Now in that nick of time the horses reared up high, and Grettir ran under his horse’s hocks, and thrust his staff so hard at the side of Odd that three ribs brake in him, but he was hurled out into deep water, together with his horse and all the horses that were tied together.  Then men swam out to him and dragged him out of the river; then was a great hooting made thereat; Kormak’s folk ran to their weapons, as did the men of Biarg in another place.  But when the Ramfirthers and the men of Waterness saw that, they went betwixt them, and they were parted and went home, but both sides had ill-will one with the other, though they sat peacefully at home for a while.

Atli was sparing of speech over this, but Grettir was right unsparing, and said that they would meet another time if his will came to pass.

CHAP.  XXX.

Of Thorbiorn Oxmain and Thorbiorn Tardy, and of Grettir’s meeting with Kormak on Ramfirth-neck.

Thorbiorn was the name of a man who dwelt at Thorodstead in Ramfirth; he was the son of Arnor Hay-nose,[13] the son of Thorod, who had settled Ramfirth on that side out as far as Bank was on the other.

[Footnote 13:  In the Landnama he is called ‘Hy-nef;’ the meaning is doubtful, but it seems that the author of this history means to call him Hay-nose.]

Thorbiorn was the strongest of all men; he was called Oxmain.  Thorod was the name of his brother, he was called Drapa-Stump; their mother was Gerd, daughter of Bodvar, from Bodvars-knolls.  Thorbiorn was a great and hardy warrior, and had many men with him; he was noted as being worse at getting servants than other men, and barely gave he wages to any man, nor was he thought a good man to deal with.  There was a kinsman of his hight Thorbiorn, and bynamed Tardy; he was a sailor, and the namesakes were partners.  He was ever at Thorodstead, and was thought to better Thorbiorn but little.  He was a fault-finding fellow, and went about jeering at most men.

There was a man hight Thorir, the son of Thorkel of Boardere.  He farmed first at Meals in Ramfirth; his daughter was Helga, whom Sleita-Helgi had to wife, but after the man-slaying in Fairslope Thorir set up for himself his abode south in Hawkdale, and farmed at the Pass, and sold the land at Meals to Thorhall, son of Gamli the Vendlander.[14] His son was Gamli, who had to wife Ranveig, daughter of Asmund the Greyhaired, and Grettir’s sister.  They dwelt at that time at Meals, and had good hap.  Thorir of the Pass had two sons, one hight Gunnar, the other Thorgeir; they were both hopeful men, and had then taken the farm after their father, yet were for ever with Thorbiorn Oxmain, and were growing exceeding unruly.

[Footnote 14:  Ed. 1853 has the “Wide-landed, Viethlendings,” which here is altered agreeably to the correction in ch. 14, p. 29.]

The summer after that just told, Kormak and Thorgils and Narfi their kinsman rode south to Northriverdale, on some errand of theirs.  Odd the Foundling-skald fared also with them, and by then was gotten healed of the stiffness he gained at the horse-fight.  But while they were south of the heath, Grettir fared from Biarg, and with him two house-carles of Atli’s.  They rode over to Bowerfell, and thence over the mountain neck to Ramfirth, and came to Meals in the evening.