After the Whitsunday mass, the congregation drank coffee on the slope below the Flatey church. The weather was still fine so everyone sat outside, but otherwise the community center would have been opened for the after-mass coffee. The guests from the various isles took out their picnics, and little clusters of different ages and genders soon formed. District Officer Grimur found himself grouped with the old farmers of the islands. The first topic for discussion was the Dane who had been found out on Ketilsey. One of the inner isle farmers was convinced that foreign pirates had left the man there. And maybe also a treasure. Had anyone looked into that? Grimur confirmed that their investigation had revealed that there was no treasure to be found on Ketilsey. It was then prophesized that the island would be haunted for generations to come and it would yield very little while the curse lasted. Most of them agreed and glanced at the Ystakot clan, Valdi and Jon Ferdinand, who had exclusive rights on that skerry. The two men kept to themselves, drinking coffee and nibbling on the pieces of cake that someone had handed them, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Grimur told the farmers that a reporter from Reykjavik had arrived on Flatey and that he was here to dig up a story about it. The district officer asked the men to be careful about what they said to this guest. There was no need to implicate the locals on the islands in this unfortunate event. There had been enough damage done as it was.
The conversation then shifted to farming and forecasts. There was good news on the pricing front. The head of the co-op had heard that they could get eight hundred kronur for a good seal pup fur and at least fourteen hundred kronur for a kilo of cleaned eiderdown. This could be one of the islands’ best farming years if the weather stayed good.
Question seventeen: King Harald’s meal. Fifth letter. King Olaf walked out to the pond where the children were playing. Then the king called the boys over and asked Guttormur, “What would you most like to own?”
“Fields,” the boy answered.
“How vast would you want the fields to be?”
Guttormur answered, “I would want the ness to be completely sown every summer. There would be ten farms on it.”
Next the king asked Halfdan, “What would you most want to own?”
“Cows,” he answered.
“How many?” the king asked.
“So many that it would be tight for them to drink together if they were to stand all round the lake side by side.”
The king answered, “That would be a big herd. And what would you want, Harald?”
“Soldiers,” he answered.
“How many?”
“I’m not very good at counting,” he said, “but I think it would be good if there were enough of them to eat all of my brother Halfdan’s cows in one meal.”
The king laughed and said, “You are bringing up a king here, Mother!”
The answer is therefore “Halfdan’s cows,” and the fifth letter is d.