Then the Earl went aside by himself, away from other men, and bade that no man should follow him, and so he stays a while.  He fell down on both his knees, and held his hands before his eyes; after that he went back to them, and then he said to them, “Come with me”.

So they went along with him.  He turns short away from the path on which they had walked before, and they came to a dell.  There up sprang Hrapp before them, and there it was that he had hidden himself at first.

The Earl urges on his men to run after him, but Hrapp was so swift-footed that they never came near him.  Hrapp made for Hlada.  There both Thrain and Njal’s sons lay “boun” for sea at the same time.  Hrapp runs to where Njal’s sons are.

“Help me, like good men and true,” he said, “for the Earl will slay me.”

Helgi looked at him and said—­

“Thou lookest like an unlucky man, and the man who will not take thee in will have the best of it.”

“Would that the worst might befall you from me,” says Hrapp.

“I am the man,” says Helgi, “to avenge me on thee for this as time rolls on.”

Then Hrapp turned to Thrain Sigfus’ son, and bade him shelter him.

“What hast thou on thy hand?” says Thrain.

“I have burnt a shrine under the Earl’s eyes, and slain some men, and now he will be here speedily, for he has joined in the hue and cry himself.”

“It hardly beseems me to do this,” says Thrain, “when the Earl has done me so much good.”

Then he showed Thrain the precious things which he had borne out of the shrine, and offered to give him the goods, but Thrain said he could not take them unless he gave him other goods of the same worth for them.

“Then,” said Hrapp, “here will I take my stand, and here shall I be slain before thine eyes, and then thou wilt have to abide by every man’s blame.”

Then they see the Earl and his band of men coming, and then Thrain took Hrapp under his safeguard, and let them shove off the boat, and put out to his ship.

Then Thrain said, “Now this will be thy best hiding place, to knock out the bottoms of two casks, and then thou shalt get into them”.

So it was done, and he got into the casks, and then they were lashed together, and lowered over-board.

Then comes the Earl with his band to Njal’s sons, and asked if Hrapp had come there.

They said that he had come.

The Earl asked whither he had gone thence.

They said they had not kept eyes on him, and could not say.

“He,” said the Earl, “should have great honour from me who would tell me where Hrapp was.”

Then Grim said softly to Helgi—­

“Why should we not say.  What know I whether Thrain will repay us with any good?”

“We should not tell a whit more for that,” says Helgi, “when his life lies at stake.”

“Maybe,” said Grim, “the Earl will turn his vengeance on us, for he is so wroth that some one will have to fall before him.”