But she brought no charge against him.  Then Hrut made them ask his neighbours and household how he treated her, and all bore him good witness, saying that she did just as she pleased in the house.

Then Mord said, “Home thou shalt go, and be content with thy lot; for all the witness goes better for him than for thee”.

After that Hrut rode home from the Thing, and his wife with him, and all went smoothly between them that summer; but when spring came it was the old story over again, and things grew worse and worse as the spring went on.  Hrut had again a journey to make west to the Firths, and gave out that he would not ride to the Althing, but Unna his wife said little about it.  So Hrut went away west to the Firths.

CHAPTER VII.

UNNA SEPARATES FROM HRUT.

Now the time for the Thing was coming on, Unna spoke to Sigmund Auzur’s son, and asked if he would ride to the Thing with her; he said he could not ride if his kinsman Hrut set his face against it.

“Well!” says she, “I spoke to thee because I have better right to ask this from thee than from any one else.”

He answered, “I will make a bargain with thee:  thou must promise to ride back west with me, and to have no underhand dealings against Hrut or myself”.

So she promised that, and then they rode to the Thing.  Her father Mord was at the Thing, and was very glad to see her, and asked her to stay in his booth white the Thing lasted, and she did so.

“Now,” said Mord, “what hast thou to tell me of thy mate, Hrut?”

Then she sung him a song, in which she praised Hrut’s liberality, but said he was not master of himself.  She herself was ashamed to speak out.

Mord was silent a short time, and then said—­

“Thou hast now that on thy mind I see, daughter, which thou dost not wish that any one should know save myself, and thou wilt trust to me rather than any one else to help thee out of thy trouble.”

Then they went aside to talk, to a place where none could overhear what they said; and then Mord said to his daughter—­

“Now tell me all that is between you two, and don’t make more of the matter than it is worth.”

“So it shall be,” she answered, and sang two songs, in which she revealed the cause of their misunderstanding; and when Mord pressed her to speak out, she told him how she and Hrut could not live together, because he was spell-bound, and that she wished to leave him.

“Thou didst right to tell me all this,” said Mord, “and now I will give thee a piece of advice, which will stand thee in good stead, if thou canst carry it out to the letter.  First of all, thou must ride home from the Thing, and by that time thy husband will have come back, and will be glad to see thee; thou must he blithe and buxom to him, and he will think a good change has come over thee, and thou must show no signs of coldness or ill-temper,