The Greenlanders - Jane Smiley [122]
“He is a good hunter and a prosperous man. Soon he will have another wife to help her, and her life will be an easy one, although it is true that he is young to marry.”
Margret turned to Asta and said, “I think he is marrying someone else, too.”
“This courtship has gone on for many days, and Quimiak is most anxious to bring it to a conclusion.”
Now Margret spoke loudly to the older skraeling. “My friend and I must consult together about this.” She waved her hand toward the bottom of the slope, and the leader said a few words. Soon the skraelings were out of sight of the house, although the breeze carried sounds of their talking to the two women. Margret and Asta sat down upon a stone that lay against the south wall of the steading, and a little time passed before they began to converse. At last Margret said, “It seems to me that things have passed that I have known nothing of.”
Now Asta smiled and said, “And it seems to me that things have passed that I have known nothing of, as well.” And they sat silently for another short time.
Margret said, “This is the smallest of steadings, and will never support both of us in both summer and winter, and in addition to that, Marta Thordardottir is growing old, and I doubt that Isleif or Ragnleif will greet us with such pleasure as Marta does every autumn.”
“And though it may not be able to support two, yet one would not be able to live in such a lonely spot.”
“That may be or may not be.”
“No one knows how the skraelings live. And this one smelled like an old sealskin that hasn’t been cleaned properly, and yet—” But she fell silent.
“And yet?”
“And yet, like as not one such as I will get few enough offers from others.”
“But skraelings aren’t men. They are demons, and do the work of Satan.”
“Many men marry skraeling women and father children. Their wives’ mothers come to live with them on their steadings.”
“And all are baptized, and they live as Norsemen, and change their names, and worship in church as others do.”
“I was greatly fond of Jonas Skulason, that is a fact.”
“My father’s brother, Hauk Gunnarsson, used to go to the Northsetur as a young man, and he had much to do with skraelings, and he used to say that these folk, for he considered them folk and not demons, were used to traveling great distances in the darkest part of winter, and in fact in the places where they go, the sun never shines after the winter nights.”
“Why is it that they make these journeys?”
“They have no sheep, and spend all of their time hunting walrus and whale and seal and bears.”
“It may be that they are never hungry.”
“It may be. My father’s brother was not a little impressed with their skills.”
“Hauk Gunnarsson was himself well known as a hunter.”
“It may be that they are never hungry.” Now Margret looked steadily at Asta and said, “Sira Pall Hallvardsson would say one thing, and that is, what availeth a man to gain the world if he loseth his soul? And it may be that the children of God are meant to go hungry in this world. It is not for us to walk with demons in order to have full bellies.”
“It is true that as few priests as we have among us here, there are fewer than that in the wastelands. And we know nothing of these folk. And yet, I think often of little Jonas. More often now than I did.”
Margret looked at Asta, then out toward the fjord. Finally she said, “The pain of such thoughts always turns to pleasure, and the pleasure of them always turns to pain, it seems to me.” Now they stood up and walked down the slope, and the skraelings turned to them at the sound of their steps, and Margret declared to the older man that Asta would speak for herself, then Asta said, “It is true that a daughter leaves her folk and takes up the ways of a husband’s folk, as skraeling women have come to live among the Greenlanders. But a daughter of God must not turn away from Him, and embrace unholy ways.”
Now the older skraeling spoke to Quimiak, and then said to Margret, “This girl is oddly unwilling, since she received Quimiak’s gift, and kept it with her in her hand. When a girl does