e borne at all."

The gale grew greater steadily, and now they stood baling for days and
nights together, and all swore to kill Grettir. But when Haflidi heard
this, he went up to where Grettir lay, and said, "Methinks the bargain
between thee and the chapmen is scarcely fair; first thou dost by them
unlawfully, and thereafter thou castest thy rhymes at them; and now
they swear that they will throw thee overboard, and this is unseemly
work to go on."

"Why should they not be free to do as they will?" says Grettir; "but I
well would that one or two of them tarry here behind with me, or ever
I go overboard."

Haflidi says, "Such deeds are not to be done, and we shall never
thrive if ye rush into such madness; but I shall give thee good rede."

"What is that?" says Grettir.

"They blame thee for singing ill things of them; now, therefore, I
would that thou sing some scurvy rhyme to me, for then it might be
that they would bear with thee the easier."

"To thee I never sing but good," says Grettir: "I am not going to make
thee like these starvelings."

"One may sing so," says Haflidi, "that the lampoon be not so foul when
it is searched into, though at first sight it be not over fair."

"I have ever plenty of that skill in me," says Grettir.

Then Haflidi went to the men where they were baling, and said, "Great
is your toil, and no wonder that ye have taken ill liking to Grettir."

"But his lampoons we deem worse than all the rest together," they
said.

Haflidi said in a loud voice, "He will surely fare ill for it in the
end."

But when Grettir heard Haflidi speak blamefully of him, he sang--

"Otherwise would matters be,
When this shouting Haflidi
Ate in house at Reydarfell
Curdled milk, and deemed it well;
He who decks the reindeer's side
That 'twixt ness and ness doth glide,
Twice in one day had his fill
Of the feast of dart shower shrill."[8]

[Footnote 8: This is about as obscure as the original, which seems to
allude to some event not mentioned in the Saga.]

The shipmen thought this foul enough, and said he should not put shame
on Skipper Haflidi for nought.

Then said Haflidi, "Grettir is plentifully worthy that ye should
do him some shame, but I will not have my honour staked against his
ill-will and recklessness; nor is it good for us to wreak vengeance
for this forthwith while we have this danger hanging over us; but be
ye mindful of it when ye land, if so it seem good to yo