CHAPTER XVIII THE ORDEAL BY FIRE––––––––
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 th
