Then Thangbrand thrusts a sword into his breast, and Gudleif smote him on the arm and hewed it off.  Then many went up and slew the Baresark.

After that Thangbrand asked if they would take the faith now?

Gest said he had only spoken what he meant to keep to.

Then Thangbrand baptised Gest and all his house and many others.  Then Thangbrand took counsel with Gest whether he should go any further west among the firths, but Gest set his face against that, and said they were a hard race of men there, and ill to deal with, “but if it be foredoomed that this faith shall make its way, then it will be taken as law at the Althing, and then all the chiefs out of the districts will be there”.

“I did all that I could at the Thing,” says Thangbrand, “and it was very uphill work.”

“Still thou hast done most of the work,” says Gest, “though it may be fated that others shall make Christianity law; but it is here as the saying runs, ’No tree falls at the first stroke’.”

After that Gest gave Thangbrand good gifts, and he fared back south.  Thangbrand fared to the Southlander’s Quarter, and so to the Eastfirths.  He turned in as a guest at Bergthorsknoll, and Njal gave him good gifts.  Thence he rode east to Alftafirth to meet Hall of the Side.  He caused his ship to be mended, and heathen man called it “Iron-basket”.  On board that ship Thangbrand fared abroad, and Gudleif with him.

CHAPTER C.

OF GIZUR THE WHITE AND HJALLTI.

That same summer Hjallti Skeggi’s son was outlawed at the Thing for blasphemy against the Gods.

Thangbrand told King Olaf of all the mischief that the Icelanders had done to him, and said that they were such sorcerers there that the earth burst asunder under his horse and swallowed up the horse.

Then King Olaf was so wroth that he made them seize all the men from Iceland and set them in dungeons, and meant to slay them.

Then they, Gizur the white and Hjallti, came up and offered to lay themselves in pledge for those men, and fare out to Iceland and preach the faith.  The king took this well, and they got them all set free again.

Then Gizur and Hjallti busked their ship for Iceland, and were soon “boun”.  They made the land at Eyrar when ten weeks of summer had passed; they got them horses at once, but left other men to strip their ship.  Then they ride with thirty men to the Thing, and sent word to the Christian men that they must be ready to stand by them.

Hjallti stayed behind at Reydarmull, for he had heard that he had been made an outlaw for blasphemy, but when they came to the “Boiling Kettle"[62] down below the brink of the Rift,[63] there came Hjallti after them, and said he would not let the heathen men see that he was afraid of them.

Then many Christian men rode to meet them, and they ride in battle array to the Thing.  The heathen men had drawn up their men in array to meet them, and it was a near thing that the whole body of the Thing had come to blows, but still it did not go so far.