17

Treachery on the Heath

Grettir went up to the Arnavatn Heath and built himself a hut near a lake. And because Skapti had urged him to give over robbing other men, he got himself a boat and nets, and lived on the fish he caught in the lake. This was a bad time for him because it was a lonely place at best, but his fear of the dark made it even worse for him than it would have been for other men.

One day Thorodd, Thorbjorn Oxmain’s brother, heard where Grettir was, and he called to him an outlaw named Grim. This was not of course Gamli’s brother, who had ever been Grettir’s friend, but an outlaw from the north. Thorodd promised this Grim money and a pardon for his crimes if he would kill Grettir. Grim went to Grettir’s hut on the heath and asked if he could stay with him.

Remembering Skapti’s warning, Grettir said, “If you were one who could be trusted, you would not be a forest man, forced to live here in the outlands. Still it is a hard thing to live alone and harder for me than for others. I will take you in, but you must share the work with me.”

Grim said he would do whatever was needful, so Grettir took him in. Grim stayed on into the winter with Grettir and watched him closely. It soon became clear to him that it would be no easy thing to attack Grettir, for Grettir was watchful and kept his weapons at hand day and night.

Early one morning Grim came into the hut from fishing and found Grettir still lying by the fire. Grim stamped noisily about to see whether Grettir was truly asleep, but Grettir moved not. Grettir’s sword hung over his head, and it seemed to Grim that he would never have a better chance than this, so he drew the sword, raising it to strike. As he did so, Grettir leaped up, seizing the sword with one hand and Grim with the other, and threw him to the ground.

“So this is how you repay me for my hospitality,” said Grettir. “Now tell me who sent you here.”

Grim told him that he had been sent there by Thorodd, and Grettir slew him. It was then midwinter when the nights were longest and darkest, and because he had had company for some time, from then on Grettir’s night fears were harder for him to bear than ever. He would lie awake for long hours, keeping a fire burning and seeming to see, not merely Glam’s eyes, but many pairs of eyes gathered in a ring around the hut. And when he fell asleep, he would see those same eyes in his dreams. They would draw in closer and closer to him until he would awake with a loud cry and seize his sword, staring about him wildly. And often he would remain this way, huddled by the fire with his sword in his hand until dawn.

Now Grettir’s other great enemy, Thorir of Gard, heard where he was to be found and tried to undo him also. Like Thorodd, he summoned to him an outlaw, this one called Redbeard. Redbeard was one of the strongest men and one of the greatest fighters in Iceland. But when he heard what Thorir wanted him to do, he said, “That will be no easy task. For Grettir was always a watchful man, and now he will be more wary than ever.”

“So much the more praise will you get if you can overcome him,” said Thorir. Then he told Redbeard what a high price had been set on Grettir’s head and said if he could slay him, he would have the sentence of outlawry on Redbeard removed. And in the end Redbeard said he would try it.

Then Redbeard went away into the east and came to the heath from that quarter so that Grettir would not know where he had been, and asked him for shelter.

“That I cannot give you,” said Grettir. “There was one who came here last fall, pretending to be a friend, and before long I found that he had come here to kill me.”

“I do not blame you for being careful,” said Red-beard. “But while you may have heard that I was a manslayer, it has never been said of me that I betrayed my host, for that is the most monstrous of all crimes. I would not have come here if I had anywhere else to go, for this is the loneliest of places. But lonely as it is and hard our lot, we should be able to endure it if we stand together. Will you not at least let me stay here for a while and see how we get on?”

“I will risk that much,” said Grettir. “But know that if I see any sign of treachery, that will be your death.”

So Grettir took him in and found Redbeard to be, not only the strongest of men, but the most willing. Whatever it was that needed to be done, Redbeard did it, and life was easier for Grettir than it had been since he first became an outlaw. But with all that, Grettir remained so careful that Redbeard had no chance to come at him.

In this way a full year went by, and then another, and Redbeard became weary of life on the heath and began thinking harder than ever about how he might catch Grettir off guard.

One night in the spring a sudden storm blew up, and Grettir woke and asked Redbeard if their boat was safe. Redbeard said he would see, and he went down to the lake and stove in the boat so that it would look as if the storm had done it and threw the nets far out into the water.

Then he came back to the hut and said, “We have had bad luck, Grettir. The boat is smashed, and the nets are far out in the lake.”

“Then go and get them,” said Grettir. “For if anything has happened to the boat, it is your fault.”

“You know that since I have been here I have done whatever needed to be done,” said Red-beard. “But this I cannot do as the boat cannot be used and you also know that I cannot swim.”

Then Grettir got up and took his weapons and went down to the lake and saw that what Redbeard had said was true. A point ran out into the lake in this part, and the water was very deep on both sides of it. Grettir stood on the point and looked out to the middle of the lake where the nets floated, and Redbeard said, “Is it such a difficult task to swim out there and get them?”

“It is not difficult,” said Grettir. “But I am still not sure that I can trust you.”

“If you do not after all this time,” said Redbeard, “then perhaps I should leave the heath.”

“Let us make a test of it then,” said Grettir, and he stripped off his clothes and put down his weapons and went into the lake. He swam out to where the nets were and gathered them together and swam back to one side of the point. He cast the nets up on the shore and was climbing the bank when Redbeard drew Grettir’s sword and ran toward him to cut him down. Grettir threw himself backward, sinking like a stone. Then as Redbeard stood there waiting for him to rise again, Grettir swam underwater around the point and came up on the other side of it. Since it was still night and the only light was that of the fitful moon, Redbeard could not see what he was doing. Grettir came ashore quietly, and the first Redbeard knew of it was when Grettir was behind him. Grettir lifted him up and threw him down again with such force that the sword fell from his hand. Grettir seized it, and without another word he slew Redbeard.

After that, though it was still very hard for him to be alone, Grettir would have naught to do with any other outlaw.