THE ORDEAL BY FIRE.
Grettir tells his Story—Preparing for the Ordeal—The Procession—Attacked by the Mob—The King Intervenes—Wicked or Unlucky
One day, as King Olaf sat in audience in his great hall, Grettir strode in, and going before his seat, greeted the king. Olaf looked at him and said:
"Are you Grettir the Strong?"
He answered: "That is my name, and I have come hither, kinsman, to get a fair hearing, and to clear myself of the charge of having burned men maliciously. Of that I am guiltless."
King Olaf replied: "I heartily trust that what you say is true, and that you will be able to rid yourself of a charge so bad."
Grettir replied that he was ready to do whatsoever the king desired, in order to prove his innocence.
Then said the king to him, "Tell me the whole story, that I may be able to judge."
Grettir answered by relating the circumstances. He had simply taken fire from the hearth, when he was fallen upon by those who were drinking, and who were too tipsy to understand his explanation. He went away with the red-hot embers, and did not set fire to anything, but the drunken men kicked the glowing coals about amidst the straw.
The king remained silent some moments, and then he said: "There are no witnesses either on your behalf or against you. No man was by who is not dead. God and his angels alone know whether you speak the truth or not, therefore I must refer you to the judgment of God."