word to do so.

So they gave Kettle breathing-time to talk to Thrain.

A little after they spoke of the matter again to Kettle, but he said
that he would repeat few of the words that had passed between them, "for
it was pretty plain that Thrain thought I set too great store on being
your brother-in-law".

Then they dropped talking about it, and thought they saw that things
looked ugly, and so they asked their father for his counsel as to what
was to be done, but they told him they would not let things rest as they
then stood.

"Such things," said Njal, "are not so strange. It will be thought that
they are slain without a cause, if they are slain now, and my counsel
is, that as many men as may be should be brought to talk with them about
these things, that thus as many as we can find may be ear-witnesses if
they answer ill as to these things. Then Kari shall talk about them too,
for he is just the man with the right turn of mind for this; then the
dislike between you will grow and grow, for they will heap bad words on
bad words when men bring the matter forward, for they are foolish men.
It may also well be that it may be said that my sons are slow to take up
a quarrel, but ye shall bear that for the sake of gaining time, for
there are two sides to everything that is done, and ye can always pick a
quarrel; but still ye shall let so much of your purpose out, as to say
that if any wrong be put upon you that ye do mean something. But if ye
had taken counsel from me at first, then these things should never have
been spoken about at all, and then ye would have gotte