GROWTH

OF THE

SOIL

Translated from the Norwegian of

KNUT HAMSUN

by W. W. WORSTER

[ORIGINAL TITLE "MARKENS GRØDE"]

1917

Chapter I

The long, long road over the moors and up into the forest--who trod itinto being first of all? Man, a human being, the first that came here. There was no path before he came. Afterward, some beast or other, following the faint tracks over marsh and moorland, wearing themdeeper; after these again some Lapp gained scent of the path, and tookthat way from field to field, looking to his reindeer. Thus was madethe road through the great Almenning--the common tracts without anowner; no-man's-land. 

The man comes, walking toward the north. He bears a sack, the firstsack, carrying food and some few implements. A strong, coarse fellow, with a red iron beard, and little scars on face and hands; sites ofold wounds--were they gained in toil or fight? Maybe the man has beenin prison, and is looking for a place to hide; or a philosopher, maybe, in search of peace. This or that, he comes; the figure of a manin this great solitude. He trudges on; bird and beast are silent allabout him; now and again he utters a word or two; speaking to himself. "Eyah--well, well. .. . "--so he speaks to himself. Here and there, wherethe moors give place to a kindlier spot, an open space in the midst ofthe forest, he lays down the sack and goes exploring; after a whilehe returns, heaves the sack to his shoulder again, and trudges on. Sothrough the day, noting time by the sun; night falls, and he throwshimself down on the heather, resting on one arm. 

A few hours' rest, and he is on the move again: "Eyah, well. .. . "--moving northward again, noting time by the sun; a meal ofbarley cakes and goats' milk cheese, a drink of water from the stream, and on again. This day too he journeys, for there are many kindlyspots in the woods to be explored. What is he seeking? A place, apatch of ground? An emigrant, maybe, from the homestead tracts; hekeeps his eyes alert, looking out; now and again he climbs to the topof a hill, looking out. The sun goes down once more. 

He moves along the western side of a valley; wooded ground, with leafytrees among the spruce and pine, and grass beneath. Hours of this, andtwilight is falling, but his ear catches the faint purl of runningwater, and it heartens him like the voice of a living thing. He climbsthe slope, and sees the valley half in darkness below; beyond, the skyto the south. He lies down to rest. 

The morning shows him a range of pasture and woodland. He moves down, and there is a green hillside; far below, a glimpse of the stream, and a hare bounding across. The man nods his head, as it wereapprovingly--the stream is not so broad but that a hare may cross itat a bound. A white grouse sitting close upon its nest starts up athis feet with an angry hiss, and he nods again: feathered game andfur--a good spot this. Heather, bilberry, and cloudberry cover theground; there are tiny ferns, and the seven-pointed star flowers ofthe winter-green. Here and there he stops to dig with an iron tool, and finds good mould, or peaty soil, manured with the rotted wood andfallen leaves of a thousand years. He nods, to say that he has foundhimself a place to stay and live: ay, he will stay here and live. Twodays he goes exploring the country round, returning each evening tothe hillside. He sleeps at night on a bed of stacked pine; already hefeels at home here, with a bed of pine beneath an overhanging rock. 

The worst of his task had been to find the place; this no-man's place, but his. Now, there was work to fill his days. He started at once, stripping birch bark in the woods farther off, while the sap was stillin the trees. The bark he pressed and dried, and when he had gathereda heavy load, carried it all the miles back to the village, to be soldfor building. Then back to the hillside, with new sacks of food andimplements; flour and pork, a cooking-pot, a spade--out and back alongthe way he had come, carrying loads all the time. A born carrier ofloads, a lumbering barge of a man in the forest--oh, as if he lovedhis calling, tramping long roads and carrying heavy burdens; as iflife without a load upon one's shoulders were a miserable thing, nolife for him. 

One day he came up with more than the load he bore; came leading threegoats in a leash. He was proud of his goats as if they had been hornedcattle, and tended them kindly. Then came the first stranger passing, a nomad Lapp; at sight of the goats, he knew that this was a man whohad come to stay, and spoke to him. 

"You going to live here for good?"

"Ay, " said the man. 

"What's your name?"

"Isak. You don't know of a woman body anywhere'd come and help?"

"No. But I'll say a word of it to all I meet. "

"Ay, do that. Say I've creatures here, and none to look to them. "

The Lapp went on his way. Isak--ay, he would say a word of that. Theman on the hillside was no runaway; he had told his name. A runaway?He would have been found. Only a worker, and a hardy one. He set aboutcutting winter fodder for his goats, clearing the ground, digging afield, shifting stones, making a wall of stones. By the autumn he hadbuilt a house for himself, a hut of turf, sound and strong and warm;storms could not shake it, and nothing could burn it down. Here wasa home; he could go inside and shut the door, and stay there; couldstand outside on the door-slab, the owner of that house, if any shouldpass by. There were two rooms in the hut; for himself at the one end, and for his beasts at the other. Farthest in, against the wall ofrock, was the hayloft. Everything was there. 

Two more Lapps come by, father and son. They stand resting with bothhands on their long staves, taking stock of the hut and the clearing, noting the sound of the goat-bells up on the hillside. 

"_Goddag_" say the Lapps. "And here's fine folk come to live. " Lappstalk that way, with flattering words. 

"You don't know of any woman hereabouts to help?" says Isak, thinkingalways of but one thing. 

"Woman to help? No. But we'll say a word of it. "

"Ay, if you'd be so good. That I've a house and a bit of ground here, and goats, but no woman to help. Say that. "

Oh, he had sought about for a woman to help each time he had been downto the village with his loads of bark, but there was none to be found. They would look at him, a widow or an old unmarried one or so, but allafraid to offer, whatever might be in their minds. Isak couldn't tellwhy. Couldn't tell why? Who would go as help to live with a man in thewilds, ever so many miles away--a whole day's journey to the nearestneighbour? And the man himself was no way charming or pleasant by hislooks, far from it; and when he spoke it was no tenor with eyes toheaven, but a coarse voice, something like a beast's. 

Well, he would have to manage alone. 

In winter, he made great wooden troughs, and sold them in the village, carrying sacks of food and tools back through the snow; hard days whenhe was tied to a load. There were the goats, and none to look to them;he could not be away for long. And what did he do? Need made him wise;his brain was strong and little used; he trained it up to ever moreand more. His first way was to let the goats loose before starting offhimself, so that they could get a full feed among the undergrowthin the woods. But he found another plan. He took a bucket, a greatvessel, and hung it up by the river so that a single drop fell in at atime, taking fourteen hours to fill it. When it was full to the brim, the weight was right; the bucket sank, and in doing so, pulled a lineconnected with the hayloft; a trap-door opened, and three bundles offodder came through--the goats were fed. 

That was his way. 

A bright idea; an inspiration, maybe, sent from God. The man had noneto help him but himself. It served his need until late in the autumn;then came the first snow, then rain, then snow again, snowing all thetime. And his machine went wrong; the bucket was filled from above, opening the trap too soon. He fixed a cover over, and all went wellagain for a time; then came winter, the drop of water froze to anicicle, and stopped the machine for good. 

The goats must do as their master--learn to do without. 

Hard times--the man had need of help, and there was none, yet still hefound a way. He worked and worked at his home; he made a window in thehut with two panes of real glass, and that was a bright and wonderfulday in his life. No need of lighting fires to see; he could sitindoors and work at his wooden troughs by daylight. Better days, brighter days . .. Eyah!

He read no books, but his thoughts were often with God; it wasnatural, coming of simplicity and awe. The stars in the sky, the windin the trees, the solitude and the wide-spreading snow, the mightof earth and over earth filled him many times a day with a deepearnestness. He was a sinner and feared God; on Sundays he washedhimself out of reverence for the holy day, but worked none the less asthrough the week. 

Spring came; he worked on his patch of ground, and planted potatoes. His livestock multiplied; the two she-goats had each had twins, makingseven in all about the place. He made a bigger shed for them, readyfor further increase, and put a couple of glass panes in there too. Ay, 'twas lighter and brighter now in every way. 

And then at last came help; the woman he needed. She tacked about fora long time, this way and that across the hillside, before venturingnear; it was evening before she could bring herself to come down. Andthen she came--a big, brown-eyed girl, full-built and coarse, withgood, heavy hands, and rough hide brogues on her feet as if shehad been a Lapp, and a calfskin bag slung from her shoulders. Notaltogether young; speaking politely; somewhere nearing thirty. 

There was nothing to fear; but she gave him greeting and said hastily:"I was going cross the hills, and took this way, that was all. "

"Ho, " said the man. He could barely take her meaning, for she spoke ina slovenly way, also, she kept her face turned aside. 

"Ay, " said she, "'tis a long way to come. "

"Ay, it's that, " says the man. "Cross the hills, you said?"

"Yes. "

"And what for?"

"I've my people there. "

"Eh, so you've your people there? And what's your name?"

"Inger. And what's yours?"

"Isak. "

"Isak? H'm. D'you live here yourself, maybe?"

"Ay, here, such as it is. "

"Why, 'tis none so bad, " said she to please him. 

Now he had grown something clever to think out the way of things, andit struck him then she'd come for that very business and no other; hadstarted out two days back just to come here. Maybe she had heard ofhis wanting a woman to help. 

"Go inside a bit and rest your feet, " said he. 

They went into the hut and took a bit of the food she had brought, andsome of his goats' milk to drink; then they made coffee, that she hadbrought with her in a bladder. Settled down comfortably over theircoffee until bedtime. And in the night, he lay wanting her, and shewas willing. 

She did not go away next morning; all that day she did not go, buthelped about the place; milked the goats, and scoured pots and thingswith fine sand, and got them clean. She did not go away at all. Ingerwas her name. And Isak was his name. 

And now it was another life for the solitary man. True, this wife ofhis had a curious slovenly way of speech, and always turning her faceaside, by reason of a hare-lip that she had, but that was no matter. Save that her mouth was disfigured, she would hardly have come tohim at all; he might well be grateful for that she was marked with ahare-lip. And as to that, he himself was no beauty. Isak with the ironbeard and rugged body, a grim and surly figure of a man; ay, as a manseen through a flaw in the window-pane. His look was not a gentle one;as if Barabbas might break loose at any minute. It was a wonder Ingerherself did not run away. 

She did not run away. When he had been out, and came home again, therewas Inger at the hut; the two were one, the woman and the hut. 

It was another mouth for him to feed, but no loss in that; he hadmore freedom now, and could go and stay as he needed. And there werematters to be looked to away from home. There was the river; pleasantto look at, and deep and swift besides; a river not to be despised;it must come from some big water up in the hills. He got himself somefishing gear and went exploring; in the evening he came back witha basket of trout and char. This was a great thing to Inger, and amarvel; she was overwhelmed, being no way used to fine dishes. Sheclapped her hands and cried out: "Why! Wherever. .. . " And she was notslow to see how he was pleased at her surprise, and proud of it, forshe said more in the same strain--oh, she had never seen the like, andhow had he ever managed to find such things!

Inger was a blessing, too, in other ways. No clever head nor great inwit, maybe--but she had two lambing ewes with some of her kinsfolk, and brought them down. It was the best they could have wished for atthe hut; sheep with wool and lambs four new head to their stock aboutthe place; it was growing, getting bigger; a wonder and a marvel howtheir stock was grown. And Inger brought more; clothes, and littletrifles of her own, a looking-glass and a string of pretty glassbeads, a spinning-wheel, and carding-combs. Why, if she went on thatgait the hut would soon be filled from floor to roof and no room formore! Isak was astonished in his turn at all this wealth of goods, butbeing a silent man and slow to speak, he said nothing, only shambledout to the door-slab and looked at the weather, and shambled in again. Ay, he had been lucky indeed; he felt himself more and more in love, or drawn towards her, or whatever it might be. 

"You've no call to fetch along all such stuff, " said he. "Tis morethan's needed. "

"I've more if I like to fetch it. And there's uncle Sivertbesides--you've heard of him?" "No. "

"Why, he's a rich man, and district treasurer besides. "

Love makes a fool of the wise. Isak felt he must do something grandhimself, and overdid it. "What I was going to say; you've no need tobother with hoeing potatoes. I'll do it myself the evening, when Icome home. "

And he took his ax and went off to the woods. 

She heard him felling in the woods, not so far off; she could hearfrom the crash that he was felling big timber. She listened for awhile, and then went out to the potato field and set to work hoeing. Love makes fools wise. 

Isak came home in the evening, hauling a huge trunk by a rope. Oh, that simple and innocent Isak, he made all the noise he could with histree-trunk, and coughed and hemmed, all for her to come out and wonderat him. And sure enough:

"Why, you're out of your senses, " said Inger when she came out. "Isthat work for a man single-handed?" He made no answer; wouldn't havesaid a word for anything. To do a little more than was work for a mansingle-handed was nothing to speak of--nothing at all. A stick oftimber--huh! "And what are you going to do with it?" she asked. 

"Oh, we'll see, " he answered carelessly, as if scarcely heeding shewas there. 

But when he saw that she had hoed the potatoes after all he was notpleased. It was as if she had done almost as much as he; and that wasnot to his liking. He slipped the rope from the tree-trunk and wentoff with it once more. 

"What, haven't you done yet?"

"No, " said he gruffly. 

And he came back with another stick like the last, only with no noisenor sign of being out of breath; hauled it up to the hut like an ox, and left it there. 

That summer he felled a mass of timber, and brought it to the hut. 

Chapter II

Inger packed up some food one day in her calfskin bag. "I'd thought ofgoing across to see my people, just how they're faring. "

"Ay, " said Isak. 

"I must have a bit of talk with them about things. "

Isak did not go out at once to see her off, but waited quite a while. And when at last he shambled out, looking never the least bit anxious, never the least bit miserable and full of fear, Inger was all butvanished already through the fringe of the forest. 

"Hem!" He cleared his throat, and called, "Will you be coming backmaybe?" He had not meant to ask her that, but. .. . 

"Coming back? Why, what's in your mind? Of course I'll be comingback. "

"H'm. "

So he was left alone again--eyah, well . .. ! With his strength, and thelove of work that was in him, he could not idle in and out about thehut doing nothing; he set to, clearing timber, felling straight, goodsticks, and cutting them flat on two sides. He worked at this allthrough the day, then he milked the goats and went to bed. 

Sadly bare and empty now in the hut; a heavy silence clung aboutthe peat walls and the earthen floor; a deep and solemn loneliness. Spinning-wheel and carding-combs were in their place; the beads, too, were safe as they had been, stowed away in a bag under the roof. Ingerhad taken nothing of her belongings. But Isak, unthinkably simple ashe was, grew afraid of the dark in the light summer nights, and sawShapes and Things stealing past the window. He got up before dawn, about two o'clock by the light, and ate his breakfast, a mighty dishof porridge to last the day, and save the waste of time in cookingmore. In the evening he turned up new ground, to make a bigger fieldfor the potatoes. 

Three days he worked with spade and ax by turns; Inger should becoming on the next. 'Twould be but reasonable to have a platter offish for her when she came--but the straight road to the water lay bythe way she would come, and it might seem. .. . So he went a longer way;a new way, over the hills where he had never been before. Grey rockand brown, and strewed about with bits of heavy stone, heavy as copperor lead. There might be many things in those heavy stones; gold orsilver, like as not--he had no knowledge of such things, and did notcare. He came to the water; the fly was up, and the fish were bitingwell that night. He brought home a basket of fish that Inger wouldopen her eyes to see! Going back in the morning by the way he hadcome, he picked up a couple of the heavy little stones among thehills; they were brown, with specks of dark blue here and there, andwondrous heavy in the hand. 

Inger had not come, and did not come. This was the fourth day. Hemilked the goats as he had used to do when he lived alone with themand had no other to help; then he went up to a quarry near by andcarried down stones; great piles of carefully chosen blocks andflakes, to build a wall. He was busy with no end of things. 

On the fifth evening, he turned in to rest with a little fear at hisheart--but there were the carding-combs and spinning-wheel, and thestring of beads. Sadly empty and bare in the hut, and never a sound;the hours were long, and when at last he did hear something like asound of footsteps outside, he told himself that it was fancy, nothingmore. "Eyah, _Herregud_!" [Footnote: Literally, "Lord God. " The wordis frequently used, as here, in a sense of resignation, as it were asigh. ] he murmured, desolate in spirit. And Isak was not one to usewords lightly. There was the tramping of feet again outside, and amoment after something gliding past the window; something with horns, something alive. He sprang up, over to the door, and lo, a vision!"God or the devil, " muttered Isak, who did not use words lightly. Hesaw a cow; Inger and a cow, vanishing into the shed. 

If he had not stood there himself and heard it--Inger talking softlyto the cow in the shed--he would not have believed. But there hestood. And all at once a black misgiving came into his mind: a cleverwife, ay, a manager of wonders--but, after all. .. . No, it was toomuch, and that was the only word for it. A spinning-wheel andcarding-combs at a pinch; even the beads perhaps, though they wereover fine to be come by in any way proper and natural. But a cow, picked up straying on the road, maybe, or in a field--it would bemissed in no time, and have to be found. 

Inger stepped out of the shed, and said with a proud little laugh:

"It's only me. I've brought my cow along. "

"H'm, " said Isak. 

"It was that made me so long--I couldn't go but softly with her overthe hills. "

"And so you've brought a cow?" said he. 

"Yes, " said she, all ready to burst with greatness and riches onearth. "Don't you believe me, perhaps?"

Isak feared the worst, but made no sign, and only said:

"Come inside and get something to eat. "

"Did you see her? Isn't she a pretty cow?"

"Ay, a fine cow, " said Isak. And speaking as carelessly as he could, he asked, "Where d'you get her?"

"Her name's Goldenhorns. What's that wall to be for you've beenbuilding up here? You'll work yourself to death, you will. Oh, comeand look at the cow, now, won't you?"

They went out to look, and Isak was in his underclothes, but that wasno matter. They looked and looked the cow all over carefully, in everypart, and noted all the markings, head and shoulders, buttocks andthighs, where it was red and white, and how it stood. 

"How old d'you think she might be?" asked Isak cautiously. 

"Think? Why, she's just exactly a tiny way on in her fourth year. Ibrought her up myself, and they all said it was the sweetest calfthey'd ever seen. But will there be feed enough here d'you think?"

Isak began to believe, as he was only too willing to do, that all waswell. "As for the feed, why, there'll be feed enough, never fear. "

Then they went indoors to eat and drink and make an evening together. They lay awake talking of Cow; of the great event. "And isn't she adear cow, too? Her second's on the way. And her name's Goldenhorns. Are you asleep, Isak?"

"No. "

"And what do you think, she knew me again; knew me at once, andfollowed me like a lamb. We lay up in the hills a bit last night. "

"Ho?"

"But she'll have to be tied up through the summer, all the same, orshe'll be running off. A cow's a cow. "

"Where's she been before?" asked Isak at last. 

"Why, with my people, where she belonged. And they were quite sorry tolose her, I can tell you; and the little ones cried when I took heraway. "

Could she be making it all up, and coming out with it so pat? No, itwasn't thinkable. It must be true, the cow was hers. Ho, they weregetting well-to-do, with this hut of theirs, this farm of theirs; why, 'twas good enough for any one. Ay, they'd as good as all they couldwish for already. Oh, that Inger; he loved her and she loved himagain; they were frugal folk; they lived in primitive wise, and lackedfor nothing. "Let's go to sleep!" And they went to sleep. And wakenedin the morning to another day, with things to look at, matters to seeto, once again; ay, toil and pleasure, ups and downs, the way of life. 

As, for instance, with those timber baulks--should he try to fit themup together? Isak had kept his eyes about him down in the village, with that very thing in mind, and seen how it was done; he could buildwith timber himself, why not? Moreover, it was a call upon him;it must be done. Hadn't they a farm with sheep, a farm with a cowalready, goats that were many already and would be more?--their livestock alone was crowding them out of the turf hut; something must bedone. And best get on with it at once, while the potatoes were stillin flower, and before the haytime began. Inger would have to lend ahand here and there. 

Isak wakes in the night and gets up, Inger sleeping fine and soundafter her long tramp, and out he goes to the cowshed. Now it must notbe thought that he talked to Cow in any obsequious and disgustfulflattery; no, he patted her decently, and looked her over once more inevery part, to see if there should, by chance, be any sign, any markof her belonging to strange owners. No mark, no sign, and Isak stealsaway relieved. 

There lies the timber. He falls to, rolling the baulks, then liftingthem, setting them up against the wall in a framework; one big framefor a parlour, and a smaller one--there must be a room to sleep in. Itwas heavy work, hard-breathing work, and his mind being set on it, heforgot the time. There comes a smoke from the roof-hole of the hut, and Inger steps out and calls to breakfast. 

"And what are you busy with now?" asked Inger. 

"You're early about, " says Isak, and that was all. 

Ho, that Isak with his secrets and his lordly ways! But it pleasedhim, maybe, to have her asking and wondering, and curious about hisdoings. He ate a bit, and sat for a while in the hut before going outagain. What could he be waiting for?

"H'm, " says he at last, getting up. "This won't do. Can't sit hereidling today. Work to be done. "

"Seems like you're building, " says Inger. "What?"

And he answered condescendingly, this great man who went aboutbuilding with timber all by himself, he answered: "Why, you can see asmuch, I take it. "

"Yes. .. . Yes, of course. "

"Building--why, there's no help for it as I can see. . Here's you comebringing a whole cow to the farm--that means a cowshed, I suppose?"

Poor Inger, not so eternally wise as he, as Isak, that lord ofcreation. And this was before she learned to know him, and reckon withhis way of putting things. Says Inger:

"Why, it's never a cowshed you're building, surely?"

"Ho, " says he. 

"But you don't mean it? I--I thought you'd be building a house first. "

"Think so?" says Isak, putting up a face as if he'd never in life havethought of that himself. 

"Why yes. And put the beasts in the hut. "

Isak thought for a bit. "Ay, maybe 'twould be best so. "

"There, " says Inger, all glad and triumphant. "You see I'm some goodafter all. "

"Ay, that's true. And what'd you say to a house with two rooms in?"

"_Two_ rooms? Oh . .. ! Why, 'twould be just like other folks. Do youthink we could?"

They did. Isak he went about building, notching his baulks and fittingup his framework; also he managed a hearth and fireplace of pickedstones, though this last was troublesome, and Isak himself was notalways pleased with his work. Haytime came, and he was forced toclimb down from his building and go about the hillsides far and near, cutting grass and bearing home the hay in mighty loads. Then one rainyday he must go down to the village. 

"What you want in the village?"

"Well, I can't say exactly as yet. .. . "

He set off, and stayed away two days, and came Back with acooking-stove--a barge of a man surging up through the forest witha whole iron stove on his back. "'Tis more than a man can do, " saidInger. "You'll kill yourself that gait. " But Isak pulled down thestone hearth, that didn't look so well in the new house, and setup the cooking-stove in its place. "'Tisn't every one has acooking-stove, " said Inger. "Of all the wonders, how we're gettingon!. .. "

Haymaking still; Isak bringing in loads and masses of hay, forwoodland grass is not the same as meadow grass, more's the pity, butpoorer by far. It was only on rainy days now that he could spare timefor his building; 'twas a lengthy business, and even by August, whenall the hay was in, safely stored under the shelter of the rock, thenew house was still but half-way done. Then by September: "This won'tdo, " said Isak. "You'd better run down to the village and get a man tohelp. " Inger had been something poorly of late, and didn't run muchnow, but all the same she got herself ready to go. 

But Isak had changed his mind again; had put on his lordly manneragain, and said he would manage by himself. "No call to bother withother folk, " says he; "I can manage it alone. "

"'Tis more than one man's work, " says Inger. "You'll wear yourselfout. "

"Just help me to hoist these up, " says Isak, and that was all. 

October came, and Inger had to give up. This was a hard blow, for theroof-beams must be got up at any cost, and the place covered in beforethe autumn rains; there was not a day to be lost. What could be wrongwith Inger? Not going to be ill? She would make cheese now and thenfrom the goats' milk, but beyond that she did little save shiftingGoldenhorns a dozen times a day where she grazed. 

"Bring up a good-sized basket, or a box, " she had said, "next timeyou're down to the village. "

"What d'you want that for?" asked Isak. 

"I'll just be wanting it, " said Inger. 

Isak hauled up the roof-beams on a rope, Inger guiding them with onehand; it seemed a help just to have her about. Bit by bit the workwent on; there was no great height to the roof, but the timber washuge and heavy for a little house. 

The weather kept fine, more or less. Inger got the potatoes in byherself, and Isak had the roofing done before the rain came on inearnest. The goats were brought in of a night into the hut and allslept there together; they managed somehow, they managed everyway, anddid not grumble. 

Isak was getting ready for another journey down to the village. SaidInger very humbly:

"Do you think perhaps you could bring up a good-sized basket, or abox?"

"I've ordered some glass windows, " said Isak. "and a couple of painteddoors. I'll have to fetch them up, " said he in his lordly way. 

"Ay well, then. It's no great matter about the basket. "

"What did you want with a basket? What's it for?"

"What's it for?. .. Oh, haven't you eyes in your head!"

Isak went off deep in thought. Two days later he came back, with awindow and a door for the parlour, and a door for the bedroom; also hehad hung round his neck in front a good-sized packing-case, and fullof provisions to boot. 

"You'll carry yourself to death one day, " said Inger. 

"Ho, indeed!" Isak was very far indeed from being dead; he took outa bottle of medicine from his pocket--naphtha it was--and gave it toInger with orders to take it regularly and get well again. And therewere the windows and the painted doors that he could fairly boast of;he set to work at once fitting them in. Oh, such little doors, andsecondhand at that, but painted up all neat and fine again in red andwhite; 'twas almost as good as having pictures on the walls. 

And now they moved into the new building, and the animals had the turfhut to themselves, only a lambing ewe was left with Cow, lest sheshould feel lonely. 

They had done well, these builders in the waste: ay, 'twas a wonderand a marvel to themselves. 

Chapter II

Isak worked on the land until the frost act in; there were stones androots to be dug up and cleared away, and the meadow to be levelledready for next year. When the ground hardened, he left his field workand became a woodman, felling and cutting up great quantities of logs. 

"What do you want with all these logs?" Inger would say. 

"Oh, they'll be useful some way, " said Isak off-handedly, as though hehad no plan. But Isak had a plan, never fear. Here was virgin forest, a dense growth, right close up to the house, a barrier hedging inhis fields where he wanted room. Moreover, there must be some way ofgetting the logs down to the village that winter; there were folkenough would be glad of wood for firing. It was sound enough, and Isakwas in no doubt; he stuck to his work in the forest, felling trees andcutting them up into logs. 

Inger came out often, to watch him at work. He took no notice, butmade as if her coming were no matter, and not at all a thing he wishedfor her to do; but she understood all the same that it pleased him tohave her there. They had a strange way, too, of speaking to each otherat times. 

"Couldn't you find things to do but come out here and get starkfrozen?" says Isak. 

"I'm well enough for me, " says Inger. "But I can't see there's anyliving sense in you working yourself to death like you do. "

"Ho! You just pick up that coat of mine there and put it on you. "

"Put on your coat? Likely, indeed. I've no time to sit here now, withGoldenhorns ready to calve and all. "

"H'm, Calving, you say?"

"As if you didn't know! But what do you think now about that samecalf. Let it stay and be weaned, maybe?"

"Do as you think; 'tis none of my business with calves and things. "

"Well, 'twould be a pity to eat up calf, seems to me. And leave uswith but one cow on the place. "

"Don't seem to me like you'd do that anyway, " says Isak. 

That was their way. Lonely folk, ugly to look at and overfull ofgrowth, but a blessing for each other, for the beasts, and for theearth. 

And Goldenhorns calved. A great day in the wilderness, a joy and adelight. They gave her flour-wash, and Isak himself saw to it therewas no stint of flour, though he had carried it all the way himself, on his back. And there lay a pretty calf, a beauty, red-flanked likeher mother, and comically bewildered at the miracle of coming into theworld. In a couple of years she would be having calves of her own. 

"'Twill be a grand fine cow when she grows up, " said Inger. "And whatare we to call her, now? I can't think. "

Inger was childish in her ways, and no clever wit for anything. 

"Call her?" said Isak. "Why, Silverhorns, of course; what else?"

The first snow came. As soon as there was a passable road, Isak setout for the village, full of concealment and mystery as ever, whenInger asked his errand. And sure enough, he came back this time with anew and unthinkable surprise. A horse and sledge, nothing less. 

"Here's foolishness, " says Inger. "And you've not stolen it, Isuppose?"

"Stolen it?"

"Well, found it, then?"

Now if only he could have said: "'Tis my horse--our horse. .. . " Butto tell the truth, he had only hired it, after all. Hired horse andsledge to cart his logs. 

Isak drove down with his loads of firewood, and brought back food, herrings and flour. And one day he came up with a young bull on thesledge; bought it for next to nothing, by reason they were gettingshort of fodder down in the village. Shaggy and thin, no ways abeauty, but decently built for all that, and wanted no more thanproper feed to set it right. And with a cow they had already. .. . 

"What'll you be bringing up next?" said Inger. 

Isak brought up a host of things. Brought up planks and a saw he hadgot in exchange for timber; a grindstone, a wafer iron, tools--allin exchange for his logs. Inger was bursting with riches, and saideach time: "What, more things! When we've cattle and all a body couldthink of!"

They had enough to meet their needs for no little time to come, andwere well-to-do folk. What was Isak to start on again next spring? Hehad thought it all out, tramping down beside his loads of wood thatwinter; he would clear more ground over the hillside and level it off, cut up more logs to dry through the summer, and take down double loadswhen the snow came fit for sledging. It worked out beautifully. 

But there was another matter Isak had thought of times out of number:that Goldenhorns, where had she come from, whose had she been? Therewas never a wife on earth like Inger. Ho! a wild thing she was, thatlet him do as he pleased with her, and was glad of it. But--supposeone day they were to come for the cow, and take it away--and worse, maybe, to come after? What was it Inger herself had said about thehorse: "You haven't stolen it, I suppose, or found it?" That was herfirst thought, yes. That was what she had said; who could say if shewere to be trusted--what should he do? He had thought of it all manya time. And here he had brought up a mate himself for the cow--for astolen cow, maybe!

And there was the horse he would have to return again. A pity--for'twas a little friendly beast, and grown fond of them already. 

"Never mind, " said Inger comfortingly. "Why, you've done wondersalready. "

"Ay, but just now with the spring coming on--and I've need of ahorse. .. . "

Next morning he drove off quietly with the last load, and was away twodays. Coming back on foot the third day, he stopped as he neared thehouse, and stood listening. There was a curious noise inside. .. . Achild crying--Eyah, _Herregud_!. .. Well, there it was; but a terriblestrange thing. And Inger had never said a word. 

He stepped inside, and there first thing of all was thepacking-case--the famous packing-case that he had carried home slunground his neck in front; there it was, hung up by a string at each endfrom the ceiling, a cradle and a bedplace for the child. Inger was up, pottering about half-dressed--she had milked the cow and the goats, asit might have been just an ordinary day. 

The child stopped crying. "You're through with it already?" said Isak. 

"Ay, I'm through with it now. "

"H'm. "

"It came the first evening you were gone. "

"H'm. "

"I'd only to get my things off and hang up the cradle there, but itwas too much for me, like, and I had to lie down. "

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Why, I couldn't say to a minute when it'd be. 'Tis a boy. "

"Ho, a boy. "

"And I can't for the life of me think what we're to call him, " saidInger. 

Isak peeped at the little red face; well shaped it was, and nohare-lip, and a growth of hair all thick on the head. A fine littlefellow for his rank and station in a packing-case; Isak felt himselfcuriously weak. The rugged man stood there with a miracle before him;a thing created first of all in a sacred mist, showing forth now inlife with a little face like an allegory. Days and years, and themiracle would be a human being. 

"Come and have your food, " said Inger. .. . 

 * * * * *

Isak is a woodman, felling trees and sawing logs. He is better off nowthan before, having a saw. He works away, and mighty piles of woodgrow up; he makes a street of them, a town, built up of stacks andpiles of wood. Inger is more about the house now, and does not comeout as before to watch him at his work; Isak must find a pretext nowand then to slip off home for a moment instead. Queer to have a littlefellow like that about the place! Isak, of course, would never dreamof taking any notice--'twas but a bit of a thing in a packing-case. And as for being fond of it . .. But when it cried, well, it was onlyhuman nature to feel just a little something for a cry like that; alittle tiny cry like that. 

"Don't touch him!" says Inger. "With your hands all messed up withresin and all!"

"Resin, indeed!" says Isak. "Why, I haven't had resin on my handssince I built this house. Give me the boy, let me take him--there, he's as right as can be!"

 * * * * *

Early in May came a visitor. A woman came over the hills to thatlonely place where none ever came; she was of Inger's kinsfolk, thoughnot near, and they made her welcome. 

"I thought I'd just look in, " she says, "and see how Goldenhorns getson since she left us. "

Inger looks at the child, and talks to it in a little pitying voice:"Ah, there's none asks how he's getting on, that's but a little tinything. "

"Why, as for that, any one can see how he's getting on. A fine littlelad and all. And who'd have thought it a year gone, Inger, to find youhere with house and husband and child and all manner of things. "

"'Tis no doing of mine to praise. But there's one sitting there thattook me as I was and no more. "

"And wedded?--Not wedded yet, no, I see. "

"We'll see about it, the time this little man's to be christened, "says Inger. "We'd have been wedded before, but couldn't come by it, getting down to a church and all. What do you say, Isak?"

"Wedded?" says Isak. "Why, yes, of course. "

"But if as you'd help us, Oline, " says Inger. "Just to come up for afew days in the off time once, and look to the creatures here whilewe're away?"

Ay, Oline would do that. 

"We'll see it's no loss to you after. "

Why, as to that, she'd leave it to them. .. . "And you're buildingagain, I see. Now what'll that be for? Isn't there built enough?"

Inger sees her chance and puts in here: "Why, you must ask him aboutthat. I'm not to know. "

"Building?" says Isak. "Oh, 'tis nothing to speak of. A bit of ashed, maybe, if we should need it. What's that you were saying aboutGoldenhorns? You'd like to see her?"

They go across to the cowshed, and there's cow and calf to show, andan ox to boot. The visitor nods her head, looking at the beasts, andat the shed; all fine as could be, and clean as couldn't be cleaner. "Trust Inger for looking after creatures every way, " says Oline. 

Isak puts a question: "Goldenhorns was at your place before?"

"Ay, from a calf. Not my place, though; at my son's. But 'tis all thesame. And we've her mother still. "

Isak had not heard better news a long while; it was a burden lighter. Goldenhorns was his and Inger's by honest right. To tell the truth, hehad half thought of getting rid of his trouble in a sorry way; to killoff the cow that autumn, scrape the hide, bury the horns, and thusmake away with all trace of Cow Goldenhorns in this life. No need forthat now. And he grew mightily proud of Inger all at once. 

"Ay, Inger, " says he. "She's one to manage things, that's true. There's not her like nor equal to be found. 'Twas a poor place heretill I got a woman of my own, as you might say. "

"Why, 'tis but natural so, " says Oline. 

And so this woman from across the hills, a soft-spoken creature withher wits about her, and by name Oline, she stayed with them a coupleof days, and had the little room to sleep in. And, when she set outfor home, she had a bundle of wool that Inger had given her, from thesheep. There was no call to hide that bundle of wool, but Oline tookcare that Isak should not see it. 

Then the child and Isak and his wife again; the same world again, andthe work of the day, with many little joys and big. Goldenhorns wasyielding well, the goats had dropped their kids and were yieldingwell; Inger had a row of red and white cheeses already, stored away toget ripe. It was her plan to save up cheeses till there were enough tobuy a loom. Oh, that Inger; she knew how to weave. 

And Isak built a shed--he too had a plan of his own, no doubt. He setup a new wing built out from the side of the turf hut, with doublepanelling boards, made a doorway in it, and a neat little window withfour panes; laid on a roof of outer boards, and made do with thattill the ground thawed and he could get turf. All that was useful andnecessary; no flooring, no smooth-planed walls, but Isak had fixed upa box partition, as for a horse, and a manger. 

It was nearing the end of May. The sun had thawed the high ground;Isak roofed in his shed with turf and it was finished. Then onemorning he ate a meal to last for the day, took some more food withhim, shouldered pick and spade, and went down to the village. 

"Bring up three yards of cotton print, if you can, " Inger called afterhim. 

"What do you want with that?" said Isak. 

Isak was long away; it almost seemed as if he had gone for good. Ingerlooked at the weather every day, noting the way of the wind, as if shewere expecting a sailing-ship; she went out at nighttime to listen;even thought of taking the child on her arm and going after him. Thenat last he came back, with a horse and cart. "_Piro_!" shouted Isak ashe drew up; shouted so as to be heard. And the horse was well behaved, and stood as quiet as could be, nodding at the turf hut as if it knewthe place again. Nevertheless, Isak must call out, "Hi, come and holdthe horse a bit, can't you?"

Out goes Inger. "Where is it now? Oh, Isak, have you hired him again?Where have you been all this time? 'Tis six days gone. "

"Where d'you think I'd be? Had to go all sorts of ways round to find aroad for this cart of mine. Hold the horse a bit, can't you?"

"Cart of yours! You don't mean to say you've bought that cart?"

Isak dumb; Isak swelling with things unspoken. He lifts out a ploughand a harrow he has brought; nails, provisions, a grindstone, a sackof corn. "And how's the child?" he asks. 

"Child's all right. Have you bought that cart, that's what I want toknow? For here have I been longing and longing for a loom, " says shejestingly, in her gladness at having him back again. 

Isak dumb once more, for a long space, busied with his own affairs, pondering, looking round for a place to put all his goods andimplements; it was hard to find room for them all. But when Inger gaveup asking, and began talking to the horse instead, he came out of hislofty silence at last. 

"Ever see a farm _without_ a horse and cart, and plough and harrows, and all the rest of it? And since you want to know, why, I've boughtthat horse and cart, and all that's in it, " says he. 

And Inger could only shake her head and murmur: "Well, I never did seesuch a man!"

Isak was no longer littleness and humility; he had paid, as it were, like a gentleman, for Goldenhorns. "Here you are, " he could say. "I'vebrought along a horse; we can call it quits. "

He stood there, upright and agile, against his wont; shifted theplough once more, picked it up and carried it with one hand and stoodit up against the wall. Oh, he could manage an estate! He took up theother things: the harrow, the grindstone, a new fork he had bought, all the costly agricultural implements, treasures of the new home, agrand array. All requisite appliances--nothing was lacking. 

"H'm. As for that loom, why, we'll manage that too, I dare say, aslong as I've my health. And there's your cotton print; they'd none butblue, so I took that. "

There was no end to the things he brought. A bottomless well, rich inall manner of things, like a city store. 

Says Inger: "I wish Oline could have seen all this when she was here. "

Just like a woman! Sheer senseless vanity--as if that mattered! Isaksniffed contemptuously. Though perhaps he himself would not have beendispleased if Oline had been there to see. 

The child was crying. 

"Go in and look after the boy, " said Isak. "I'll look to the horse. "

He takes out the horse and leads it into the stable: ay, here is Isakputting his horse into the stable. Feeds it and strokes it andtreats it tenderly. And how much was owing now, on that horse andcart?--Everything, the whole sum, a mighty debt; but it should all bepaid that summer, never fear. He had stacks of cordwood to pay with, and some building bark from last year's cut, not to speak of heavytimber. There was time enough. But later on, when the pride and gloryhad cooled off a little, there were bitter hours of fear and anxiety;all depended on the summer and the crops; how the year turned out. 

The days now were occupied in field work and more field work; hecleared new bits of ground, getting out roots and stones; ploughing, manuring, harrowing, working with pick and spade, breaking lumps ofsoil and crumbling them with hand and heel; a tiller of the groundalways, laying out fields like velvet carpets. He waited a couple ofdays longer--there was a look of rain about--and then he sowed hiscorn. 

For generations back, into forgotten time, his fathers before him hadsowed corn; solemnly, on a still, calm evening, best with a gentlefall of warm and misty rain, soon after the grey goose flight. Potatoes were a new thing, nothing mystic, nothing religious; womenand children could plant them--earth-apples that came from foreignparts, like coffee; fine rich food, but much like swedes and mangolds. Corn was nothing less than bread; corn or no corn meant life or death. 

Isak walked bareheaded, in Jesu name, a sower. Like a tree-stump withhands to look at, but in his heart like a child. Every cast was madewith care, in a spirit of kindly resignation. Look! the tiny grainsthat are to take life and grow, shoot up into ears, and give morecorn again; so it is throughout all the earth where corn is sown. Palestine, America, the valleys of Norway itself--a great wide world, and here is Isak, a tiny speck in the midst of it all, a sower. Littleshowers of corn flung out fanwise from his hand; a kindly clouded sky, with a promise of the faintest little misty rain. 

Chapter IV

It was the slack time between the seasons, but the woman Oline did notcome. 

Isak was free of the soil now; he had two scythes and two rakes readyfor the haymaking; he made long bottom boards for the cart for gettingin the hay, and procured a couple of runners and some suitable woodto make a sledge for the winter. Many useful things he did. Even toshelves. He set up a pair of shelves inside the house, as an excellentplace to keep various things, such as an almanac--he had bought one atlast--and ladles and vessels not in use. Inger thought a deal of thosetwo shelves. 

Inger was easily pleased; she thought a great deal of everything. There was Goldenhorns, for instance, no fear of her running away now, with the calf and bull to play with; she ran about in the woods allday long. The goats too were thriving, their heavy udders almostdragging on the ground. Inger made a long robe of blue cotton print, and a little cap of the same stuff, as pretty as could be--and thatwas for the christening. The boy himself watched her at work many atime; a blessed wonder of a boy he was, and if she was so bent oncalling him Eleseus, why, Isak supposed she must have her way. Whenthe robe was finished, it had a long train to it, nigh on a yard anda half of cotton print, and every inch of it money spent; but what ofthat--the child was their first-born. 

"What about those beads of yours?" said Isak. "If as they're ever tobe used at all. .. . "

Oh, but Inger had thought of them already, those beads of hers. Trusta mother for that. Inger said nothing, and was very proud. The beadswere none so many; they would not make a necklace for the boy, butthey would look pretty stitched on the front of his cap, and therethey should be. 

But Oline did not come. 

If it had not been for the cattle, they could have gone off all threeof them, and come back a few days later with the child properlychristened. And if it had not been for that matter of getting wedded, Inger might have gone by herself. 

"If we put off the wedding business for a bit?" said Isak. But Ingerwas loth to put it off; it would be ten or twelve years at leastbefore Eleseus was old enough to stay behind and look to the milkingwhile they went. 

No, Isak must use his brains to find a way. The whole thing had comeabout somehow without their knowing; maybe the wedding business wasjust as important as the christening--how should he know? The weatherlooked like drought--a thoroughly wicked drought; if the rain did notcome before long, their crops would be burnt up. But all was in thehand of God. Isak made ready to go down to the village and find someone to come up. All those miles again!

And all that fuss just to be wed and christened. Ay, outlying folkshad many troubles, great and small. 

At last Oline did come. .. . 

And now they were wedded and christened, everything decently in order;they had remembered to have the wedding first, so the child could bechristened as of a wedded pair. But the drought kept on, and the tinycornfields were parched, those velvet carpets parched--and why? 'Twasall in the hand of God. Isak mowed his bits of meadow; there waslittle grass on them for all he had manured them well that spring. Hemowed and mowed on the hillsides, farther and farther out; mowing andturning and carting home loads of hay, as if he would never tire, --forhe had a horse already, and a well-stocked farm. But by mid-July hehad to cut the corn for green fodder, there was no help for it. Andnow all depended on the potato crop. 

What was that about potatoes? Were they just a thing from foreignparts, like coffee; a luxury, an extra? Oh, the potato is a lordlyfruit; drought or downpour, it grows and grows all the same. It laughsat the weather, and will stand anything; only deal kindly with it, andit yields fifteen-fold again. Not the blood of a grape, but the fleshof a chestnut, to be boiled or roasted, used in every way. A man maylack corn to make bread, but give him potatoes and he will not starve. Roast them in the embers, and there is supper; boil them in water, andthere's a breakfast ready. As for meat, it's little is needed beside. Potatoes can be served with what you please; a dish of milk, aherring, is enough. The rich eat them with butter; poor folk managewith a tiny pinch of salt. Isak could make a feast of them on Sundays, with a mess of cream from Goldenhorns' milk. Poor despised potato--ablessed thing!

But now--things look black even for the potato crop. 

Isak looked at the sky unnumbered times in the day. And the sky wasblue. Many an evening it looked as if a shower were coming. Isak wouldgo in and say, "Like as not we'll be getting that rain after all. " Anda couple of hours later all would be as hopeless as before. 

The drought had lasted seven weeks now, and the heat was serious;the potatoes stood all the time in flower; flowering marvellously, unnaturally. The cornfields looked from a distance as if under snow. Where was it all to end? The almanac said nothing--almanacs nowadayswere not what they used to be; an almanac now was no good at all. Nowit looked like rain again, and Isak went in to Inger: "We'll have rainthis night, God willing. "

"Is it looking that way?"

"Ay. And the horse is shivering a bit, like they will. "

Inger glanced towards the door and said, "Ay, you see, 'twill comeright enough. "

A few drops fell. Hours passed, they had their supper, and when Isakwent out in the night to look, the sky was blue. 

"Well, well, " said Inger; "anyway, 'twill give the last bit of lichenanother day to dry, " said she to comfort him all she could. 

Isak had been getting lichen, as much as he could, and had a fine lot, all of the best. It was good fodder, and he treated it as he wouldhay, covering it over with bark in the woods. There was only alittle still left out, and now, when Inger spoke of it, he answereddespairingly, as if it were all one, "I'll not take it in if it isdry. "

"Isak, you don't mean it!" said Inger. 

And next day, sure enough, he did not take it in. He left it out andnever touched it, just as he had said. Let it stay where it was, there'd be no rain anyway; let it stay where it was in God's name!He could take it in some time before Christmas, if so be as the sunhadn't burnt it all up to nothing. 

Isak was deeply and thoroughly offended. It was no longer a pleasureand a delight to sit outside on the door-slab and look out over hislands and be the owner of it all. There was the potato field floweringmadly, and drying up; let the lichen stay where it was--what did hecare? That Isak! Who could say; perhaps he had a bit of a sly littlethought in his mind for all his stolid simpleness; maybe he knew whathe was doing after all, trying to tempt the blue sky now, at thechange of the moon. 

That evening it looked like rain once more. "You ought to have gotthat lichen in, " said Inger. 

"What for?" said Isak, looking all surprised. 

"Ay, you with your nonsense--but it might be rain after all. "

"There'll be no rain this year, you can see for yourself. "

But for all that, it grew curiously dark in the night. They could seethrough the glass window that it was darker--ay, and as if somethingbeat against the panes, something wet, whatever it might be. Ingerwoke up. "'Tis rain! look at the window-panes. "

But Isak only sniffed. "Rain?--not a bit of it. Don't know what you'retalking about. "

"Ah, it's no good pretending, " said Inger. 

Isak was pretending--ay, that was it. Rain it was, sure enough, and agood heavy shower--but as soon as it had rained enough to spoil Isak'slichen, it stopped. The sky was blue. "What did I say, " said Isak, stiff-necked and hard. 

The shower made no difference to the potato crop, and days came andwent; the sky was blue. Isak set to work on his timber sledge, workedhard at it, and bowed his heart, and planed away humbly at runners andshafts. Eyah, _Herregud_! Ay, the days came and went, and the childgrew. Inger churned and made cheeses; there was no serious danger;folk that had their wits about them and could work need not die forthe sake of one bad year. Moreover, after nine weeks, there came aregular blessing of rain, rain all one day and night, and sixteenhours of it pouring as hard as it could. If it had come but two weeksback, Isak would have said, "It's too late now!" As it was, he said toInger, "You see, that'll save some of the potatoes. "

"Ay, " said Inger hopefully. "It'll save the lot, you'll see. "

And now things were looking better. Rain every day; good, thoroughshowers. Everything looking green again, as by a miracle. The potatoeswere flowering still, worse than before, and with big berries growingout at the tops, which was not as it should be; but none could saywhat might be at the roots--Isak had not ventured to look. Then oneday Inger went out and found over a score of little potatoes under oneplant. "And they've five weeks more to grow in, " said Inger. Oh, that Inger, always trying to comfort and speak hopefully through herhare-lip. It was not pretty to hear when she spoke, for a sort ofhissing, like steam from a leaky valve, but a comfort all the same outin the wilds. And a happy and cheerful soul she was at all times. 

"I wish you could manage to make another bed, " she said to Isak oneday. 

"Ho!" said he. 

"Why, there's no hurry, but still. .. . "

They started getting in the potatoes, and finished by Michaelmas, asthe custom is. It was a middling year--a good year; once again it wasseen that potatoes didn't care so much about the weather, but grew upall the same, and could stand a deal. A middling year--a good year. .. Well, not perhaps, if they worked it out exactly, but that theycouldn't do this year. A Lapp had passed that way one day and said howfine their potatoes were up there; it was much worse, he said, down inthe village. 

And now Isak had a few weeks more to work the ground before the frostset in. The cattle were out, grazing where they pleased; it was goodto work with them about, and hear the bells, though it did take someof his time now and again. There was the bull, mischievous beast, would take to butting at the lichen stacks; and as for the goats, theywere high and low and everywhere, even to the roof of the hut. 

Troubles great and small. 

One day Isak heard a sudden shout; Inger stood on the door-slab withthe child in her arms, pointing over to the bull and the pretty littlecow Silverhorns--they were making love. Isak threw down his pick andraced over to the pair, but it was too late, by the look of it. Themischief was done. "Oh, the little rascal, she's all too young--halfa year too soon, a child!" Isak got her into the hut, but it was toolate. 

"Well, well, " says Inger, "'tis none so bad after all, in a way; ifshe'd waited, we'd have had both of them bearing at the same time. "Oh, that Inger; not so bright as some, maybe, yet, for all that, shemay well have known what she was about when she let the pair loosetogether that morning. 

Winter came, Inger carding and spinning, Isak driving down with loadsof wood; fine dry wood and good going; all his debts paid off andsettled; horse and cart, plough and harrow his very own. He drove downwith Inger's goats' milk cheeses, and brought back woollen thread, aloom, shuttles and beam and all; brought back flour and provisions, more planks, and boards and nails; one day he brought home a lamp. 

"As true as I'm here I won't believe it, " says Inger. But she hadlong had in her mind about a lamp for all that. They lit it the sameevening, and were in paradise; little Eleseus he thought, no doubt, itwas the sun. "Look how he stares all wondering like, " said Isak. Andnow Inger could spin of an evening by lamplight. 

He brought up linen for shirts, and new hide shoes for Inger. She hadasked for some dye-stuffs, too, for the wool, and he brought them. Then one day he came back with a clock. With what?--A clock. This wastoo much for Inger; she was overwhelmed and could not say a word. Isakhung it up on the wall, and set it at a guess, wound it up, and let itstrike. The child turned its eyes at the sound and then looked at itsmother. "Ay, you may wonder, " said Inger, and took the child to her, not a little touched herself. Of all good things, here in a lonelyplace, there was nothing could be better than a clock to go all thedark winter through, and strike so prettily at the hours. 

When the last load was carted down, Isak turned woodman once more, felling and stacking, building his streets, his town of wood-piles fornext winter. He was getting farther and farther from the homesteadnow, there was a great broad stretch of hillside all ready fortillage. He would not cut close any more, but simply throw the biggesttrees with dry tops. 

He knew well enough, of course, what Inger had been thinking of whenshe asked for another bed; best to hurry up and get it ready. One darkevening he came home from the woods, and sure enough, Inger had gotit over--another boy--and was lying down. That Inger! Only that verymorning she had tried to get him to go down to the village again:"'Tis time the horse had something to do, " says she. "Eating his headoff all day. "

"I've no time for such-like nonsense, " said Isak shortly, and wentout. Now he understood; she had wanted to get him out of the way. Andwhy? Surely 'twas as well to have him about the house. 

"Why can't you ever tell a man what's coming?" said he. 

"You make a bed for yourself and sleep in the little room, " saidInger. 

As for that, it was not only a bedstead to make; there must bebedclothes to spread. They had but one skin rug, and there would be nogetting another till next autumn, when there were wethers to kill--andeven then two skins would not make a blanket. Isak had a hard time, with cold at nights, for a while; he tried burying himself in the hayunder the rock-shelter, tried to bed down for himself with the cows. Isak was homeless. Well for him that it was May; soon June would bein; July. .. . 

A wonderful deal they had managed, out there in the wilderness; housefor themselves and housing for the cattle, and ground cleared andcultivated, all in three years. Isak was building again--what was hebuilding now? A new shed, a lean-to, jutting out from the house. Thewhole place rang with the noise as he hammered in his eight-inchnails. Inger came out now and again and said it was trying for thelittle ones. 

"Ay, the little ones--go in and talk to them then, sing a bit. Eleseus, he can have a bucket lid to hammer on himself. And it's onlywhile I'm doing these big nails just here, at the cross-beams, that'sgot to bear the whole. Only planks after that, two-and-a-half-inchnails, as gentle as building dolls' houses. "

Small wonder if Isak hammered and thumped. There stood a barrel ofherrings, and the flour, and all kinds of food-stuffs in the stable;better than lying out in the open, maybe, but the pork tasted of italready; a shed they must have, and that was clear. As for the littleones, they'd get used to the noise in no time. Eleseus was inclined tobe ailing somehow, but the other took nourishment sturdily, like a fatcherub, and when he wasn't crying, he slept. A wonder of a child! Isakmade no objection to his being called Sivert, though he himself wouldrather have preferred Jacob. Inger could hit on the right thing attimes. Eleseus was named after the priest of her parish, and thatwas a fine name to be sure; but Sivert was called after his mother'suncle, the district treasurer, who was a well-to-do man, with neitherwife nor child to come after him. They couldn't do better than namethe boy after him. 

Then came spring, and the new season's work; all was down in the earthbefore Whitsun. When there had been only Eleseus to look after, Inger could never find time to help her husband, being tied to herfirst-born; now, with two children in the house, it was different; shehelped in the fields and managed a deal of odd work here and there;planting potatoes, sowing carrots and turnips. A wife like that isnone so easy to find. And she had her loom besides; at all odd minutesshe would slip into the little room and weave a couple of spools, making half-wool stuff for underclothes for the winter. Then when shehad dyed her wools, it was red and blue dress material for herselfand the little ones; at last she put in several colours, and made abedspread for Isak all by herself. No fancy work from Inger's loom;useful and necessary things, and sound all through. 

Oh, they were doing famously, these settlers in the wilds; they hadgot on so far, and if this year's crops turned out well they wouldbe enviable folk, no less. What was lacking on the place at all? Ahayloft, perhaps; a big barn with a threshing-floor inside--but thatmight come in time. Ay, it would come, never fear, only give thentime. And now pretty Silverhorns had calved, the sheep had lambs, thegoats had kids, the young stock fairly swarmed about the place. Andwhat of the little household itself? Eleseus could walk already, walkby himself wherever he pleased, and little Sivert was christened. Inger? By all signs and tokens, making ready for another turn; she wasnot what you'd call niggardly at bearing. Another child--oh, a merenothing to Inger! Though, to be sure, she was proud enough of themwhen they came. Fine little creatures, as any one could see. 'Twasnot all, by a long way, that the Lord had blessed with such fine bigchildren. Inger was young, and making the most of it. She was nobeauty, and had suffered all her girlhood by reason of the same, beingset aside and looked down on. The young men never noticed her, thoughshe could dance and work as well. They found nothing sweet in her, andturned elsewhere. But now her time had come; she was in full flowerand constantly with child. Isak himself, her lord and master, wasearnest and stolid as ever, but he had got on well, and was content. How he had managed to live till Inger came was a mystery; feeding, no doubt, on potatoes and goats' milk, or maybe venturesome disheswithout a name; now, he had all that a man could think of in his placein the world. 

There came another drought, a new bad year. Os-Anders the Lapp, comingby with his dog, brought news that folk in the village had cut theircorn already, for fodder. 

"'Tis a poor look out, " said Inger, "when it comes to that. "

"Ay. But they've the herring. A fine haul, 'tis said. Your UncleSivert, he's going to build a country house. "

"Why, he was none so badly off before. "

"That's true. And like to be the same with you, for all it seems. "

"Why, as to that, thank God, we've enough for our little needs. Whatdo they say at home about me up here?"

Os-Anders wags his head helplessly; there's no end to the great thingsthey say; more than he can tell. A pleasant-spoken fellow, like allthe Lapps. 

"If as you'd care for a dish of milk now, you've only to say so, " saysInger. 

"'Tis more than's worth your while. But if you've a sup for the doghere. .. . "

Milk for Os-Anders, and food for the dog. Os-Anders lifts his headsuddenly, at a kind of music inside the house. 

"What's that?"

"'Tis only our clock, " says Inger. "It strikes the hours that way. "Inger bursting with pride. 

The Lapp wags his head again: "House and cattle and all manner ofthings. There's nothing a man could think of but you've that thing. "

"Ay, we've much to be thankful for, 'tis true. "

"I forgot to say, there's Oline was asking after you. "

"Oline? How is it with her?"

"She's none so poorly. Where will your husband be now?"

"He'll be at work in the fields somewhere. "

"They say he's not bought yet, " says the Lapp carelessly. 

"Bought? Who says so?"

"Why, 'tis what they say. "

"But who's he to buy from? 'Tis common land. "

"Ay, 'tis so. "

"And sweat of his brow to every spade of it. "

"Why, they say 'tis the State owns all the land. "

Inger could make nothing of this. "Ay, maybe so. Was it Oline saidso?"

"I don't well remember, " says the Lapp, and his shifty eyes looked allways around. 

Inger wondered why he did not beg for anything; Os-Anders alwaysbegged, as do all the Lapps. Os-Anders sits scraping at the bowl ofhis clay pipe, and and lights up. What a pipe! He puffs and draws atit till his wrinkled old face looks like a wizard's runes. 

"No need to ask if the little ones there are yours, " says he, flattering again. "They're as like you as could be. The living imageof yourself when you were small. "

Now Inger was a monster and a deformity to look at; 'twas all wrong, of course, but she swelled with pride for all that. Even a Lapp cangladden a mother's heart. 

"If it wasn't that your sack there's so full, I'd find you somethingto put in it, " says Inger. 

"Nay, 'tis more than's worth your while. "

Inger goes inside with the child on her arm; Eleseus stays outsidewith the Lapp. The two make friends at once; the child sees somethingcurious in the sack, something soft and fluffy, and wants to pat it. The dog stands alert, barking and whining. Inger comes out with aparcel of food; she gives a cry, and drops down on the door-slab. 

"What's that you've got there? What is it?"

"Tis nothing. Only a hare. "

"I saw it. "

"'Twas the boy wanted to look. Dog ran it down this morning and killedit, and I brought it along. .. . "

"Here's your food, " said Inger. 

Chapter V

One bad year never comes alone. Isak had grown patient, and took whatfell to his lot. The corn was parched, and the hay was poor, but thepotatoes looked like pulling through once more--bad enough, all thingstogether, but not the worst. Isak had still a season's yield ofcordwood and timber to sell in the village, and the herring fisheryhad been rich all round the coast, so there was plenty of money to buywood. Indeed, it almost looked like a providence that the corn harvesthad failed--for how could he have threshed it without a barn andthreshing-floor? Call it providence; there's no harm in thatsometimes. 

There were other things not so easily put out of mind. What was it acertain Lapp had said to Inger that summer--something about not havingbought? Buy, what should he buy for? The ground was there, the forestwas there; he had cleared and tilled, built up a homestead in themidst of a natural wilderness, winning bread for himself and his, asking nothing of any man, but working, and working alone. He hadoften thought himself of asking the Lensmand [Footnote: Sheriff'sofficer, in charge of a small district. ] about the matter when he wentdown to the village, but had always put it off; the Lensmand was nota pleasant man to deal with, so people said, and Isak was not one totalk much. What could he say if he went--what had he come for?

One day that winter the Lensmand himself came driving up to the place. There was a man with him, and a lot of papers in a bag. Geisslerhimself, the Lensmand, no less. He looked at the broad open hillside, cleared of timber, smooth and unbroken under the snow; he thoughtperhaps that it was all tilled land already, for he said:

"Why, this is a whole big farm you've got. You don't expect to get allthis for nothing?"

There it was! Isak was terror-stricken and said not a word. 

"You ought to have come to me at first, and bought the land, " saidGeissler. 

"Ay. "

The Lensmand talked of valuations, of boundaries, taxes, taxes to theState, and, when he had explained the matter a little, Isak began tosee that there was something reasonable in it after all. The Lensmandturned to his companion teasingly. "Now then, you call yourself asurveyor, what's the extent of cultivated ground here?" He did notwait for the other to reply, but noted down himself, at a guess. Thenhe asked Isak about the crops, how much hay, how many bushels ofpotatoes. And then about boundaries. They could not go round the placemarking out waist-deep in snow; and in summer no one could get upthere at all. What did Isak think himself about the extent of woodlandand pasturage?--Isak had no idea at all; he had always thought of theplace as being his own as far as he could see. The Lensmand said thatthe State required definite boundaries. "And the greater the extent, the more you will have to pay. "

"Ay. "

"And they won't give you all you think you can swallow; they'll letyou have what's reasonable for your needs. "

"Ay. "

Inger brought in some milk for the visitors; they drank it, and shebrought in some more. The Lensmand a surly fellow? He stroked Eleseus'hair, and looked at something the child was playing with. "Playingwith stones, what? Let me see. H'm, heavy. Looks like some kind ofore. "

"There's plenty such up in the hills, " said Isak. 

The Lensmand came back to business. "South and west from here's whatyou want most, I suppose? Shall we say a couple of furlongs to thesouthward?"

"Two furlongs!" exclaimed his assistant. 

"_You_ couldn't till two hundred yards, " said his chief shortly. 

"What will that cost?" asked Isak. 

"Can't say. It all depends. But I'll put it as low as I can on myreport; it's miles away from anywhere, and difficult to get at. "

"But two furlongs!" said the assistant again. 

The Lensmand entered duly, two furlongs to the southward, and asked:"What about the hills? How much do you want that way?"

"I'll need all up as far as the water. There's a big water up there, "said Isak. 

The Lensmand noted that. "And how far north?"

"Why, it's no great matter that way. 'Tis but moorland most, andlittle timber. "

The Lensmand fixed the northward boundary at one furlong. "East?"

"That's no great matter either. 'Tis bare field all from here intoSweden. "

The Lensmand noted down again. He made a rapid calculation, and said:"It'll make a good-sized place, even at that. Anywhere near thevillage, of course, it'd be worth a lot of money; nobody could havebought it. I'll send in a report, and say a hundred _Daler_ would befair. What do you think?" he asked his assistant. 

"It's giving it away, " said the other. 

"A hundred _Daler_?" said Inger. "Isak, you've no call to take so biga place. "

"No--o, " said Isak. 

The assistant put in hurriedly: "That's just what I say. It's milestoo big for you as it is. What will you do with it?"

"Cultivate it, " said the Lensmand. 

He had been sitting there writing and working in his head, with thechildren crying every now and then; he did not want to have the wholething to do again. As it was, he would not be home till late thatnight, perhaps not before morning. He thrust the papers into the bag;the matter was settled. 

"Put the horse in, " he said to his companion. And turning to Isak: "Asa matter of fact, they ought to give you the place for nothing, andpay you into the bargain, the way you've worked. I'll say as much whenI send in the report. Then we'll see how much the State will ask forthe title-deeds. "

Isak--it was hard to say how he felt about it. Half as if he were notill-pleased after all to find his land valued at a big price, afterthe work he had done. As for the hundred _Daler_, he could manage topay that off, no doubt, in course of time. He made no further businessabout it; he could go on working as he had done hitherto, clearing andcultivating, fetching loads of timber from the untended woodlands. Isak was not a man to look about anxiously for what might come; heworked. 

Inger thanked the Lensmand, and hoped he would put in a word for themwith the State. 

"Yes, yes. But I've no say in the matter myself. All I have to do isto say what I have seen, and what I think. How old is the youngestthere?"

"Six months as near as can be. "

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy. "

The Lensmand was no tyrant, but shallow, and not overconscientious. Heignored his assistant, Brede Olsen, who by virtue of his office shouldbe an expert in such affairs; the matter was settled out of hand, by guesswork. Yet for Isak and his wife it was a serious matterenough--ay, and for who should come after them, maybe for generations. But he set it all down, as it pleased him, making a document of it onthe spot. Withal a kindly man; he took a bright coin from his pocketand gave it to little Sivert; then he nodded to the others and wentout to the sledge. 

Suddenly he asked: "What do you call the place?"

"Call it?"

"Yes. What's its name? We must have a name for it"

No one had ever thought of that before. Inger and Isak looked at eachother. 

"Sellanraa?" said the Lensmand. He must have invented it out of hisown head; maybe it was not a name at all. But he only nodded, and saidagain, "Sellanraa!" and drove off. 

Settled again, at a guess, anything would do. The name, the price, theboundaries. .. . 

Some weeks later, when Isak was down in the village, he heard rumoursof some business about Lensmand Geissler; there had been an inquiryabout some moneys he could not account for, and the matter had beenreported to his superior. Well, such things did happen; some folk werecontent to stumble through life anyhow, till they ran up against thosethat walked. 

Then one day Isak went down with a load of wood, and coming back, whoshould drive with him on his sledge but Lensmand Geissler. He steppedout from the trees, on to the road, waved his hand, and simply said:"Take me along, will you?"

They drove for a while, neither speaking. Once the passenger took aflask from his pocket and drank; offered it to Isak, who declined. "I'm afraid this journey will upset my stomach, " said the Lensmand. 

He began at once to talk about Isak's deal in land. "I sent off thereport at once, with a strong recommendation on my own account. Sellanraa's a nice name. As a matter of fact, they ought to let youhave the place for nothing, wouldn't do to say so, of course. If Ihad, they'd only have taken offence and put their own price on it. Isuggested fifty _Daler_. "

"Ho. Fifty, you said? Not a hundred?"

The Lensmand puckered his brow and thought a moment. "As far as Irecollect it was fifty. Yes. .. . "

"And where will you be going, now?" asked Isak. 

"Over to Vesterbotten, to my wife's people. "

"'Tis none so easy that way at this time of year. "

"I'll manage. Couldn't you go with me a bit?"

"Ay; you shan't go alone. "

They came to the farm, and the Lensmand stayed the night, sleeping inthe little room. In the morning, he brought out his flask again, andremarked: "I'm sure this journey's going to upset my stomach. " For therest, he was much the same as last time, kindly, decisive, but fussy, and little concerned about his own affairs. Possibly it might not beso bad after all. Isak ventured to point out that the hillside was notall under cultivation yet, but only some small squares here and there. The Lensmand took the information in a curious fashion. "I knew thatwell enough, of course, last time I was here, when I made out thereport. But Brede, the fellow who was with me, he didn't see it. Brede, he's no earthly good. But they work it out by table. With allthe ground as I entered it, and only so few loads of hay, so fewbushels of potatoes, they'll say at once that it must be poor soil, cheap soil, you understand. I did my best for you, and you take myword for it, that'll do the trick. It's two and thirty thousandfellows of your stamp the country wants. "

The Lensmand nodded and turned to Inger. "How old's the youngest?"

"He's just three-quarters of a year. "

"And a boy, is he?"

"Yes. "

"But you must see and get that business settled as soon as ever youcan, " said he to Isak again. "There's another man wants to purchasenow, midway between here and the village, and as soon as he does, this'll be worth more. You buy now, get the place first, and let theprice go up after--that way, you'll be getting some return for all thework you've put into it. It was you that started cultivating here atall. 'Twas all wilderness before. "

They were grateful for his advice, and asked if it was not he himselfthat would arrange the matter. He answered that he had done all hecould; everything now depended on the State. "I'm going acrossto Vesterbotten now, and I shan't be coming back, " he told themstraightforwardly. 

He gave Inger an _Ort_, and that was overmuch. "You can take a bit ofmeat down to my people in the village next time you're killing, " saidhe. "My wife'll pay you. Take a cheese or so, too, any time you can. The children like it. "

Isak went with him up over the hills; it was firm, good going on thehigher ground, easier than below. Isak received a whole _Daler_. 

In that manner was it Lensmand Geissler left the place, and he did notcome back. No great loss, folk said, he being looked on as a doubtfulpersonage, an adventurer. Not that he hadn't the knowledge; he was alearned man, and had studied this and that, but he lived too freely, and spent other people's money. It came out later that he had left theplace after a sharp reprimand from his superior, Amtmand Pleym; butnothing was done about his family officially, and they went on livingthere, a good while after--his wife and three children. And it was notlong before the money unaccounted for was sent from Sweden, so thatGeissler's wife and children could not be said to be held as hostages, but stayed on simply because it pleased them. 

Isak and Inger had no cause to complain of Geissler's dealings withthem, not by a long way. And there was no saying what sort of manhis successor would be--perhaps they would have to go over the wholebusiness again!

The Amtmand [Footnote: Governor of a country] sent one of his clerksup to the village, to be the new Lensmand. He was a man about forty, son of a local magistrate, by name Heyerdahl. He had lacked the meansto go to the university and enter the service that way; instead, hehad been constrained to sit in an office, writing at a desk, forfifteen years. He was unmarried, having never been able to afforda wife. His chief, Amtmand Pleym, had inherited him from hispredecessor, and paid him the same miserable wage that had been givenbefore; Heyerdahl took it, and went on writing at his desk as before. 

Isak plucked up his courage, and went to see him. 

"Documents in the Sellanraa case . .. ? Here they are, just returnedfrom the Department. They want to know all sorts of things--the wholebusiness is in a dreadful muddle, as Geissler left it, " said theofficial. "The Department wishes to be informed as to whether anyconsiderable crop of marketable berries is to be reckoned with on theestate. Whether there is any heavy timber. Whether possibly there maybe ores or metals of value an the hills adjoining. Mention is made ofwater, but nothing stated as to any fishery in the same. This Geisslerappears to have furnished certain information, but he's not to betrusted, and here have I to go through the whole affair again afterhim. I shall have to come up to Sellanraa and make a thoroughinspection and valuation. How many miles is it up there? TheDepartment, of course, requires that adequate boundaries be drawn:yes, we shall have to beat the bounds in due order. "

"'Tis no light business setting up boundaries this time of year, " saidIsak. "Not till later on in the summer. "

"Anyhow, it'll have to be done. The Department can't wait all throughthe summer for an answer. I'll come up myself as soon as I can getaway. I shall have to be out that way in any case, there's anotherplot of land a man's inquiring about. "

"Will that be him that's going to buy up between me and the village?"

"Can't say, I'm sure. Very likely. As a matter of fact, it's a manfrom the office here, my assistant in the office. He was here inGeissler's time. Asked Geissler about it, I understand, but Geisslerput him off; said he couldn't cultivate a hundred yards of land. So hesent in an application to the Amtmand, and I'm instructed to see thematter through. More of Geissler's muddling!"

Lensmand Heyerdahl came up to the farm, and brought with him hisassistant, Brede. They had got thoroughly wet crossing the moors, andwetter still they were before they'd finished tramping the boundarylines through melting snow and slush up and down the hills. TheLensmand set to work zealously the first day, but on the second he hadhad enough, and contented himself with standing still for the mostpart, pointing and shouting directions. There was no further talkabout prospecting for ore in the "adjoining hills, " and as formarketable berries--they would have a look at the moors on the wayback, he said. 

The Department requested information on quite a number ofpoints--there were tables for all sorts of things, no doubt. The onlything that seemed reasonable was the question of timber. Certainly, there was some heavy timber, and that within the limits of Isak'sproposed holding, but not enough to reckon with for sale; no more thanwould be required to keep up the place. Even if there had been timberin plenty, who was to carry it all the many miles to where it couldbe sold? Only Isak, trundling like a tub-wheel through the forest inwinter-time carting some few heavy sticks down to the village, tobring back planks and boards for his building. 

Geissler, the incomprehensible, had, it seemed, sent in a report whichwas not easily upset. Here was his successor going through the wholething again, trying to find mistakes and blatant inaccuracies--but allin vain. It was noticeable that he consulted his assistant at everyturn, and paid heed to what he said, which was not Geissler's way atall. That same assistant, moreover, must presumably have altered hisown opinion, since he was now a would-be purchaser himself of landsfrom the common ground held by the State. 

"What about the price?" asked the Lensmand. 

"Fifty _Daler_ is the most they can fairly ask of any buyer, " answeredthe expert. 

Lensmand Heyerdahl drew up his report in elegant phrasing. Geisslerhad written: "The man will also have to pay land tax every year; hecannot afford to pay more for the place than fifty _Daler_, in annualinstalments over ten years. The State can accept his offer, or takeaway his land and the fruits of his work. " Heyerdahl wrote: "He nowhumbly begs to submit this application to the Department: that hebe allowed to retain this land, upon which, albeit without rightof possession, he has up to this present effected considerableimprovements, for a purchase price of 50--fifty--_Speciedaler_, the amount to be paid in annual instalments as may seem fit to theDepartment to apportion the same. "

Lensmand Heyerdahl promised Isak to do his best. "I hope to succeed inprocuring you possession of the estate, " he said. 

Chapter VI

The big bull is to be sent away. It has grown to an enormous beast, and costs too much to feed; Isak is taking it down to the village, tobring up a suitable yearling in exchange. 

It was Inger's idea. And Inger had no doubt her own reasons forgetting Isak out of the place on that particular day. 

"If you are going at all, you'd better go today, " she said. "Thebull's in fine condition; 'twill fetch a good price at this time ofyear. You take him down to the village, and they'll send him to besold in town--townsfolk pay anything for their meat. "

"Ay, " says Isak. 

"If only the beast doesn't make trouble on the way down. "

Isak made no answer. 

"But he's been out and about now this last week, and getting used tothings. "

Isak was silent. He took a big knife, hung it in a sheath at hiswaist, and led out the bull. 

A mighty beast it was, glossy-coated and terrible to look at, swayingat the buttocks as it walked. A trifle short in the leg; when it ran, it crushed down the undergrowth with its chest; it was like a railwayengine. Its neck was huge almost to deformity; there was the strengthof an elephant in that neck. 

"If only he doesn't get mad with you, " said Inger. 

Isak thought for a moment. "Why, if as he takes it that way, I'll justhave to slaughter him half-way and carry down the meat. "

Inger sat down on the door-slab. She was in pain; her face was aflame. She had kept her feet till Isak was gone; now he and the bull wereout of sight, and she could give way to a groan without fear. LittleEleseus can talk a little already; he asks: "Mama hurt? "--"Yes, hurt. " He mimics her, pressing his hands to his sides and groaning. Little Sivert is asleep. 

Inger takes Eleseus inside the house, gives him some things to playwith on the floor, and gets into bed herself. Her time was come. Sheis perfectly conscious all the while, keeps an eye on Eleseus, glancesat the clock on the wall to see the time. Never a cry, hardly amovement; the struggle is in her vitals--a burden is loosened andglides from her. Almost at the same moment she hears a strange cry inthe bed, a blessed little voice; poor thing, poor little thing . .. Andnow she cannot rest, but lifts herself up and looks down. What isit? Her face is grey and blank in a moment, without expression orintelligence; a groan is heard; unnatural, impossible--a choking gasp. 

She slips back on the bed. A minute passes; she cannot rest, thelittle cry down there in the bed grows louder, she raises herself oncemore, and sees--O God, the direst of all! No mercy, no hope--and thisa girl!

Isak could not have gone more than a couple of miles or so. It washardly an hour since he had left. In less than ten minutes Inger hadborne her child and killed it. .. . 

Isak came back on the third day, leading a half-starved yearling bull. The beast could hardly walk; it had been a long business getting up tothe place at all. 

"How did you get on?" asked Inger. She herself was ill and miserableenough. 

Isak had managed very well. True, the big bull had been mad the lasttwo miles or so, and he had to tie it up and fetch help from thevillage. Then, when he got back, it had broken loose and took a dealof time to find. But he had managed somehow, and had sold for a goodprice to a trader in the village, buying up for butchers in the town. "And here's the new one, " said Isak. "Let the children come and look. "

Any addition to the live stock was a great event. Inger looked atthe bull and felt it over, asked what it had cost; little Sivert wasallowed to sit on its back. "I shall miss the big one, though, " saidInger. "So glossy and fine he was. I do hope they'll kill him nicely. "

It was the busy season now, and there was work enough. The animalswere let loose; in the empty shed were cases and bins of potatoes leftto grow. Isak sowed more corn this year than last, and did all hecould to get it nicely down. He made beds for carrots and turnips, andInger sowed the seeds. All went on as before. 

Inger went about for some time with a bag of hay under her dress, tohide any change in her figure, taking out a little from time to time, and finally discarding the bag altogether. At last, one day, Isaknoticed something, and asked in surprise:

"Why, how's this? Hasn't anything happened? I thought. .. . "

"No. Not this time. "

"Ho. Why, what was wrong?

"'Twas meant to be so, I suppose. Isak, how long d'you think it'lltake you to work over all this land of ours?"

"Yes, but . .. You mean you had your trouble--didn't go as it should?"

"Ay, that was it--yes. "

"But yourself--you're not hurt anyway after it?"

"No. Isak, I've been thinking, we ought to have a pig. "

Isak was not quick to change the subject that way. He was silent alittle, then at last he said: "Ay, a pig. I've thought of that myselfeach spring. But we'll need to have more potatoes first, and more ofthe small, and a bit of corn beside; we've not enough to feed a pig. We'll see how this year turns out. "

"But it would be nice to have a pig. "

"Ay. "

Days pass, rain comes, fields and meadows are looking well--oh, theyear will turn out well, never fear! Little happenings and big, all intheir turn: food, sleep, and work; Sundays, with washing of faces andcombing of hair, and Isak sitting about in a new red shirt of Inger'sweaving and sewing. Then an event, a happening of note in the ordinaryround: a sheep, roaming with her lamb, gets caught in a cleft amongthe rocks. The others come home in the evening. Inger at once seesthere are two missing, and out goes Isak in search. Isak's firstthought is to be thankful it is Sunday, so he is not called away fromhis work and losing time. He tramps off--there is an endless rangeof ground to be searched; and, meanwhile, the house is all anxiety. Mother hushes the children with brief words; there are two sheepmissing, and they must be good. All share the feeling; what hashappened is a matter for the whole little community. Even the cowsknow that something unusual is going on, and give tongue in their ownfashion, for Inger goes out every now and then, calling aloud towardsthe woods, though it is near night. It is an event in the wilderness, a general misfortune. Now and again she gives a long-drawn hail toIsak, but there is no answer; he must be out of hearing. 

Where are the sheep--what can have come to them? Is there a bearabroad? Or have the wolves come down over the hills from Sweden andFinland? Neither, as it turns out. Isak finds the ewe stuck fast ina cleft of rock, with a broken leg and lacerated udder. It must havebeen there some time, for, despite its wounds, the poor thing hasnibbled the grass down to the roots as far as it could reach. Isaklifts the sheep and sets it free; it falls to grazing at once. Thelamb makes for its mother and sucks away--a blessed relief for thewounded udder to be emptied now. 

Isak gathers stones and fills up the dangerous cleft; a wicked place;it shall break no more sheep's thighs! Isak wears leather braces; hetakes them off now and fastens them round the sheep's middle, as asupport for the udder. Then, lifting the animal on his shoulders, hesets off home, the lamb at his heels. 

After that--splints and tar bandages. In a few days' time the patientbegins twitching the foot of the wounded leg; it is the fractureaching as it grows together. Ay, all things getting well again--untilnext time something happens. 

The daily round; little matters that are all important to thesettler-folk themselves. Oh, they are not trifles after all, butthings of fate, making for their happiness and comfort and well-being, or against them. 

In the slack time between the seasons, Isak smooths down some newtree-trunks he has thrown; to be used for something or other, nodoubt. Also he digs out a number of useful stones and gets them downto the house; as soon as there are stones enough, he builds a wall ofthem. A year or so back, Inger would have been curious, wondering whather man was after with all this--now, she seemed for the most partbusied with her own work, and asked no questions. Inger is busy asever, but she has taken to singing, which is something new, and she isteaching Eleseus an evening prayer; this also is something new. Isakmisses her questioning; it was her curiosity and her praise of all hedid that made him the contented man, the incomparable man he was. Butnow, she goes by, saying nothing, or at most with a word or so that heis working himself to death. "She's troubled after that last time, forall she says, " thinks Isak to himself. 

Oline comes over to visit them once more. If all had been as beforeshe would have been welcome, but now it is different. Inger greetsher from the first with some ill-will; be it what it may, there issomething that makes Inger look on her as an enemy. 

"I'd half a thought I'd be coming just at the right time again, " saysOline, with delicate meaning. 

"How d'you mean?"

"Why, for the third one to be christened. How is it with you now?"

"Nay, " says Inger. "For that matter you might have saved yourself thetrouble. "

"Ho. "

Oline falls to praising the children, so fine and big they've grown;and Isak taking over more ground, and going to build again, by thelook of things--there's no end to things with them; a wonderful place, and hard to find its like. "And what is he going to build this time?"

"Ask him yourself, " says Inger. "I don't know. "

"Nay, " says Oline. "'Tis no business of mine. I just looked along tosee how things were with you here; it's a pleasure and delight forme to see. As for Goldenhorns, I'll not ask nor speak of her--she'sfallen into proper ways, as any one can see. "

They talk for a while companionably; Inger is no longer harsh. Theclock on the wall strikes with its sweet little note. Oline looks upwith tears in her eyes; never in all her humble life did she hear sucha thing--'tis like church and organ music, says Oline. Inger feelsherself rich and generous-minded towards her poor relation, and says:"Come into the next room and see my loom. "

Oline stays all day. She talks to Isak, and praises all his doings. "And I hear you've bought up the land for miles on every side. Couldn't you have got it for nothing, then? There's none as I can seewould take it from you. "

Isak had been feeling the need of praise, and is the better for itnow. Feels a man again. "I'm buying from the Government, " says Isak. 

"Ay, Government. But they've no call to be grasping in a deal, surely?What are you building now?"

"Why, I don't know. Nothing much, anyway. "

"Ay, you're getting on; building and getting on you are. Painted doorsto the house, and a clock on the wall--'tis a new grand house you'rebuilding, I suspect. "

"You, with your foolish talk . .. " says Isak. But he is pleased all thesame, and says to Inger: "Couldn't you make a bit of a dish of nicecream custard for one that comes a-visiting?"

"That I can't, " says Inger, "for I've churned all there was. "

"'Tis no foolish talk, " puts in Oline hurriedly; "I'm but a simplewoman asking to know. And if it's not a new grand house, why, 'twillbe a new big barn, I dare say; and why not? With all these fields andmeadow lands, fine and full of growth; ay, and full of milk and honey, as the Bible says. "

Isak asks: "How's things looking your way--crops and the like?"

"Why, 'tis there as it is till now. If only the Lord don't set fireto it all again this year, and burn up the lot--Heaven forgive me Ishould say the word. 'Tis all in His hand and almighty power. Butwe've nothing our parts that's any way like this place of yours tocompare, and that's the solemn truth. "

Inger asks after other relatives, her Uncle Sivert in particular. Heis the great man of the family, and owns rich fisheries; 'tis almosta wonder how he can find a way to spend all he has. The women talk ofUncle Sivert, and Isak and his doings somehow drop out of sight; noone asks any more about his building now, so at last he says:

"Well, if you want to know, 'tis a bit of a barn with athreshing-floor I'm trying to get set up. "

"Just as I thought, " says Oline. "Folk with real sound sense in theirheads, they do that way. Fore-thought and back-thought and all as itshould be. There's not a pot nor pitcher in the place you haven'tthought of. A threshing-floor, you said?"

Isak is a child. Oline's flattering words go to his head, and heanswers something foolishly with fine words: "As to that new house ofmine, there must be a threshing-floor in the same, necessarily. 'Tismy intention so. "

"A threshing-floor?" says Oline, wagging her head. 

"And where's the sense of growing corn on the place if we've nowhereto thresh it?"

"Ay, 'tis as I say, not a thing as could be but you have it all therein your head. "

Inger is suddenly out of humour again. The talk between the other twosomehow displeases her, and she breaks in:

"Cream custard indeed! And where's the cream to come from? Fish it upin the river, maybe?"

Oline hastens to make peace. "Inger, Lord bless you, child, don'tspeak of such a thing. Not a word of cream nor custard either--an oldcreature like me that does but idle about from house to neighbour. .. !"

Isak sits for a while, then up, and saying suddenly: "Here am I doingnothing middle of the day, and stones to fetch and carry for that wallof mine!"

"Ay, a wall like that'll need a mighty lot of stone, to be sure. "

"Stone?" says Isak. "Tis like as if there'd never be enough. "

When Isak is gone, the two womenfolk get on nicely together for awhile; they sit for hours talking of this and that. In the evening, Oline must go out and see how their live stock has grown: cows, abull, two calves, and a swarm of sheep and goats. "I don't know whereit'll ever end, " says Oline, with her eyes turned heavenwards. 

And Oline stays the night. 

Next morning she goes off again. Once more she has a bundle ofsomething with her. Isak is working in the quarry, and she goesanother way round, so that he shall not see. 

Two hours later, Oline comes back again, steps into the house, andasks at once: "Where is Isak?"

Inger is washing up. Oline should have passed by the quarry whereIsak was at work, and the children with him; Inger at once guessessomething wrong. 

"Isak? What d'you want with him?"

"Want with him?--why, nothing. Only I didn't see him to say good-bye. "

Silence. Oline sits down on a bench without being asked, drops down asif her legs refuse to carry her. Her manner is intended to show thatsomething serious is the matter; she is overcome. 

Inger can control herself no longer. Her face is all terror and furyas she says:

"I saw what you sent me by Os-Anders. Ay, 'twas a nice thing to send!"

"Why . .. What. .. ?"

"That hare. "

"What do you mean?" asks Oline in a strangely gentle voice. 

"Ah, don't deny it!" cries Inger, her eyes wild. "I'll break your facein with this ladle here--see that!"

Struck her? Ay, she did so. Oline took the first blow without falling, and only cried out: "Mind what you're doing, woman! I know what I knowabout you and your doings!" Inger strikes again, gets Oline down tothe floor, falls on her there, and thrusts her knees into her. 

"D'you mean to murder me?" asks Oline. The terrible woman with thehare-lip was kneeling on her, a great strong creature armed with ahuge wooden ladle, heavy as a club. Oline was bruised already, andbleeding, but still sullenly refusing to cry out. "So you're trying tomurder me _too_!"

"Ay, kill you, " says Inger, striking again. "There! I'll see you deadbefore I've done with you. " She was certain of it now. Oline knew hersecret; nothing mattered now. "I'll spoil your beastly face. "

"Beastly face?" gasps Oline. "Huh! Look to your own. With the Lord Hismark on it!"

Oline is hard, and will not give in; Inger is forced to give overthe blows that are exhausting her own strength. But she threatensstill--glares into the other's eyes and swears she has not finishedwith her yet. "There's more to come, ay, more, more. Wait till I get aknife. I'll show you!"

She gets on her feet again, and moves as if to look for a knife, atable knife. But now her fury is past its worst, and she falls back oncurses and abuse. Oline heaves herself up to the bench again, her faceall blue and yellow, swollen and bleeding; she wipes the hair fromher forehead, straightens her kerchief, and spits; her mouth too isbruised and swollen. 

"You devil!" she says. 

"You've been nosing about in the woods!" cries Inger. "That's whatyou've been doing. You've found that little bit of a grave there. Better if you'd dug one for yourself the same time. "

"Ay, you wait, " says Oline, her eyes glowing revengefully. "I'll sayno more--but you wait--there'll be no fine two-roomed house for you, with musical clocks and all. "

"You can't take it from me, anyway!"

"Ay, you wait. You'll see what Oline can do. "

And so they keep on. Oline does not curse, and hardly raises hervoice; there is something almost gentle in her cold cruelty, but sheis bitterly dangerous. "Where's that bundle? I left it in the woods. But you shall have it back--I'll not own your wool. "

"Ho, you think I've stolen it, maybe. "

"Ah, you know best what you've done. "

So back and forth again about the wool. Inger offers to show the verysheep it was cut from. Oline asks quietly, smoothly: "Ay, but whoknows where you got the first sheep to start with?"

Inger names the place and people where her first sheep were out tokeep with their lambs. "And you mind and care and look to what you'resaying, " says she threateningly. "Guard your mouth, or you'll besorry. "

"Ha ha ha!" laughs Oline softly. Oline is never at a loss, never to besilenced. "My mouth, eh? And what of your own, my dear?" She points toInger's hare-lip, calling her a ghastly sight for God and man. 

Inger answers furiously, and Oline being fat, she calls her a lump ofblubber--"a lump of dog's blubber like you. You sent me a hare--I'llpay you for that. "

"Hare again?" says Oline. "If I'd no more guilt in anything than Ihave about that hare. What was it like?"

"What was it like? Why, what's a hare always like?"

"Like you. The very image. "

"Out with you--get out!" shrieks Inger. 

"'Twas you sent Os-Anders with that hare. I'll have you punished; I'llhave you put in prison for that. "

"Prison--was it prison you said?"

"Oh, you're jealous and envious of all you see; you hate me for allthe good things I've got, " says Inger again. "You've lain awake withenvy since I got Isak and all that's here. Heavens, woman, what haveI ever done to you? Is it my fault that your children never got on inthe world, and turned out badly, every one of them? You can't bear thesight of mine, because they're fine and strong, and better named thanyours. Is it my fault they're prettier flesh and blood than yours everwere?"

If there was one thing could drive Oline to fury it was this. She hadbeen a mother many times, and all she had was her children, such asthey were; she made much of them, and boasted of them, told of greatthings they had never really done, and hid their faults. 

"What's that you're saying?" answered Oline. "Oh that you don't sinkin your grave for shame! My children! They were a bright host ofangels compared with yours. You dare to speak of my children? Sevenblessed gifts of God they were from they were little, and all grown upnow every one. You dare to speak. .. . "

"What about Lise, that was sent to prison?" asks Inger. 

"For never a thing. She was as innocent as a flower, " answers Oline. "And she's in Bergen now; lives in a town and wears a hat--but whatabout you?"

"What about Nils--what did they say of him?"

"Oh, I'll not lower myself. .. . But there's one of yours now lyingburied out there in the woods--what did you do to it, eh?"

"Now . .. ! One-two-three--out you go!" shrieks Inger again, and makes arush at Oline. 

But Oline does not move, does not even rise to her feet. Her stolidindifference paralyses Inger, who draws back, muttering: "Wait till Iget that knife. "

"Don't trouble, " says Oline. "I'm going. But as for you, turning yourown kin out of doors one-two-three. .. . Nay, I'll say no more. "

"Get out of this, that's all you need to do!"

But Oline is not gone yet. The two of them fall to again with wordsand abuse, a long bout of it again, and when the clock strikes half ofthe hour, Oline laughs scornfully, making Inger wilder than ever. Atlast both calm down a little, and Oline makes ready to go. "I've along road before me, " says she, "and it's late enough to be starting. It wouldn't ha' been amiss to have had a bite with me on the way. .. . "

Inger makes no answer. She has come to her senses again now, and poursout water in a basin for Oline to wash. "There--if you want to tidyyourself, " she says. Oline too thinks it as well to make herself asdecent as may be, but cannot see where the blood is, and washes thewrong places. Inger looks on for a while, and then points with herfinger. 

"There--wash there too, over your eye. No, not that, the other one;can't you see where I'm pointing?"

"How can I see which one you're pointing at, " answers Oline. 

"And there's more there, by your mouth. Are you afraid of water?--itwon't bite you!"

In the end, Inger washes the patient herself, and throws her a towel. 

"What I was going to say, " says Oline, wiping herself, and quitepeaceable now. "About Isak and the children--how will they get overthis?"

"Does he know?" asks Inger. 

"Know? He came and saw it. "

"What did he say?"

"What could he say? He was speechless, same as me. "

Silence. 

"It's all your fault, " wails Inger, beginning to cry. 

"My fault? I wish I may never have more to answer for!"

"I'll ask Os-Anders, anyhow, be sure of that. "

"Ay, do. "

They talk it all over quietly, and Oline seems less revengeful now. Anable politician, is Oline, and quick to find expedients; she speaksnow as if in sympathy--what a terrible thing it will be for Isak andthe children when it is found out!

"Yes, " says Inger, crying again. "I've thought and thought of thatnight and day. " Oline thinks she might be able to help, and be asaviour to them in distress. She could come and stay on the place tolook after things, while Inger is in prison. 

Inger stops crying; stops suddenly as if to listen and take thought. "No, you don't care for the children. "

"Don't care for them, don't I? How could you say such a thing?"

"Ah, I know. .. . "

"Why, if there's one thing in the world I do feel and care for, 'tischildren. "

"Ay, for your own, " says Inger. "But how would you be with mine? Andwhen I think how you sent that hare for nothing else but to ruin mealtogether--oh, you're no better than a heap of wickedness!"

"Am I?" says Oline. "Is it me you mean?"

"Yes, 'tis you I mean, " says Inger, crying; "you've been a wickedwretch, you have, and I'll not trust you. And you'd steal all thewool, too, if you did come. And all the cheeses that'd go to yourpeople instead of mine. .. . "

"Oh, you wicked creature to think of such a thing!" answers Oline. 

Inger cries, and wipes her eyes, saying a word or so between. Olinedoes not try to force her. If Inger does not care about the idea, 'tisall the same to her. She can go and stay with her son Nils, as she hasalways done. But now that Inger is to be sent away to prison, it willbe a hard time for Isak and the innocent children; Oline could stayon the place and give an eye to things. "You can think it over, " saysOline. 

Inger has lost the day. She cries and shakes her head and looks down. She goes out as if walking in her sleep, and makes up a parcel of foodfor Oline to take with her. "'Tis more than's worth your while, " saysOline. 

"You can't go all that way without a bite to eat, " says Inger. 

When Oline has gone, Inger steals out, looks round, and listens. No, no sound from the quarry. She goes nearer, and hears the childrenplaying with little stones. Isak is sitting down, holding the crowbarbetween his knees, and resting on it like a staff. There he sits. 

Inger steals away into the edge of the wood. There was a spot whereshe had set a little cross in the ground; the cross is thrown downnow, and where it stood the turf has been lifted, and the groundturned over. She stoops down and pats the earth together again withher hands. And there she sits. 

She had come out of curiosity, to see how far the little grave hadbeen disturbed by Oline; she stays there now because the cattle havenot yet come in for the night. Sits there crying, shaking her head, and looking down. 

Chapter VII

And the days pass. 

A blessed time for the soil, with sun and showers of rain; the cropsare looking well. The haymaking is nearly over now, and they have gotin a grand lot of hay; almost more than they can find room for. Someis stowed away under overhanging rocks, in the stable, under theflooring of the house itself; the shed at the side is emptied ofeverything to make room for more hay. Inger herself works early andlate, a faithful helper and support. Isak takes advantage of everyfall of rain to put in a spell of roofing on the new barn, and get thesouth wall at least fully done; once that is ready, they can stuffin as much hay as they please. The work is going forward; they willmanage, never fear!

And their great sorrow and disaster--ay, it was there, the thing wasdone, and what it brought must come. Good things mostly leave notrace, but something always comes of evil. Isak took the mattersensibly from the first. He made no great words about it, but askedhis wife simply: "How did you come to do it?" Inger made no answer tothat. And a little after, he spoke again: "Strangled it--was that whatyou did?"

"Yes, " said Inger. 

"You shouldn't have done that. "

"No, " she agreed. 

"And I can't make out how you ever could bring yourself to do it. "

"She was all the same as myself, " said Inger. 

"How d'you mean?"

"Her mouth. "

Isak thought over that for some time. "Ay, well, " said he. 

And nothing more was said about it at the time; the days went on, peacefully as ever; there was all the mass of hay to be got in, and arare heavy crop all round, so that by degrees the thing slipped intothe background of their minds. But it hung over them, and over theplace, none the less. They could not hope that Oline would keep thesecret; it was too much to expect. And even if Oline said nothing, others would speak; dumb witnesses would find a tongue; the walls ofthe house, the trees around the little grave in the wood. Os-Andersthe Lapp would throw out hints; Inger herself would betray it, sleeping or waking. They were prepared for the worst. 

Isak took the matter sensibly--what else was there to do? He knew nowwhy Inger had always taken care to be left alone at every birth; to bealone with her fears of how the child might be, and face the dangerwith no one by. Three times she had done the same thing. Isak shookhis head, touched with pity for her ill fate--poor Inger. He learnedof the coming of the Lapp with the hare, and acquitted her. It led toa great love between them, a wild love; they drew closer to each otherin their peril. Inger was full of a desperate sweetness towards him, and the great heavy fellow, lumbering carrier of burdens, felt a greedand an endless desire for her in himself. And Inger, for all that shewore hide shoes like a Lapp, was no withered little creature as theLapland women are, but splendidly big. It was summer now, and she wentabout barefooted, with her naked legs showing almost to the knee--Isakcould not keep his eyes from those bare legs. 

All through the summer she went about singing bits of hymns, and shetaught Eleseus to say prayers; but there grew up in her an unchristianhate of all Lapps, and she spoke plainly enough to any that passed. Some one might have sent them again; like as not they had a hare intheir bag as before; let them go on their way, and no more about it. 

"A hare? What hare?"

"Ho, you haven't heard perhaps what Os-Anders he did that time?"

"No. "

"Well, I don't care who knows it--he came up here with a hare, when Iwas with child. "

"Dear, and that was a dreadful thing! And what happened?"

"Never you mind what happened, just get along with you, that's all. Here's a bite of food, and get along. "

"You don't happen to have an odd bit of leather anywhere, I could mendmy shoe with?"

"No I But I'll give you a bit of stick if you don't get out!"

Now a Lapp will beg as humbly as could be, but say no to him, and heturns bad, and threatens. A pair of Lapps with two children came pastthe place; the children were sent up to the house to beg, and cameback and said there was no one to be seen about the place. The fourof them stood there a while talking in their own tongue, then the manwent up to see. He went inside, and stayed. Then his wife went up, and the children after; all of them stood inside the doorway, talkingLapp. The man puts his head in the doorway and peeps through into theroom; no one there either. The clock strikes the hour, and the wholefamily stand listening in wonder. 

Inger must have had some idea there were strangers about; she comeshurrying down the hillside, and seeing Lapps, strange Lapps into thebargain, asks them straight out what they are doing there. "What doyou want in here? Couldn't you see there was no one at home?"

"H'm . .. " says the man. 

"Get out with you, " says Inger again, "and go on your way. "

The Lapps move out slowly, unwillingly. "We were just listening tothat clock of yours, " says the man; "'tis a wonder to hear, that itis. "

"You haven't a bit of bread to spare?" says his wife. 

"Where do you come from?" asks Inger. 

"From the water over beyond. We've been walking all night. "

"And where are you going to now?"

"Across the hills. "

Inger makes up some food for them; when she comes out with it, thewoman starts begging again: a bit of stuff for a cap, a tuft of wool, a stump of cheese--anything. Inger has no time to waste, Isak and thechildren are in the hayfield. "Be off with you now, " she says. 

The woman tries flattery. "We saw your place up here, and thecattle--a host of them, like the stars in the sky. "

"Ay, a wonder, " says the man. "You haven't a pair of old shoes to giveaway to needy folk?"

Inger shuts the door of the house and goes back to her work on thehillside. The man called after her--she pretended not to hear, andwalked on unheeding. But she heard it well enough: "You don't want tobuy any hares, maybe?"

There was no mistaking what he had said. The Lapp himself might havespoken innocently enough; some one had told him, perhaps. Or he mighthave meant it ill. Be that as it may, Inger took it as a warning--amessage of what was to come. .. . 

The days went on. The settlers were healthy folk; what was to comewould come; they went about their work and waited. They lived close toeach other like beasts of the forest; they slept and ate; already theyear was so far advanced that they had tried the new potatoes, andfound them large and floury. The blow that was to fall--why did it notcome? It was late in August already, soon it would be September;were they to be spared through the winter? They lived in a constantwatchfulness; every night they crept close together in their cave, thankful that the day had passed without event. And so the time wenton until one day in October, when the Lensmand came up with a man anda bag. The Law stepped in through their doorway. 

The investigation took some time. Inger was called up and examinedprivately; she denied nothing. The grave in the wood was opened, andits contents removed, the body being sent for examination. The littlebody--it was dressed in Eleseus' christening robe, and a cap sewn overwith beads. 

Isak seemed to find speech again. "Ay, " said he, "it's as bad as wellcan be with us now. I've said before--you ought never to have doneit. "

"No, " said Inger. 

"How did you do it?"

Inger made no answer. 

"That you could find it in your heart. .. . "

"She was just the same as myself to look at. And so I took and twistedher face round. "

Isak shook his head slowly. 

"And then she was dead, " went on Inger, beginning to cry. 

Isak was silent for a while. "Well, well, 'tis too late to be cryingover it now, " said he. 

"She had brown hair, " sobbed Inger, "there at the back of herhead. .. . "

And again no more was said. 

Time went on as before. Inger was not locked up; the law was merciful. Lensmand Heyerdahl asked her questions just as he might have spoken toany one, and only said, "It's a great pity such things should happenat all. " Inger asked who had informed against her, but the Lensmandanswered that it was no one in particular; many had spoken of thematter, and he had heard of it from several quarters. Had she notherself said something about it to some Lapps?

Inger--ay, she had told some Lapps about Os-Anders, how he came andbrought a hare that summer, and gave her unborn child the hare-lip. And wasn't it Oline who had sent the hare?--The Lensmand knew nothingabout that. But in any case, he could not think of putting down suchignorant superstition in his report. 

"But my mother saw a hare just before I was born, " said Inger. .. . 

The barn was finished; a great big place it was, with hay-stalls onboth sides and a threshing-floor in the middle. The shed and the othermakeshift places were emptied now, and all the hay brought into thebarn; the corn was reaped, dried in stacks, and carted in. Ingertook up the carrots and turnips. All their crops were in now. Andeverything might have been well with them--they had all they needed. Isak had started on new ground again, before the frost came, to make abigger cornfield; Isak was a tiller of the soil. But in November Ingersaid one day, "She would have been six months old now, and known usall. "

"'Tis no good talking of that now, " said Isak. 

When the winter came, Isak threshed his corn on the newthreshing-floor, and Inger helped him often, with an arm as quick tothe work as his own, while the children played in the haystalls at theside. It was fine plump grain. Early in the new year the roads weregood, and Isak started carting down his loads of wood to the village;he had his regular customers now, and the summer-dried wood fetched agood price. One day he and Inger agreed that they should take the finebull-calf from Goldenhorns and drive it down to Fru Geissler, witha cheese into the bargain. She was delighted, and asked how much itcost. 

"Nothing, " said Isak. "The Lensmand paid for it before. "

"Heaven bless him, and did he?" said Fru Geissler, touched at thethought. She sent things up for Eleseus and Sivert in return--cakesand picture-books and toys. When Isak came back and Inger saw thethings, she turned away and cried. 

"What is it?" asked Isak. 

"Nothing, " answered Inger. "Only--she'd have been just a year now, andable to see it all. "

"Ay, but you know how it was with her, " said Isak, for comfort's sake. "And after all, it may be we'll get off easier than we thought. I'vefound out where Geissler is now. "

Inger looked up. "But how's that going to help us?"

"I don't know. .. . "

Then Isak carried his corn to the mill and had it ground, and broughtback flour. Then he turned woodman again, cutting the wood to be readyfor next winter. His life was spent in this work and that, accordingto the season; from the fields to the woods, and back to the fieldsagain. He had worked on the place for six years now, and Inger five;all might have been well, if it were only allowed to last. But it wasnot. Inger worked at her loom and tended the animals; also, she wasoften to be heard singing hymns, but it was a pitiful singing; she waslike a bell without a tongue. 

As soon as the roads were passable, she was sent for down to thevillage to be examined. Isak had to stay behind. And being there allalone, it came into his mind to go across to Sweden and find outGeissler; the former Lensmand had been kind to them, and might perhapsstill lend a helping hand some way to the folks at Sellanraa. Butwhen Inger returned, she had asked about things herself, and learnedsomething of what her sentence was likely to be. Strictly speaking, it was imprisonment for life, Paragraph I. But . .. After all, she hadstood up in the court itself and simply confessed. The two witnessesfrom the village had looked pityingly at her, and the judge had puthis questions kindly; but for all that, she was no match for thebright intellects of the law. Lawyers are great men to simple folk;they can quote paragraph this and section that; they have learned suchthings by rote, ready to bring out at any moment. Oh, they are greatmen indeed. And apart from all this knowledge, they are not alwaysdevoid of sense; sometimes even not altogether heartless. Inger had nocause to complain of the court; she made no mention of the hare, butwhen she tearfully explained that she could not be so cruel to herpoor deformed child as to let it live, the magistrate nodded, quietlyand seriously. 

"But, " said he, "think of yourself; you have a hare-lip, and it hasnot spoilt your life. "

"No, thanks be to God, " was all she said. She could not tell them ofall she had suffered in secret as a child, as a young girl. 

But the magistrate must have understood something of what it meant; hehimself had a club-foot, and could not dance. "As to the sentence, " hesaid, "I hardly know. Really, it should be imprisonment for life, but. .. I can't say, perhaps we might get it commuted, second or thirddegree, fifteen to twelve years, or twelve to nine. There's acommission sitting to reform the criminal code, make it more humane, but the final decision won't be ready yet. Anyhow, we must hope forthe best, " said he. 

Inger came back in a state of dull resignation; they had not found itnecessary to keep her in confinement meantime. Two months passed; thenone evening, when Isak came back from fishing, the Lensmand and hisnew assistant had been to Sellanraa. 

Inger was cheerful, and welcomed her husband kindly, praising hiscatch, though it was little he had brought home. 

"What I was going to say--has any one been here?" he asked. 

"Any one been? Why, who should there be?"

"There's fresh footmarks outside. Men with boots on. "

"Why--there's been no one but the Lensmand and one other. "

"What did they want?"

"You know that without asking. "

"Did they come to fetch you?"

"Fetch me? No, 'twas only about the sentence. The Lord is kind, 'tisnot so bad as I feared. "

"Ah, " said Isak eagerly. "Not so long, maybe?"

"No. Only a few years. "

"How many years?"

"Why, you might think it a lot, maybe. But I'm thankful to God all thesame. "

Inger did not say how long it would be. Later that evening Isak askedwhen they would be coming to fetch her away, but this she could not orwould not tell. She had grown thoughtful again, and talked of what wasto come; how they would manage she could not think--but she supposedthey would have to get Oline to come. And Isak had no better plan tooffer. 

What had become of Oline, by the way? She had not been up this year asshe used to do. Was she going to stay away for ever, now that she hadupset everything for them? The working season passed, but Oline didnot come--did she expect them to go and fetch her? She would comeloitering up of herself, no doubt, the great lump of blubber, themonster. 

And at last one day she did. Extraordinary person--it was as nothingwhatever had occurred to make ill-feeling between them; she was evenknitting a pair of new stockings for Eleseus, she said. 

"Just came up to see how you were getting on over here, " said she. And it turned out that she had brought her clothes and things up in asack, and left in the woods close by, ready to stay. 

That evening Inger took her husband aside and said: "Didn't you saysomething about seeking out Geissler? 'Tis in the slack time now. "

"Ay, " said Isak. "Now that Oline is come, I can go off tomorrowmorning, first thing. "

Inger was grateful, and thanked him. "And take your money with you, "she said--"all you have in the place. "

"Why, can't you keep the money here?"

"No, " said she. 

Inger made up a big parcel of food at once, and Isak woke while it wasyet night, and got ready to start. Inger went out on the door-slab tosee him off; she did not cry or complain, but only said:

"They may be coming for me now any day. "

"You don't know when?"

"No, I can't say. And I don't suppose it will be just yet, butanyhow. .. . If only you could get hold of Geissler, perhaps he might beable to say something. "

What could Geissler do to help them now? Nothing. But Isak went. 

Inger--oh, she knew, no doubt, more than she had been willing to say. It might be, too, that she herself had sent for Oline. When Isak camefrom Sweden, Inger was gone and Oline was there with the two children. 

It was dark news for a homecoming. Isak's voice was louder than usualas he asked: "Is she gone?"

"Ay, " said Oline. 

"What day was it?"

"The day after you left. " And Isak knew now that Inger had got him outof the way on purpose--that was why she had persuaded him to take themoney with him. Oh, but she might have kept a little for herself, forthat long journey!

But the children could think of nothing else but the little pig Isakhad brought with him. It was all he had for his trouble; the addresshe had was out of date, and Geissler was no longer in Sweden, but hadreturned to Norway and was now in Trondhjem. As for the pig, Isakhad carried it in his arms all the way, feeding it with milk from abottle, and sleeping with it on his breast among the hills. He hadbeen looking forward to Inger's delight when she saw it; now, Eleseusand Sivert played with it, and it was a joy to them. And Isak, watching them, forgot his trouble for the moment. Moreover, Oline hada message from the Lensmand; the State had at last given its decisionin the matter of the land at Sellanraa. Isak had only to go down tothe office and pay the amount. This was good news, and served to keephim from the worst depth of despair. Tired and worn out as he was, he packed up some food in a bag and set off for the village at once. Maybe he had some little hope of seeing Inger once again before sheleft there. 

But he was disappointed. Inger was gone--for eight years. Isak felthimself in a mist of darkness and emptiness; heard only a word hereand there of all the Lensmand said--a pity such things should happen. .. Hoped it might be a lesson to her . .. Reform and be a better womanafter, and not kill her children any more!

Lensmand Heyerdahl had married the year before. His wife had nointention of ever being a mother--no children for her, thank you! Andshe had none. 

"And now, " said the Lensmand, "this business about Sellanraa. Atlast I am in a position to settle it definitely. The Department isgraciously pleased to approve the sale of the land, more or lessaccording to the terms I suggested. "

"H'm, " said Isak. 

"It has been a lengthy business, but I have the satisfaction ofknowing that my endeavours have not been altogether fruitless. Theterms I proposed have been agreed to almost without exception. "

"Without exception, " said Isak, and nodded. 

"Here are the title-deeds. You can have the transfer registered at thefirst session. "

"Ay, " said Isak. "And how much is there to pay?"

"Ten _Daler_ a year. The Department has made a slight alterationhere--ten _Daler_ per annum instead of five. You have no objection tothat, I presume?"

"As long as I can manage to pay . .. " said Isak. 

"And for ten years. " Isak looked up, half frightened. 

"Those are the terms--the Department insists. Even then, it's no pricereally for all that land, cleared and cultivated as it is now. "

Isak had the ten _Daler_ for that year--it was the money he had gotfor his loads of wood, and for the cheeses Inger had laid by. He paidthe amount, and had still a small sum left. 

"It's a lucky thing for you the Department didn't get to hear aboutyour wife, " said the Lensmand. "Or they might have sold to some oneelse. "

"Ay, " said Isak. He asked about Inger. "Is it true that she's goneaway for eight years?"

"That is so. And can't be altered--the law must take its course. Asa matter of fact, the sentence is extraordinarily light. There's onething you must do now--that is, to set up clear boundaries betweenyour land and the State's. A straight, direct line, following themarks I set up on the spot, and entered in my register at the time. The timber cleared from the boundary line becomes your property. Iwill come up some time and have a look at what you have done. "

Isak trudged back to his home. 

Chapter VIII

Time flies? Ay, when a man is growing old. Isak was not old, he hadnot lost his vigour; the years seemed long to him. He worked on hisland, and let his iron beard grow as it would. 

Now and again the monotony of the wilderness was broken by the sightof a passing Lapp, or by something happening to one of the animals onthe place, then all would be as before. Once there came a number ofmen at once; they rested at Sellanraa, and had some food and a dish ofmilk; they asked Isak and Oline about the path across the hills;they were marking out the telegraph line, they said. And once cameGeissler--Geissler himself, and no other. There he came, free andeasy as ever, walking up from the village, two men with him, carryingmining tools, pick and spade. 

Oh, that Geissler! Unchanged, the same as ever; meeting and greetingas if nothing had happened, talked to the children, went into thehouse and came out again, looked over the ground, opened the doors ofcowshed and hayloft and looked in. "Excellent!" said he. "Isak, haveyou still got those bits of stone?"

"Bits of stone?" said Isak, wondering. 

"Little heavy lumps of stone I saw the boy playing with when I washere once before. "

The stones were out in the larder, serving as weights for so manymouse-traps; Isak brought them in. Geissler and the two men examinedthem, talking together, tapped them here and there, weighed them inthe hand. "Copper, " they said. 

"Could you go up with us and show where you found them?" askedGeissler. 

They all went up together; it was not far to the place where Isak hadfound the stones, but they stayed up in the hills for a couple ofdays, looking for veins of metal, and firing charges here and there. They came down to Sellanraa with two bags filled with heavy lumps ofstone. 

Isak had meanwhile had a talk with Geissler, and told him everythingas to his own position: about the purchase of the land, which had cometo a hundred _Daler_ instead of fifty. 

"That's a trifle, " said Geissler easily. "You've thousands, like asnot, on your part of the hills. "

"Ho!" said Isak. 

"But you'd better get those title-deeds entered in the register assoon as ever you can. "

"Ay. "

"Then the State can't come any nonsense about it after, youunderstand. "

Isak understood. "'Tis worst about Inger, " he said. 

"Ay, " said Geissler, and remained thoughtful longer than was usualwith him. "Might get the case brought up again. Set out the wholething properly; very likely get the sentence reduced a bit. Or wecould put in an application for a pardon, and that would probably cometo the same thing in the end. "

"Why, if as that could be done. .. . "

"But it wouldn't do to try for a pardon at once. Have to wait a bit. What was I going to say . .. You've been taking things down to mywife--meat and cheese and things--what?"

"Why, as to that, Lensmand paid for all that before. "

"Did I, though?"

"And helped us kindly in many a way. "

"Not a bit of it, " said Geissler shortly. "Here--take this. " And hetook out some _Daler_ notes. 

Geissler was not the man to take things for nothing, that was plain. And he seemed to have plenty of money about him, from the way hispocket bulged. Heaven only knew if he really had money or not. 

"But she writes all's well and getting on, " said Isak, coming back tohis one thought. 

"What?--Oh, your wife!"

"Ay. And since the girl was born--she's had a girl child, born whileshe was there. A fine little one. "

"Excellent!"

"Ay, and now they're all as kind as can be, and help her every way, she says. "

"Look here, " said Geissler, "I'm going to send these bits of stonein to some mining experts, and find out what's in them. If there's adecent percentage of copper, you'll be a rich man. "

"H'm, " said Isak. "And how long do you think before we could apply fora pardon?"

"Well, not so very long, perhaps, I'll write the thing for you. I'llbe back here again soon. What was it you said--your wife has had achild since she left here?"

"Yes. "

"Then they took her away while she was expecting it. That's a thingthey've no right to do. "

"Ho!"

"Anyhow, it's one more reason for letting her out earlier. "

"Ay, if that could be . .. " said Isak gratefully. 

Isak knew nothing of the many lengthy writings backward and forwardbetween the different authorities concerning the woman who wasexpecting a child. The local authorities had let her go free while thematter was pending, for two reasons: in the first place, they had nolock-up in the village where they could keep her, and, in the secondplace, they wished to be as lenient as possible. The consequence wassomething they could not have foreseen. Later, when they had sentto fetch her away, no one had inquired about her condition, and sheherself had said nothing of it. Possibly she had concealed the matteron purpose, in order to have a child with her during the years ofimprisonment; if she behaved well, she would no doubt be allowed tosee it now and again. Or perhaps she had been merely indifferent, andhad gone off carelessly, despite her state. .. . 

Isak worked and toiled, dug ditches and broke new ground, set up hisboundary lines between his land and the State's, and gained anotherseason's stock of timber. But now that Inger was no longer there towonder at his doings, he worked more from habit than for any joy inwhat he did. And he had let two sessions pass without having histitle-deeds registered, caring little about it; at last, that autumn, he had pulled himself together and got it done. Things were not asthey should be with Isak now. Quiet and patient as ever--yes, but nowit was because he did not care. He got out hides because it had to bedone--goatskins and calfskins--steeped them in the river, laid themin bark, and tanned them after a fashion ready for shoes. In thewinter--at the very first threshing--he set aside his seed corn forthe next spring, in order to have it done; best to have things doneand done with; he was a methodical man. But it was a grey and lonelylife; eyah, _Herregud_! a man without a wife again, and all therest. .. . 

What pleasure was there now in sitting at home Sundays, cleanlywashed, with a neat red shirt on, when there was no one to be cleanand neat for! Sundays were the longest days of all, days when he wasforced to idleness and weary thoughts; nothing to do but wander aboutover the place, counting up all that should have been done. He alwaystook the children with him, always carried one on his arm. It wasa distraction to hear their chatter, and answer their questions ofeverything. 

He kept old Oline because there was no one else he could get. AndOline was, after all, of use in a way. Carding and spinning, knittingstockings and mittens, and making cheese--she could do all thesethings, but she lacked Inger's happy touch, and had no heart in herwork; nothing of all she handled was her own. There was a thing Isakhad bought once at the village store, a china pot with a dog's head onthe lid. It was a sort of tobacco box, really, and stood on a shelf. Oline took off the lid and dropped it on the floor. Inger had leftbehind some cuttings of fuchsia, under glass. Oline took the glass offand, putting it back, pressed it down hard and maliciously; next day, all the cuttings were dead. It was not so easy for Isak to bear withsuch things; he looked displeased, and showed it, and, as there wasnothing swanlike and gentle about Isak, it may well be that he showedit plainly. Oline cared little for looks; soft-spoken as ever, sheonly said: "Now, could I help it?"

"That I can't say, " answered Isak. "But you might have left the thingsalone. "

"I'll not touch her flowers again, " said Oline. But the flowers werealready dead. 

Again, how could it be that the Lapps came up to Sellanraa sofrequently of late? Os-Anders, for instance, had no business there atall, he should have passed on his way. Twice in one summer he cameacross the hills, and Os-Anders, it should be remembered, had noreindeer to look to, but lived by begging and quartering himself onother Lapps. As soon as he came up to the place, Oline left her workand fell to chatting with him about people in the village, and, whenhe left, his sack was heavy with no end of things. Isak put up with itfor two years, saying nothing. 

Then Oline wanted new shoes again, and he could be silent no longer. It was in the autumn, and Oline wore shoes every day, instead of goingin wooden pattens or rough hide. 

"Looks like being fine today, " said Isak. "H'm. " That was how hebegan. 

"Ay, " said Oline. 

"Those cheeses, Eleseus, " went on Isak again, "wasn't it ten youcounted on the shelf this morning?"

"Ay, " said Eleseus. 

"Well, there's but nine there now. "

Eleseus counted again, and thought for a moment inside his littlehead; then he said: "Yes, but then Os-Anders had one to take away;that makes ten. "

There was silence for quite a while after that. Then little Sivertmust try to count as well, and says after his brother: "That makesten. "

Silence again. At last Oline felt she must say something. 

"Ay, I did give him a tiny one, that's true. I didn't think that coulddo any harm. But they children, they're no sooner able to talk thanthey show what's in them. And who they take after's more than I canthink or guess. For 'tis not your way, Isak, that I do know. "

The hint was too plain to pass unchecked. "The children are wellenough, " said Isak shortly. "But I'd like to know what good Os-Andershas ever done to me and mine. "

"What good?"

"Ay, that's what I said. "

"What good Os-Anders . .. ?"

"Ay, since I'm to give him cheeses in return. "

Oline has had time to think, and has her answer ready now. 

"Well, now, I wouldn't have thought it of you, Isak, that I wouldn't. Was it me, pray, that first began with Os-Anders? I wish I may nevermove alive from this spot if I ever so much as spoke his name. "

Brilliant success for Oline. Isak has to give in, as he has done manya time before. 

But Oline had more to say. "And if you mean I'm to go here cleanbarefoot, with the winter coming on and all, and never own the likeof a pair of shoes, why, you'll please to say so. I said a word of itthree and four weeks gone, that I needed shoes, but never sign of ashoe to this day, and here I am. "

Said Isak: "What's wrong with your pattens, then, that you can't usethem?"

"What's wrong with them?" repeats Oline, all unprepared. 

"Ay, that's what I'd like to know. "

"With my pattens?"

"Ay. "

"Well . .. And me carding and spinning, and tending cattle and sheepand all, looking after children here--have you nothing to say to that?I'd like to know; that wife of yours that's in prison for her deeds, did you let her go barefoot in the snow?"

"She wore her pattens, " said Isak. "And for going to church andvisiting and the like, why, rough hide was good enough for her. "

"Ay, and all the finer for it, no doubt. "

"Ay, that she was. And when she did wear her hide shoes in summer, shedid but stuff a wisp of grass in them, and never no more. But you--youmust wear stockings in your shoes all the year round. "

Said Oline: "As for that, I'll wear out my pattens in time, no doubt. I'd no thought there was any such haste to wear out good pattens allat once. " She spake softly and gently, but with half-closed eyes, thesame sly Oline as ever. "And as for Inger, " said she, "the changeling, as we called her, she went about with children of mine and learnedboth this and that, for years she did. And this is what we get forit. Because I've a daughter that lives in Bergen and wears a hat, I suppose that's what Inger must be gone away south for; gone toTrondhjem to buy a hat, he he!"

Isak got up to leave the room. But Oline had opened her heart now, unlocked the store of blackness within; ay, she gave out rays ofdarkness, did Oline. Thank Heaven, none of her children had theirfaces slit like a fire-breathing dragon, so to speak; but they werenone the worse for that, maybe. No, 'twasn't every one was so quickand handy at getting rid of the young they bore--strangling them in atwinkling. .. . 

"Mind what you're saying, " shouted Isak. And to make his meaningperfectly clear, he added: "You cursed old hag!"

But Oline was not going to mind what she was saying; not in the least, he he! She turned up her eyes to heaven and hinted that a hare-lipmight be this or that, but some folk seemed to carry it too far, hehe!

Isak may well have been glad to get safely out of the house at last. And what could he do but get Oline the shoes? A tiller of earth in thewilds; no longer even something of a god, that he could say to hisservant, "Go!" He was helpless without Oline; whatever she did orsaid, she had nothing to fear, and she knew it. 

The nights are colder now, with a full moon; the marshlands hardentill they can almost bear, but thawing again when the sun comes out, to an impassable swamp once more. Isak goes down to the village onecold night, to order shoes for Oline. He takes a couple of cheeseswith him, for Fru Geissler. 

Half-way down to the village a new settler has appeared. A well-to-doman, no doubt, since he had called in folk from the village to buildhis house, and hired men to plough up a patch of sandy moorland forpotatoes; he himself did little or nothing. The new man was BredeOlsen, Lensmand's assistant, a man to go to when the doctor had to befetched, or a pig to be killed. He was not yet thirty, but had fourchildren to look after, not to speak of his wife, who was as good asa child herself. Oh, Brede was not so well off, perhaps, after all;'twas no great money he could earn running hither and thither on allodd businesses, and collecting taxes from people that would not pay. So now he was trying a new venture on the soil. He had raised a loanat the bank to start house in the wilds. Breidablik, he called theplace; and it was Lensmand Heyerdahl's lady that had found thatsplendid name. 

Isak hurries past the house, not wasting time on looking in, but hecan see through the window that all the children are up already, earlyas it is. Isak has no time to lose, if he is to be back as far as thison the homeward journey next night, while the roads are hard. A manliving in the wilds has much to think of, to reckon out and fit in asbest can be. It is not the busiest time for him just now, but he isanxious about the children, left all alone with Oline. 

He thinks, as he walks, of the first time he had come that way. Timehas passed, the two last years had been long; there had been much thatwas good at Sellanraa, and a deal that was not--eyah, _Herregud_! Andnow here was another man clearing ground in the wilds. Isak knew theplace well; it was one of the kindlier spots he had noted himself onhis way up, but he had gone on farther. It was nearer the village, certainly, but the timber was not so good; the ground was less hilly, but a poorer soil; easy to work on the surface, but hard to deal withfarther down. That fellow Brede would find it took more than a mereturning over of the soil to made a field that would bear. And whyhadn't he built out a shed from the end of the hayloft for carts andimplements? Isak noticed that a cart had been left standing out in theyard, uncovered, in the open. 

He got through his business with the shoemaker, and, Fru Geisslerhaving left the place, he sold his cheeses to the man at the store. Inthe evening, he starts out for home. The frost is getting harder now, and it is good, firm going, but Isak trudges heavily for all that. Whocould say when Geissler would be back, now that his wife had gone;maybe he would not be coming at all? Inger was far away, and time wasgetting on. .. . 

He does not look in at Brede's on the way back; on the contrary, hegoes a long way round, keeping away from the place. He does not careto stop and talk to folk, only trudge on. Brede's cart is still out inthe open--does he mean to leave it there? Well, 'tis his own affair. Isak himself had a cart of his own now, and a shed to house it, butnone the happier for that. His home is but half a thing; it had been ahome once, but now only half a thing. 

It is full day by the time he gets within sight of his own place up onthe hillside, and it cheers him somewhat, weary and exhausted as he isafter forty-eight hours on the road. The house and buildings, therethey stand, smoke curling up from the chimney; both the little onesare out, and come down to meet him as he appears. He goes into thehouse, and finds a couple of Lapps sitting down. Oline starts up insurprise: "What, you back already!" She is making coffee on the stove. Coffee? _Coffee_!

Isak has noticed the same thing before. When Os-Anders or any of theother Lapps have been there, Oline makes coffee in Inger's little potfor a long time after. She does it while Isak is out in the woods orin the fields, and when he comes in unexpectedly and sees it, she saysnothing. But he knows that he is the poorer by a cheese or a bundle ofwool each time. And it is to his credit that he does not pick up Olinein his fingers and crush her to pieces for her meanness. Altogether, Isak is trying hard indeed to make himself a better man, better andbetter, whatever may be his idea, whether it be for the sake of peacein the house, or in some hope that the Lord may give him back hisInger the sooner. He is something given to superstition and apondering upon things; even his rustic wariness is innocent in itsway. Early that autumn he found the turf on the roof of the stable wasbeginning to slip down inside. Isak chewed at his beard for a while, then, smiling like a man who understands a jest, he laid some polesacross to keep it up. Not a bitter word did he say. And another thing:the shed where he kept his store of provisions was simply built onhigh stone feet at the corners, with nothing between. After a while, little birds began to find their way in through the big gaps in thewall, and stayed fluttering about inside, unable to get out. Olinecomplained that they picked at the food and spoiled the meat, and madea nasty mess about the place. Isak said: "Ay, 'tis a pity small birdsshould come in and not be able to get out again. " And in the thick ofa busy season he turned stonemason and filled up the gaps in the wall. 

Heaven knows what was in his mind that he took things so; whethermaybe he fancied Inger might be given back to him the sooner for hisgentleness. 

Chapter IX

The years pass by. 

Once more there came visitors to Sellanraa; an engineer, with aforeman and a couple of workmen, marking out telegraph lines againover the hills. By the route they were taking now, the line would becarried a little above the house, and a straight road cut through theforest. No harm in that. It would make the place less desolate, aglimpse of the world would make it brighter. 

"This place, " said, the engineer, "will be just about midway betweentwo lines through the valleys on either side. They'll very likely askyou to take on the job of linesman for both. "

"Ho!" said Isak. 

"It will be twenty-five _Daler_ a year in your pocket. "

"H'm, " said Isak. "And what am I to do for that?"

"Keep the line in repair, mend the wires when necessary, clear awayforest growth on the route as it comes up. They'll set up a littlemachine thing in the house here, to hang on the wall, that'll tell youwhen you're wanted. And when it does, you must leave whatever you'redoing and go. "

Isak thought it over. "I could do it all right in winter, " he said. 

"That's no good. It would have to be for the whole year, summer andwinter alike. "

"Can't be done, " said Isak. "Spring and summer and autumn I've my workon the land, and no time for other things. "

The engineer looked at him for quite a while, and then put anastonishing question, as follows: "Can you make more money that way?"

"Make more money?" said Isak. 

"Can you earn more money in a day by working on the land than youcould by working for us?"

"Why, as to that, I can't say, " answered Isak. "It's just this way, you see--'tis the land I'm here for. I've many souls and more beaststo keep alive--and 'tis the land that keeps us. 'Tis our living. "

"If you won't, I can find some one else, " said the engineer. 

But Isak only seemed rather relieved at the threat. He did not liketo disoblige the great man, and tried to explain. "'Tis this way, " hesaid, "I've a horse and five cows, besides the bull. I've twenty sheepand sixteen goats. The beasts, they give us food and wool and hide; wemust give them food. "

"Yes, yes, of course, " said the other shortly. 

"Well, and so I say, how am I to feed them when I've to run away alltimes in the busy season, to work on the telegraph line?"

"Say no more about it, " said the engineer. "I'll get the man downbelow you, Brede Olsen; he'll be glad to take it. " He turned to hismen with a brief word: "Now, lads, we'll be getting on, "

Now Oline had heard from the way Isak spoke that he was stiff-neckedand unreasonable in his mind, and she would make the most of it. 

"What was that you said, Isak? Sixteen goats? There's no more thanfifteen, " said she. 

Isak looked at her, and Oline looked at him again, straight in theface. 

"Not sixteen goats?" said he. 

"No, " said she, looking helplessly towards the strangers, as if to sayhow unreasonable he was. 

"Ho!" said Isak softly. He drew a tuft of his beard between his teethand stood chewing it. 

The engineer and his men went on their way. 

Now, if Isak had wanted to show his displeasure with Oline and maybethrash her for her doings, here was his chance--a Heaven-sent chanceto do that thing. They were alone in the house; the children had goneafter the men when they went. Isak stood there in the middle of theroom, and Oline was sitting by the stove. Isak cleared his throatonce or twice, just to show that he was ready to say something if hepleased. But he said nothing. That was his strength of soul. What, did he not know the number of his goats as he knew the fingers on hishands--was the woman mad? Could one of the beasts be missing, when heknew every one of them personally and talked to them every day--hisgoats that were sixteen in number? Oline must have traded away one ofthem the day before, when the woman from Breidablik had come up tolook at the place. "H'm, " said Isak, and this time words were onthe very tip of his tongue. What was it Oline had done? Not exactlymurder, perhaps, but something not far from it. He could speak indeadly earnest of that sixteenth goat. 

But he could not stand there for ever, in the middle of the room, saying nothing. "H'm, " he said. "Ho! So there's but fifteen goatsthere now, you say?"

"That's all I make it, " answered Oline gently. "But you'd better countfor yourself and see. "

Now was his time--he could do it now: reach out with his hands andalter the shape of Oline considerably, with but one good grip. Hecould do it. He did not do it, but said boldly, making for the door:"I'll say no more just now. " And he went out, as if plainly showingthat, next time, he would have proper words to say, never fear. 

"Eleseus!" he called out. 

Where was Eleseus, where were the children? Their father had somethingto ask them; they were big fellows now, with their eyes about them. Hefound them under the floor of the barn; they had crept in as far asthey could, hiding away invisibly, but betraying themselves by ananxious whispering. Out they crept now like two sinners. 

The fact of the matter was that Eleseus had found a stump of colouredpencil the engineer had left behind, and started to run after him andgive it back, but the big men with their long strides were already farup in the forest. Eleseus stopped. The idea occurred to him that hemight keep the pencil--if only he could! He hunted out little Sivert, so that they might at least be two to share the guilt, and the pair ofthem had crept in under the floor with their find. Oh, that stump ofpencil--it was an event in their lives, a wonder! They found shavingsand covered them all over with signs; the pencil, they discovered, made blue marks with one end and red with the other, and they tookit in turns to use. When their father called out so loudly andinsistently, Eleseus whispered: "They've come back for the pencil!"All their joy was dashed in a moment, swept out of their minds at atouch, and their little hearts began beating and thumping terribly. The brothers crept forth. Eleseus held out the pencil at arm's length;here it was, they had not broken it; only wished they had never seenthe thing. 

No engineer was to be seen. Their hearts settled to a quieter beat; itwas heavenly to be rid of that dreadful tension. 

"There was a woman here yesterday, " said their father. 

"Yes. "

"The woman from the place down below. Did you see her go?"

"Yes. "

"Had she a goat with her?"

"No, " said the boys. "A goat?"

"Didn't she have a goat with her when she left?"

"No. What goat?"

Isak wondered and wondered. In the evening when the animals came home, he counted the goats once over--there were sixteen. He counted themonce more, counted them five times. There were sixteen. None missing. 

Isak breathed again. But what did it all mean? Oline, miserablecreature, couldn't she count as far as sixteen? He asked her angrily:"What's all this nonsense? there _are_ sixteen goats. "

"Are there sixteen?" she asked innocently. 

"Ay. "

"Ay, well, then. "

"A nice one to count, you are. "

Oline answered quietly, in an injured tone, "Since all the goats arethere, why, then, thank Heaven, you can't say Oline's been eating themup. And well for her, poor thing. "

Oline had taken him in completely with her trickery; he was content, imagining all was well. It did not occur to him, for instance, tocount the sheep. He did not trouble about further counting of thestock at all. After all, Oline was not as bad as she might have been;she kept house for him after a fashion, and looked to his cattle; shewas merely a fool, and that was worst for herself. Let her stay, lether live--she was not worth troubling about. But it was a grey andjoyless thing to be Isak, as life was now. 

Years had passed. Grass had grown on the roof of the house, even theroof of the barn, which was some years younger, was green. Thewild mouse, native of the woods, had long since found way into thestorehouse. Tits and all manner of little birds swarmed about theplace; there were more birds up on the hillside; even the crows hadcome. And most wonderful of all, the summer before, seagulls hadappeared, seagulls coming all the way up from the coast to settle onthe fields there in the wilderness. Isak's farm was known far and wideto all wild creatures. And what of Eleseus and little Sivert when theysaw the gulls? Oh, 'twas some strange birds from ever so far away; notso many of them, just six white birds, all exactly alike, waddlingthis way and that about the fields, and pecking at the grass now andthen. 

"Father, what have they come for?" asked the boys. 

"There's foul weather coming out at sea, " said their father. Oh, agrand and mysterious thing to see those gulls!

And Isak taught his sons many other things good and useful to know. They were of an age to go to school, but the school was many milesaway down in the village, out of reach. Isak had himself taught theboys their A B C on Sundays, but 'twas not for him, not for this borntiller of the soil, to give them any manner of higher education; theCatechism and Bible history lay quietly on the shelf with thecheeses. Isak apparently thought it better for men to grow up withoutbook-knowledge, from the way he dealt with his boys. They were a joyand a blessing to him, the two; many a time he thought of the dayswhen they had been tiny things, and their mother would not let himtouch them because his hands were sticky with resin. Ho, resin, thecleanest thing in the world! Tar and goats' milk and marrow, forinstance, all excellent things, but resin, clean gum from the fir--nota word!

So the lads grew up in a paradise of dirt and ignorance, but they werenice lads for all that when they were washed, which happened now andagain; little Sivert he was a splendid fellow, though Eleseus wassomething finer and deeper. 

"How do the gulls know about the weather?" he asked. 

"They're weather-sick, " said his father. "But as for that they're nomore so than the flies. How it may be with flies, I can't say, if theyget the gout, or feel giddy, or what. But never hit out at a fly, for'twill only make him worse--remember that, boys! The horsefly he'sa different sort, he dies of himself. Turns up suddenly one day insummer, and there he is; then one day suddenly he's gone, and that'sthe end of him. "

"But how does he die?" asked Eleseus. 

"The fat inside him stiffens, and he lies there dead. "

Every day they learned something new. Jumping down from high rocks, for instance, to keep your tongue in your mouth, and not get itbetween your teeth. When they grew bigger, and wanted to smell nicefor going to church, the thing was to rub oneself with a little tansythat grew on the hillside. Father was full of wisdom. He taught theboys about stones, about flint, how that the white stone was harderthan the grey; but when he had found a flint, he must also maketinder. Then he could strike fire with it. He taught them about themoon, how when you can grip in the hollow side with your left handit is waxing, and grip in with the right, it's on the wane; rememberthat, boys! Now and again, Isak would go too far, and grow mysterious;one Friday he declared that it was harder for a camel to enter thekingdom of heaven than for a human being to thread the eye of aneedle. Another time, telling them of the glory of the angels, he explained that angels had stars set in their heels instead ofhob-nails. Good and simple teaching, well fitted for settlers in thewilds; the schoolmaster in the village would have laughed at it all, but Isak's boys found good use for it in their inner life. They weretrained and taught for their own little world, and what could bebetter? In the autumn, when animals were to be killed, the lads weregreatly curious, and fearful, and heavy at heart for the ones thatwere to die. There was Isak holding with one hand, and the other readyto strike; Oline stirred the blood. The old goat was led out, beardedand wise; the boys stood peeping round the corner. "Filthy cold windthis time, " said Eleseus, and turned away to wipe his eyes. LittleSivert cried more openly, could not help calling out: "Oh, poor oldgoat!" When the goat was killed, Isak came up to them and gave themthis lesson: "Never stand around saying 'Poor thing' and being pitifulwhen things are being killed. It makes them tough and harder to kill. Remember that!"

So the years passed, and now it was nearing spring again. 

Inger had written home to say she was well, and was learning a lotof things where she was. Her little girl was big, and was calledLeopoldine, after the day she was born, the 15th November. She knewall sorts of things, and was a genius at hemstitch and crochet, wonderful fine work she could do on linen or canvas. 

The curious thing about this letter was that Inger had written andspelt it all herself. Isak was not so learned but that he had to getit read for him down in the village, by the man at the store; but oncehe had got it into his head it stayed there; he knew it off by heartwhen he got home. 

And now he sat down with great solemnity at the head of the table, spread out the letter, and read it aloud to the boys. He was willingenough that Oline also should see how easily he could read writing, but he did not speak so much as a word to her directly. When he hadfinished, he said: "There now, Eleseus, and you, Sivert, 'tis yourmother herself has written that letter and learned all these things. Even that little tiny sister of yours, she knows more than all therest of us here. Remember that!" The boys sat still, wondering insilence. 

"Ay, 'tis a grand thing, " said Oline. 

And what did she mean by that? Was she doubting that Inger told thetruth? Or had she her suspicions as to Isak's reading? It was no easymatter to get at what Oline really thought, when she sat there withher simple face, saying dark things. Isak determined to take nonotice. 

"And when your mother comes home, boys, you shall learn to write too, "said he to the lads. 

Oline shifted some clothes that were hanging near the stove todry; shifted a pot, shifted the clothes again, and busied herselfgenerally. She was thinking all the time. 

"So fine and grand as everything's getting here, " she said at last. "Ido think you might have bought a paper of coffee for the house. "

"_Coffee_?" said Isak. It slipped out. 

Oline answered quietly: "Up to now I've bought a little now and againout of my own money, but. .. . "

Coffee was a thing of dreams and fairy tales for Isak, a rainbow. Oline was talking nonsense, of course. He was not angry with her, no; but, slow of thought as he was, he called to mind at last herbartering with the Lapps, and he said bitterly:

"Ay, I'll buy you coffee, that I will. A paper of coffee, was it? Whynot a pound? A pound of coffee, while you're about it. "

"No need to talk that way, Isak. My brother Nils, he gets coffee; downat Breidablik, too, they've coffee. "

"Ay, for they've no milk. Not a drop of milk on the place, they'venot. "

"That's as it may be. But you that know such a lot, and read writingas pat as a cockroach running, you ought to know that coffee's a thingshould be in everybody's house. "

"You creature!" said Isak. 

At that Oline sat down and was not to be silenced. "As for thatInger, " said she, "if so be I may dare to say such a word. .. . "

"Say what you will, 'tis all one to me. "

"She'll be coming home, and learned everything of sorts. And beads andfeathers in her hat, maybe?"

"Ay, that may be. "

"Ay, " said Oline; "and she can thank me a little for all the way she'sgrown so fine and grand. "

"You?" asked Isak. It slipped out. 

Oline answered humbly: "Ay, since 'twas my modest doing that she everwent away. "

Isak was speechless at that; all his words were checked, he sat therestaring. Had he heard aright? Oline sat there looking as if she hadsaid nothing. No, in a battle of words Isak was altogether lost. 

He swung out of the house, full of dark thoughts. Oline, that beastthat throve in wickedness and grew fat on it--why had he not wrung herneck the first year? So he thought, trying to pull himself together. He could have done it--he? Couldn't he, though! No one better. 

And then a ridiculous thing happened. Isak went into the shed andcounted the goats. There they are with their kids, the full number. He counts the cows, the pig, fourteen hens, two calves. "I'd all butforgotten the sheep, " he says to himself; he counts the sheep, andpretends to be all anxiety lest there should be any missing there. Isak knows very well that there is a sheep missing; he has known thata long time; why should he let it appear otherwise? It was this way. Oline had tricked him nicely once before, saying one of the goats wasgone, though all the goats were there as they should be; he had made agreat fuss about it at the time, but to no purpose. It was always thesame when he came into conflict with Oline. Then, in the autumn, atslaughtering time, he had seen at once that there was one ewe short, but he had not found courage to call her to account for it at thetime. And he had not found that courage since. 

But today he is stern; Isak is stern. Oline has made him thoroughlyangry this time. He counts the sheep over again, putting hisforefinger on each and counting aloud--Oline may hear it if she likes, if she should happen to be outside. And he says many hard things aboutOline--says them out loud; how that she uses a new method of her ownin feeding sheep, a method that simply makes them vanish--here's a ewesimply vanished. She is a thieving baggage, nothing less, and she mayknow it! Oh, he would just have liked Oline to be standing outside andhear it, and be thoroughly frightened for once. 

He strides out from the shed, goes to the stable and counts the horse;from there he will go in--will go into the house and speak his mind. He walks so fast that his shirt stands out like a very angry shirtbehind him. But Oline as like as not has noticed something, lookingout through the glass window; she appears in the doorway, quietly andsteadily, with buckets in her hands, on her way to the cowshed. 

"What have you done with that ewe with the flat ears?" he asks. 

"Ewe?" she asks. 

"Ay. If she'd been here she'd have had two lambs by now. What haveyou done with them? She always had two. You've done me out of threetogether, do you understand?"

Oline is altogether overwhelmed, altogether annihilated by theaccusation; she wags her head, and her legs seem to melt away underher--she might fall and hurt herself. Her head is busy all the time;her ready wit had always helped her, always served her well; it mustnot fail her now. 

"I steal goats and I steal the sheep, " she says quietly. "And whatdo I do with them, I should like to know? I don't eat them up all bymyself, I suppose?"

"You know best what you do with them. "

"Ho! As if I didn't have enough and to spare of meat and food and all, with what you give me, Isak, that I should have to steal more? ButI'll say that, anyway, I've never needed so much, all these years. "

"Well, what have, you done with the sheep? Has Os-Anders had it?"

"Os-Anders?" Oline has to set down the buckets and fold her hands. "May I never have more guilt to answer for! What's all this about a eweand lambs you're talking of? Is it the goat you mean, with the flatears?"

"You creature!" said Isak, turning away. 

"Well, if you're not a miracle, Isak, I will say. .. . Here you've allyou could wish for every sort, and a heavenly host of sheep and goatsand all in your own shed, and you've not enough. How should I knowwhat sheep, and what two lambs, you're trying to get out of me now?You should be thanking the Lord for His mercies from generation togeneration, that you should. 'Tis but this summer and a bit of a wayto next winter, and you've the lambing season once more, and threetimes as many again. "

Oh, that woman Oline!

Isak went off grumbling like a bear. "Fool I was not to murder her thefirst day!" he thought, calling himself all manner of names. "Idiot, lump of rubbish that I was! But it's not too late yet; just wait, lether go to the cowshed if she likes. It wouldn't be wise to do anythingtonight, but tomorrow . .. Ay, tomorrow morning's the time. Three sheeplost and gone! And coffee, did she say!"

Chapter X

Next day was fated to bring a great event. There came a visitor to thefarm--Geissler came. It was not yet summer on the moors, but Geisslerpaid no heed to the state of the ground; he came on foot, in rich highboots with broad, shiny tops; yellow gloves, too, he wore, and waselegant to see; a man from the village carried his things. 

He had come, as a matter of fact, to buy a piece of Isak's land, up inthe hills--a copper mine. And what about the price? Also, by the way, he had a message from Inger--good girl, every one liked her; he hadbeen in Trondhjem, and seen her. "Isak, you've put in some work here. "

"Ay, I dare say And you've seen Inger?"

"What's that you've got over there? Built a mill of your own, haveyou? grind your own corn? Excellent. And you've turned up a good bitof ground since I was here last. "

"Is she well?"

"Eh? Oh, your wife!--yes, she's well and fit. Let's go in the nextroom. I'll tell you all about it. "

"'Tis not in order, " put in Oline. Oline had her own reasons for notwishing them to go in. They went into the little room nevertheless, and closed the door. Oline stood in the kitchen and could hearnothing. 

Geissler sat down, slapped his knee with a powerful hand, and there hewas--master of Isak's fate. 

"You haven't sold that copper tract yet?" he asked. 

"No. "

"Good. I'll buy it myself. Yes, I've seen Inger and some other peopletoo. She'll be out before long, if I'm not greatly mistaken--the casehas been submitted to the King. "

"The King?"

"The King, yes. I went in to have a talk with your wife--they managedit for me, of course, no difficulty about that--and we had a longtalk. 'Well, Inger, how are you getting on? Nicely, what?' 'Why, I'veno cause to complain. '' Like to be home again?' 'Ay, I'll not say no. ''And so you shall before very long, ' said I. And I'll tell you thismuch, Isak, she's a good girl, is Inger. No blubbering, not so muchas a tear, but smiling and laughing . .. They've fixed up that troublewith her mouth, by the way--operation--sewed it up again. 'Good-bye, then, ' said I. 'You won't be here very long, I'll promise you that. '

"Then I went to the Governor--he saw me, of course, no difficultyabout that. 'You've a woman here, ' said I, ' that ought to be out ofthe place, and back in her home--Inger Sellanraa. ' 'Inger?' said he;'why, yes. She's a good sort--I wish we could keep her for twentyyears, ' said he. 'Well, you won't, ' said I. 'She's been here too longalready. ' 'Too long?' says he. 'Do you know what she's in for?' 'Iknow all about it, ' says I, 'being Lensmand in the district. ' 'Oh, 'says he, 'won't you sit down?' Quite the proper thing to say, ofcourse. 'Why, ' says the Governor then, 'we do what we can for herhere, and her little girl too. So she's from your part of the country, is she? We've helped her to get a sewing-machine of her own; she'sgone through the workshops right to the top, and we've taught her adeal--weaving, household work, dyeing, cutting out. Been here toolong, you say?' Well, I'd got my answer ready for that all right, butit could wait, so I only said her case had been badly muddled, and hadto be taken up again; now, after the revision of the criminal code, she'd probably have been acquitted altogether. And I told him aboutthe hare. 'A hare?' says the Governor. 'A hare, ' says I. 'And thechild was born with a hare-lip. ' 'Oh, ' says he, smiling, 'I see. Andyou think they ought to have made more allowance for that?' 'Theydidn't make any at all, ' said I, 'for it wasn't mentioned. ' 'Well, Idare say it's not so bad, after all. ' 'Bad enough for her, anyway. ''Do you believe a hare can work miracles, then?' says he. 'As tothat, ' said I, 'whether a hare can work miracles or not's a matter Iwon't discuss just now. The question is, what effect the _sight_ of ahare might have on a woman with her disfigurement, in her condition. 'Well, he thought over that for a bit. 'H'm, ' says he at last. 'Maybe, maybe. Anyhow, we're not concerned with that here. All we have todo is to take over the people they send us; not to revise theirsentences. And according to her sentence, Inger's not yet finished hertime. '

"Well, then, I started on what I wanted to say all along. 'There wasa serious oversight made in bringing her here to begin with, ' said I. 'An oversight?' 'Yes. In the first place, she ought never to have beensent across the country at all in the state she was in. ' He looks atme stiffly. 'No, that's perfectly true, ' says he. 'But it's nothing todo with us here, you know. ' 'And in the second place, ' said I, 'sheought certainly not to have been in the prison for full two monthswithout any notice taken of her condition by the authorities here. 'That put him out, I could see; he said nothing for quite a while. 'Areyou instructed to act on her behalf?' says he at last. 'Yes, I am, 'said I. Well, then, he started on about how pleased they had been withher, and telling me over again all they'd taught her and done for herthere--taught her to write too, he said. And the little girl had beenput out to nurse with decent people, and so on. Then I told him howthings were at home, with Inger away. Two youngsters left behind, and only a hired woman to look after them, and all the rest. 'I've astatement from her husband, ' said I, 'that I can submit whether thecase be taken up for thorough revision, or an application be madefor a pardon. ' 'I'd like to see that statement, ' says the Governor. 'Right, ' said I. 'I'll bring it along tomorrow in visiting hours. '"

Isak sat listening--it was thrilling to hear, a wonderful tale fromforeign parts. He followed Geissler's mouth with slavish eyes. 

Geissler went on: "I went straight back to the hotel and wrote out astatement; did the whole thing myself, you understand, and signed it'Isak Sellanraa. ' Don't imagine, though, I said a word against the waythey'd managed things in the prison. Not a word. Next day I went alongwith the paper. 'Won't you sit down?' says the Governor, the moment Igot inside the door. He read through what I'd written, nodded here andthere, and at last he says: 'Very good, very good indeed. It'd hardlydo, perhaps, to have the case brought up again for revision, but. .. . ''Wait a bit, ' said I. 'I've another document that I think will make itright. ' Had him there again, you see. 'Well, ' he says, all of a hurry, 'I've been thinking over the matter since yesterday, and I considerthere's good and sufficient grounds to apply for a pardon. ' 'And theapplication would have the Governor's support?' I asked. 'Certainly;yes, I'll give it my best recommendation. ' Then I bowed and said: 'Inthat case, there will be no difficulty about the pardon, of course. Ithank you, sir, on behalf of a suffering woman and a stricken home. 'Then says he: 'I don't think there should be any need of furtherdeclarations--from the district, I mean--about her case. You know thewoman yourself--that should be quite enough. ' I knew well enough, ofcourse, why he wanted the thing settled quietly as possible, so I justagreed: said it would only delay the proceedings to collect furthermaterial. .. . 

"And there you are, Isak, that's the whole story. " Geissler looked athis watch. "And now let's get to business. Can you go with me up tothe ground again?"

Isak was a stony creature, a stump of a man; he did not find iteasy to change the subject all at once; he was all preoccupied withthoughts and wondering, and began asking questions of this and that. He learned that the application had been sent up to the King, andmight be decided in one of the first State Councils. "'Tis all amiracle, " said he. 

Then they went up into the hills; Geissler, his man, and Isak, andwere out for some hours. In a very short time Geissler had followedthe lie of the copper vein over a wide stretch of land and marked outthe limits of the tract he wanted. Here, there, and everywhere he was. But no fool, for all his hasty movements; quick to judge, but soundenough for all that. 

When they came back to the farm once more with a sack full of samplesof ore--he got out writing materials and sat down to write. He did notbury himself completely in his writing, though, but talked now andagain. "Well, Isak, it won't be such a big sum this time, for theland, but I can give you a couple of hundred _Daler_ anyway, on thespot. " Then he wrote again. "Remind me before I go, I want to see thatmill of yours, " said he. Then he caught sight of some blue and redmarks on the frame of the loom, and asked. "Who drew that?" Now thatwas Eleseus, had drawn a horse and a goat; he used his coloured pencilon the loom and woodwork anywhere, having no paper. "Not at all bad, "said Geissler, and gave Eleseus a coin. 

Geissler went on writing for a bit, and then looked up. "You'll behaving other people taking up land hereabouts before long. "

At this the man with him spoke: "There's some started already. "

"Ho! And who might that be?"

"Well, first, there's the folk at Breidablik, as they call it--manBrede, at Breidablik. "

"Him--puh!" sniffed Geissler contemptuously. 

"Then there's one or two others besides, have bought. "

"Doubt if they're any good, any of them, " said Geissler. And noticingat the same moment that there were two boys in the room, he caughthold of little Sivert and gave him a coin. A remarkable man wasGeissler. His eyes, by the way, had begun to look soreish; there was akind of redness at the edges. Might have been sleeplessness; the samething comes at times from drinking of strong waters. But he did notlook dejected at all; and for all his talking of this and that betweentimes, he was thinking no doubt of his document all the while, forsuddenly he picked up the pen and wrote a piece more. 

At last he seemed to have finished. 

He turned to Isak: "Well, as I said, it won't make you a rich man allat once, this deal. But there may be more to come. We'll fix it up sothat you get more later on. Anyhow, I can give you two hundred now. "

Isak understood but little of the whole thing, but two hundred _Daler_was at any rate another miracle, and an unreasonable sum. He would getit on paper, of course, not paid in cash, but let that be. Isak hadother things in his head just now. 

"And you think she'll be pardoned?" he asked. 

"Eh? Oh, your wife! Well, if there'd been a telegraph office in thevillage, I'd have wired to Trondhjem and asked if she hadn't been setfree already. "

Isak had heard men speak of the telegraph; a wonderful thing, a stringhung up on big poles, something altogether above the common earth. Themention of it now seemed to shake his faith in Geissler's big words, and he put in anxiously: "But suppose the King says no?"

Said Geissler: "In that case, I send in my supplementary material, afull account of the whole affair. And then they _must_ set her free. There's not a shadow of doubt. "

Then he read over what he had written; the contract for purchaseof the land. Two hundred _Daler_ cash down, and later, a nice highpercentage of receipts from working, or ultimate disposal by furthersale, of the copper tract. "Sign your name here, " said Geissler. 

Isak would have signed readily enough, but he was no scholar; in allhis life he had got no farther than cutting initials in wood. Butthere was that hateful creature Oline looking on; he took up thepen--a beastly thing, too light to handle anyway--turned it rightend down, and _wrote_--wrote his name. Whereupon Geissler addedsomething, presumably an explanation, and the man he had brought withhim signed as a witness. 

Settled. 

But Oline was still there, standing immovable--it was indeed but nowshe had turned so stiff. What was to happen?

"Dinner on the table, Oline, " said Isak, possibly with a tough ofdignity, after having signed his name in writing on a paper. "Such aswe can offer, " he added to Geissler. 

"Smells good enough, " said Geissler. "Sound meat and drink. Here, Isak, here's your money!" Geissler took out his pocket-book--thick andfat it was, too--drew from it two bundles of notes and laid them down. "Count it over yourself. "

Not a movement, not a sound. 

"Isak, " said Geissler again. 

"Ay. Yes, " answered Isak, and murmured, overwhelmed, "'Tis not thatI've asked for it, nor would--after all you've done. "

"Ten tens in that--should be, and twenty fives here, " said Geisslershortly. "And I hope there'll be more than that by a long way for yourshare soon. "

And then it was that Oline recovered from her trance. The wonder hadhappened after all. She set the food on the table. 

Next morning Geissler went out to the river to look at the mill. It was small enough, and roughly built; ay, a mill for dwarfs, fortrollfolk, but strong and useful for a man's work. Isak led his guesta little farther up the river, and showed him another fall he had beenworking on a bit; it was to turn a saw, if so be God gave him health. "The only thing, " he said, "it's a heavy long way from school: I'llhave to get the lads to stay down in the village. " But Geissler, always so quick to find a way, saw nothing to worry about here. "Thereare more people buying and settling here now, " said he. "It won't belong before there's enough to start a school. "

"Ay, maybe, but not before my boys are grown. "

"Well, why not let them live on a farm down in the village? You coulddrive in with the boys and some food, and bring them up again threeweeks--six weeks after; it would be easy enough for you, surely?"

"Ay, maybe, " said Isak. 

Ay, all things would be easy enough, if Inger came home. House andland and food and grand things enough, and a big sum of money too hehad, and his strength; he was hard as nails. Health and strength--ay, full and unspoiled, unworn, in every way, the health and strengthof a man. 

When Geissler had gone, Isak began thinking of many presumptuousthings. Ay, for had not Geissler, that blessing to them all, said atparting that he would send a message very soon--would send a telegramas soon as ever he could. "You can call in at the post office in afortnight's time, " he had said. And that in itself was a wonderfulthing enough. Isak set to work making a seat for the cart. A seat, ofcourse, that could be taken off when using the cart for manure, but tobe put in again when any one wanted to drive. And when he had gotthe seat made, it looked so white and new that it had to be painteddarker. As for that, there were things enough that had to be done! Thewhole place wanted painting, to begin with. And he had been thinkingfor years past of building a proper barn with a bridge, to housein the crop. He had thought, too, of getting that saw set up andfinished; of fencing in all his cultivated ground; of building a boaton the lake up in the hills. Many things he had thought of doing. Buthard as he worked, unreasonably hard--what did it help against time?Time--it was the time that was too short. It was Sunday before heknew, and then directly after, lo it was Sunday again!

Paint he would, in any case; that was decided and emphatic. Thebuildings stood there grey and bare--stood there like houses in theirshirt sleeves. There was time yet before the busy season; the springwas hardly begun yet; the young things were out, but there was frostin the ground still. 

Isak goes down to the village, taking with him a few score of eggs forsale, and brings back paint. There was enough for one building, forthe barn, and it was painted red. He fetches up more paint, yellowochre this time, for the house itself. "Ay, 'tis as I said, here'sgoing to be fine and grand, " grumbles Oline every day. Ay, Oline couldguess, no doubt, that her time at Sellanraa would soon be up; she wastough and strong enough to bear it, though not without bitterness. Isak, on his part, no longer sought to settle up old scores with hernow, though she pilfered and put away things lavishly enough towardsthe end. He made her a present of a young wether; after all, she hadbeen with him a long time, and worked for little pay. And Oline hadnot been so bad with the children; she was not stern and strictlyrighteous and that sort of thing, but had a knack of dealing withchildren: listened to what they said, and let them do more or lessas they pleased. If they came round while she was making cheese, shewould give them a bit to taste; if they begged to be let off washingtheir faces one Sunday, she would let them off. 

When Isak had given his walls a first coat, he went down to thevillage again and brought up all the paint he could carry. Three coatshe put on in all, and white on the window-frames and corners. To comeback now and look at his home there on the hillside, it was likelooking at a fairy palace. The wilderness was inhabited andunrecognizable, a blessing had come upon it, life had arisen therefrom a long dream, human creatures lived there, children played aboutthe houses. And the forest stretched away, big and kindly, right up tothe blue heights. 

But the last time Isak went down for paint, the storekeeper gave hima blue envelope with a crest on, and 5 _skilling_ to pay. It was atelegram which had been forwarded by post, and was from LensmandGeissler. A blessing on that man Geissler, wonderful man that he was!He telegraphed these few words, that Inger was free, "Home soonestpossible: Geissler. " And at this the store took to whirling curiouslyround and round; the counter and the people in the shop were suddenlyfar away. Isak felt rather than heard himself saying, "_Herregud_!"and "Praise and thanks to God. "

"She might be here no later than tomorrow the day, " said thestorekeeper, "if so be she's left Trondhjem in time. "

"Ho!" said Isak. 

He waited till the next day. The carrier came up with letters, fromthe landing-stage where the steamer put in, but no Inger. "Then shewon't be here now till next week, " the storekeeper said. 

Almost as well, after all, that there was time to wait--Isak has manythings to do. Should he forget himself altogether, and neglect hisland? He sets off home again and begins carting out manure. It issoon done. He sticks a crowbar into the earth, noting how the frostdisappears from day to day. The sun is big and strong now, the snowis gone, green showing everywhere; the cattle are out to graze. Isakploughs one day, and a few days later he is sowing corn, plantingpotatoes. Ho, the youngsters too, planting potatoes like angels;blessed little hands they have, and what can their father do butwatch?

Then Isak washes out the cart down by the river, and puts the seatin. Talks to the lads about a little journey; he must have a littlejourney down to the village. 

"But aren't you going to walk?"

"Not today. I've took into my head to go down with horse and carttoday. "

"Can't we come too?"

"You've got to be good boys, and stay at home this time. Your ownmother'll be coming very soon, and she'll learn you a many things. "

Eleseus is all for learning things; he asks: "Father, when you didthat writing on the paper--what does it feel like?"

"Why, 'tis hardly to feel at all; just like a bit of nothing in thehand. "

"But doesn't it slip, like on the ice?"

"What slip?"

"The pen thing, that you write with?"

"Ay, there's the pen. But you have to learn to steer it, you'll see. "

But little Sivert he was of another mind, and said nothing about pens;he wanted to ride in the cart; just to sit up on the seat before thehorse was put in, and drive like that, driving ever so fast in a cartwithout a horse. And it was all his doing that father let them bothsit up and ride with him a long way down the road. 

Chapter XI

Isak drives on till he comes to a tarn, a bit of a pool on the moor, and there he pulls up. A pool on the moors, black, deep down, and thelittle surface of the water perfectly still; Isak knew what that wasgood for; he had hardly used any other mirror in his life than such abit of water on the moors. Look how nice and neat he is today, with ared shirt; he takes out a pair of scissors now, and trims his beard. Vain barge of a man; is he going to make himself handsome all at once, and cut away five years' growth of iron beard? He cuts and cuts away, looking at himself in his glass. He might have done all this at home, of course, but was shy of doing it before Oline; it was quite enoughto stand there right in front of her nose and put on a red shirt. Hecuts and cuts away, a certain amount of beard falls into his patentmirror. The horse grows impatient at last and is moving on; Isak isfain to be content with himself as he is, and gets up again. Andindeed he feels somehow younger already--devil knows what it could be, but somehow slighter of build. Isak drives down to the village. 

Next day the mail boat comes in. Isak climbs up on a rock by thestorekeeper's wharf, looking out, but still no Inger to beseen. Passengers there were, grown-up folk and children withthem--_Herregud_!--but no Inger. He had kept in the background, sitting on his rock, but there was no need to stay behind any longer;he gets down and goes to the steamer. Barrels and cases trundlingashore, people and mailbags, but still Isak lacked what he had comefor. There was something there--a woman with a little girl, up at theentrance to the landing-stage already; but the woman was prettier tolook at than Inger--though Inger was good enough. What--why--but itwas Inger! "H'm, " said Isak, and trundled up to meet them. Greetings:"_Goddag_, " said Inger, and held out her hand; a little cold, a littlepale after the voyage, and being ill on the way. Isak, he just stoodthere; at last he said:

"H'm. 'Tis a fine day and all. "

"I saw you down there all along, " said Inger. "But I didn't want tocome crowding ashore with the rest. So you're down in the villagetoday?"

"Ay, yes. H'm. "

"And all's well at home, everything all right?"

"Ay, thank you kindly. "

"This is Leopoldine; she's stood the voyage much better than I did. This is your papa, Leopoldine; come and shake hands nicely. "

"H'm, " said Isak, feeling very strange--ay, he was like a strangerwith them all at once. 

Said Inger: "If you find a sewing-machine down by the boat, it'll bemine. And there's a chest as well. "

Off goes Isak, goes off more than willingly, after the chest; themen on board showed him which it was. The sewing-machine was anothermatter; Inger had to go down and find that herself. It was a handsomebox, of curious shape, with a round cover over, and a handle to carryit by--a sewing-machine in these parts! Isak hoisted the chest and thesewing-machine on to his shoulders, and turned to his wife and child:

"I'll have these up in no time, and come back for her after. "

"Come back for who?" asked Inger, with a smile. "Did you think shecouldn't walk by herself, a big girl like that?"

They walked up to where Isak had left the horse and cart. 

"New horse, you've got?" said Inger. "And what's that you've got--acart with a seat in?"

"Tis but natural, " said Isak. "What I was going to say: Wouldn't youcare for a little bit of something to eat? I've brought things allready. "

"Wait till we get a bit on the way, " said she. "Leopoldine, can yousit up by yourself?"

But her father won't have it; she might fall down under the wheels. "You sit up with her and drive yourself. "

So they drove off, Isak walking behind. 

He looked at the two in the cart as he walked. There was Inger, allstrangely dressed and strange and fine to look at, with no hare-lipnow, but only a tiny scar on the upper lip. No hissing when shetalked; she spoke all clearly, and that was the wonder of it all. Agrey-and-red woollen wrap with a fringe looked grand on her dark hair. She turned round in her seat on the cart, and called to him:

"It's a pity you didn't bring a skin rug with you; it'll be cold, Idoubt, for the child towards night. "

"She can have my jacket, " said Isak. "And when we get up in the woods, I've left a rug there on the way. "

"Oh, have you a rug up in the woods?"

"Ay. I wouldn't bring it down all the way, for if you didn't cometoday. "

"H'm. What was it you said before--the boys are well and all?"

"Ay, thank you kindly. "

"They'll be big lads now, I doubt?"

"Ay, that's true. They've just been planting potatoes. "

"Oh!" said the mother, smiling, and shaking her head. "Can they plantpotatoes already?"

"Why, Eleseus, he gives a hand with this, and little Sivert helps withthat, " said Isak proudly. 

Little Leopoldine was asking for something to eat. Oh, the prettylittle creature; a ladybird up on a cart! She talked with a sing inher voice, with a strange accent, as she had learned in Trondhjem. Inger had to translate now and again. She had her brothers' features, the brown eyes and oval cheeks that all had got from their mother; ay, they were their mother's children, and well that they were so! Isakwas something shy of his little girl, shy of her tiny shoes and long, thin, woollen stockings and short frock; when she had come to meet herstrange papa she had curtseyed and offered him a tiny hand. 

They got up into the woods and halted for a rest and a meal all round. The horse had his fodder; Leopoldine ran about in the heather, eatingas she went. 

"You've not changed much, " said Inger, looking at her husband. 

Isak glanced aside, and said, "No, you think not? But you've grown sogrand and all. "

"Ha ha! Nay, I'm an old woman now, " said she jestingly. 

It was no use trying to hide the fact: Isak was not a bit sure ofhimself now. He could find no self-possession, but still kept aloof, shy, as if ashamed of himself. How old could his wife be now? Shecouldn't be less than thirty--that is to say, she couldn't be more, ofcourse. And Isak, for all that he was eating already, must pull up atwig of heather and fall to biting that. 

"What--are you eating heather?" cried Inger laughingly. 

Isak threw down the twig, took a mouthful of food, and going over tothe road, took the horse by its forelegs and heaved up its foreparttill the animal stood on its hindlegs. Inger looked on withastonishment. 

"What are you doing that for?" she asked. 

"Oh, he's so playful, " said Isak, and set the horse down again. 

Now what _had_ he done that for? A sudden impulse to do just thatthing; perhaps he had done it to hide his embarrassment. 

They started off again, and all three of them walked a bit of the way. They came to a new farm. 

"What's that there?" asked Inger. 

"'Tis Brede's place, that he's bought. "

"Brede?"

"Breidablik, he calls it. There's wide moorland, but the timber'spoor. "

They talked of the new place as they passed on. Isak noticed thatBrede's cart was still left out in the open. 

The child was growing sleepy now, and Isak took her gently in his armsand carried her. They walked and walked. Leopoldine was soon fastasleep, and Inger said:

"We'll wrap her up in the rug, and she can lie down in the cart andsleep as long as she likes. "

"'Twill shake her all to pieces, " said Isak, and carries her on. Theycross the moors and get into the woods again. 

"_Ptro_!" says Inger, and the horse stops. She takes the child fromIsak, gets him to shift the chest and the sewing-machine, making aplace for Leopoldine in the bottom of the cart. "Shaken? not a bit ofit!"

Isak fixes things to rights, tucks his little daughter up in the rug, and lays his jacket folded under her head. Then off again. 

Man and wife gossiping of this and that. The sun is up till late inthe evening, and the weather warm. 

"Oline, " says Inger--"where does she sleep?"

"In the little room. "

"Ho! And the boys?"

"They've their own bed in the big room. There's two beds there, justas when you went away. "

"Looking at you now, " said Inger, "I can see you're just as you werebefore. And those shoulders of yours, they've carried some burdens upalong this way, but they've not grown the weaker by it, seems. "

"H'm. Maybe. What I was going to say: How it was like with you all theyears there? Bearable like?" Oh, Isak was soft at heart now; he askedher that, and wondered in his mind. 

And Inger said: "Ay, 'twas nothing to complain of. "

They talked more feelingly together, and Isak asked if she wasn'ttired of walking, and would get up in the cart a bit of way. "No, thanks all the same, " said she. "But I don't know what's the matterwith me today; after being ill on the boat, I feel hungry all thetime. "

"Why, did you want something, then?"

"Yes, if you don't mind stopping so long. "

Oh, that Inger, maybe 'twas not for herself at all, but for Isak'ssake. She would have him eat again; he had spoiled his last mealchewing twigs of heather. 

And the evening was light and warm, and they had but a few miles moreto go; they sat down to eat again. 

Inger took a parcel from her box, and said:

"I've a few things I brought along for the boys. Let's go over therein the bushes, it's warmer there. "

They went across to the bushes, and she showed him the things; neatbraces with buckles for the boys to wear, copy-books with copies atthe top of the page, a pencil for each, a pocket-knife for each. Andthere was an excellent book for herself, she had. "Look, with my namein and all. A prayer-book. " It was a present from the Governor, by wayof remembrance. 

Isak admired each thing in silence. She took out a bundle of littlecollars--Leopoldine's, they were. And gave Isak a black neckerchieffor himself, shiny as silk. 

"Is that for me?" said he. 

"Yes, it's for you. "

He took it carefully in his hands, and stroked it. 

"Do you think it's nice?"

"Nice--why I could go round the world in such. "

But Isak's fingers were rough; they stuck in the curious silky stuff. 

Now Inger had no more things to show. But when she had packed them allup again, she sat there still; and the way she sat, he could see herlegs, could see her red-bordered stockings. 

"H'm, " said he. "Those'll be town-made things, I doubt?"

"'Tis wool was bought in the town, but I knitted them myself. They'reever so long--right up above the knee--look. .. . "

A little while after she heard herself whispering: "Oh, you . .. You'rejust the same--the same as ever!"

 * * * * *

And after that halt they drove on again, and Inger sat up, holding thereins. "I've brought a paper of coffee too, " she said. "But you can'thave any this evening, for it's not roasted yet. "

"'Tis more than's needed this evening and all, " said he. 

An hour later the sun goes down, and it grows colder. Inger gets downto walk. Together they tuck the rug closer about Leopoldine, and smileto see how soundly she can sleep. Man and wife talk together again ontheir way. A pleasure it is to hear Inger's voice; none could speakclearer than Inger now. 

"Wasn't it four cows we had?" she asks. 

"'Tis more than that, " says he proudly. "We've eight. "

"Eight cows!"

"That is to say, counting the bull. "

"Have you sold any butter?"

"Ay, and eggs. "

"What, have we chickens now?"

"Ay, of course we have. And a pig. "

Inger is so astonished at all this that she forgets herselfaltogether, and stops for a moment--"_Ptro_!" And Isak is proud andkeeps on, trying to overwhelm her completely. 

"That Geissler, " he says, "you remember him? He came up a little whileback. "

"Oh?"

"I've sold him a copper mine. "

"Ho! What's that--a copper mine?"

"Copper, yes. Up in the hills, all along the north side of the water. "

"You--you don't mean he paid you money for it?"

"Ay, that he did. Geissler he wouldn't buy things and not pay forthem. "

"What did you get, then?"

"H'm. Well, you might not believe it--but it was two hundred _Daler_. "

"You got two hundred _Daler_!" shouts Inger, stopping again with a"_Ptro_!"

"I did--yes. And I've paid for my land a long while back, " said Isak. 

"Well--you are a wonder, you are!"

Truly, it was a pleasure to see Inger all surprised, and make her arich wife. Isak did not forget to add that he had no debts nor owingsat the store or anywhere else. And he had not only Geissler's twohundred untouched, but more than that--a hundred and sixty _Daler_more. Ay, they might well be thankful to God!

They spoke of Geissler again; Inger was able to tell how he had helpedto get her set free. It had not been an easy matter for him, afterall, it seemed; he had been a long time getting the matter through, and had called on the Governor ever so many times. Geissler hadalso written to some of the State Councillors, or some other highauthorities; but this he had done behind the Governor's back, and whenthe Governor heard of it he was furious, which was not surprising. ButGeissler was not to be frightened; he demanded a revision of the case, new trial, new examination, and everything. And after that the Kinghad to sign. 

Ex-Lensmand Geissler had always been a good friend to them both, andthey had often wondered why; he got nothing out of it but their poorthanks--it was more than they could understand. Inger had spoken withhim in Trondhjem, and could not make him out. "He doesn't seem to carea bit about any in the village but us, " she explained. 

"Did he say so?"

"Yes. He's furious with the village here. He'd show them, he said. "

"Ho!"

"And they'd find out one day, and be sorry they'd lost him, he said. "

They reached the fringe of the wood, and came in sight of their home. There were more buildings there than before, and all nicely painted. Inger hardly knew the place again, and stopped dead. 

"You--you don't say that's our place--all that?" she exclaimed. 

Little Leopoldine woke at last and sat up, thoroughly rested now; theylifted her out and let her walk. 

"Are we there now?" she asked. 

"Yes. Isn't it a pretty place?"

There were small figures moving, over by the house; it was Eleseus andSivert, keeping watch. Now they came running up. Inger was seizedwith a sudden cold--a dreadful cold in the head, with sniffing andcoughing--even her eyes were all red and watering too. It always givesone a dreadful cold on board ship--makes one's eyes wet and all!

But when the boys came nearer they stopped running all of a sudden andstared. They had forgotten what their mother looked like, and littlesister they had never seen. But father--they didn't know him at alltill he came quite close. He had cut off his heavy beard. 

Chapter XII

All is well now. 

Isak sows his oats, harrows, and rolls it in. Little Leopoldine comesand wants to sit on the roller. Sit on a roller?--nay, she's all toolittle and unknowing for that yet. Her brothers know better. There'sno seat on father's roller. 

But father thinks it fine and a pleasure to see little Leopoldinecoming up so trustingly to him already; he talks to her, and showsher how to walk nicely over the fields, and not get her shoes full ofearth. 

"And what's that--why, if you haven't a blue frock on today--come, letme see; ay, 'tis blue, so it is. And a belt round and all. Rememberwhen you came on the big ship? And the engines--did you see them?That's right--and now run home to the boys again, they'll find yousomething to play with. "

Oline is gone, and Inger has taken up her old work once more, in houseand yard. She overdoes it a little, maybe, in cleanliness and order, just by way of showing that she was going to have things differentlynow. And indeed it was wonderful to see what a change was made; eventhe glass windows in the old turf hut were cleaned, and the boxesswept out. 

But it was only the first days, the first week; after that she beganto be less eager about the work. There was really no need to take allthat trouble about cowsheds and things; she could make better use ofher time now. Inger had learned a deal among the town folk, andit would be a pity not to turn it to account. She took to herspinning-wheel and loom again--true enough, she was even quicker andneater than before--a trifle too quick--_hui_!--especially when Isakwas looking on; he couldn't make out how any one could learn to usetheir fingers that way--the fine long fingers she had to her bighands. But Inger had a way of dropping one piece of work to take upanother, all in a moment. Well, well, there were more things to belooked to now than before, and maybe she was not altogether so patientas she had been; a trifle of unrest had managed to creep in. 

First of all there were the flowers she had brought with her--bulbsand cuttings; little lives these too, that must be thought of. Theglass window was too small, the ledge too narrow to set flower-potson; and besides, she had no flower-pots. Isak must make some tinyboxes for begonias, fuchsias, and roses. Also, one window was notenough--fancy a room with only one window!

And, "Oh, by the way, " said Inger, "I want an iron, you know. Thereisn't one in the place. I could use a flat iron for pressing when I'msewing dresses and things, but you can't do proper work without aniron of some sort. "

Isak promised to get the blacksmith down at the village to make afirst-rate pressing-iron. Oh, Isak was ready to do anything, do allthat she asked in every way; for he could see well enough that Ingerhad learned a heap of things now, and matchless clever she was grown. She spoke, too, in a different way, a little finer, using elegantwords. She never shouted out to him now as she used to: "Come and getyour food!" but would say instead: "Dinner's ready, if you please. "Everything was different now. In the old days he would answer simply"Ay, " or say nothing at all, and go on working for a bit before hecame. Now, he said "Thanks, " and went in at once. Love makes the wisea fool: now and then Isak would say "Thanks, thanks. " Ay, all wasdifferent now--maybe a trifle too fine in some ways. When Isak spokeof dung, and was rough in his speech, as peasants are, Inger wouldcall it manure, "for the sake of the children, you know. "

She was careful with the children, and taught them everything, educated them. Let tiny Leopoldine go on quickly with her crochetwork, and the boys with writing and schooling; they would not bealtogether behindhand when the time came for them to go to school inthe village. Eleseus in particular was grown a clever one, but littleSivert was nothing much, if the truth must be told--a madcap, a jackanapes. He even ventured to screw a little at Mother'ssewing-machine, and had already hacked off splinters from table andchairs with his new pocket-knife. Inger had threatened to take it awayaltogether. 

The children, of course, had all the animals about the place, andEleseus had still his coloured pencil besides. He used it verycarefully, and rarely lent it to his brother, but for all that thewalls were covered with blue and red drawings as time went on, and thepencil got smaller and smaller. At last Eleseus was simply forced toput Sivert on rations with it, lending him the pencil on Sunday only, for one drawing. Sivert was not pleased with the arrangement, butEleseus was a fellow who would stand no nonsense. Not so much as beingthe stronger, but he had longer arms, and could manage better when itcame to a quarrel. 

But that Sivert! Now and again he would come across a bird's nest inthe woods; once he talked about a mouse-hole he had found, and made alot of that; another time it was a great fish as big as a man, he hadseen in the river. But it was all evidently his own invention; he wassomewhat inclined to make black into white, was Sivert, but a goodsort for all that. When the cat had kittens, it was he who brought hermilk, because she hissed too much for Eleseus. Sivert was never tiredof standing looking at the box full of movement, a nest of tumblingfurry paws. 

The chickens, too, he noticed every day: the cock with his lordlycarriage and fine feathers, the hens tripping about chattering low, and pecking at the sand, or screaming out as if terribly hurt everytime they had laid an egg. 

And there was the big wether. Little Sivert had read a good deal towhat he knew before, but he could not say of the wether that the beasthad a fine Roman nose, begad! That he could not say. But he could dobetter than that. He knew the wether from the day when it had beena lamb, he understood it and was one with it--a kinsman, afellow-creature. Once, a strange primitive impression flickeredthrough his senses: it was a moment he never forgot. The wether wasgrazing quietly in the field; suddenly it threw up its head, stoppedmunching, simply stood there looking out. Sivert looked involuntarilyin the same direction. No--nothing remarkable. But Sivert himself feltsomething strange within him: "'Tis most as if he stood looking intothe garden of Eden, " he thought. 

There were the cows, --the children had each a couple, --great sailingcreatures, so friendly and tame that they let themselves be caughtwhenever you liked; let human children pat them. There was the pig, white and particular about its person when decently looked after, listening to every sound, a comical fellow, always eager for food, andticklish and fidgety as a girl. And there was the billy-goat, therewas always one old billy-goat at Sellanraa, for as soon as one diedanother was ready to take his place. And was there ever anything sosolemnly ridiculous to look at? Just now he had a whole lot of goatsto look after, but at times he would get sick and tired of them all, and lie down, a bearded, thoughtful spectacle, a veritable FatherAbraham. And then in a moment, up again and off after the flock. Healways left a trail of sourish air behind him. 

 * * * * *

The daily round of the farm goes on. Now and again a traveller comesby, on his way up to the hills, and asks: "And how's all with yehere?"

And Isak answers: "Ay, thank ye kindly. "

Isak works and works, consulting the almanac for all that he does, notes the changes of the moon, pays heed to the signs of the weather, and works on. He has beaten out so much of a track down to the villagethat he can drive in now with horse and cart, but for the most part, he carries his load himself; carries loads of cheese or hides, andbark and resin, and butter and eggs; all things he can sell, to bringback other wares instead. No, in the summer he does not often drivedown--for one thing, because the road down from Breidablik, the lastpart of the way, is so badly kept. He has asked Brede Olsen to helpwith the upkeep of the road, and do his share. Brede Olsen promises, but does not hold to his word. And Isak will not ask him again. Rathercarry a load on his back himself. And Inger says: "I can't understandhow you ever manage it all. " Oh, but he could manage anything. He hada pair of boots, so unimaginably heavy and thick, with great slabs ofiron on the soles, even the straps were fastened with copper nails--itwas a marvel that one man could walk in such boots at all. 

On one of his journeys down, he came upon several gangs of men at workon the moors; putting down stone sockets and fixing telegraph poles. Some of them are from the village, Brede Olsen is there too, for allthat he has taken up land of his own and ought to be working on that. Isak wonders that Brede can find time. 

The foreman asks if Isak can sell them telegraph poles. Isak says no. Not if he's well paid for them?--No. --Oh, Isak was grown a thoughtquicker in his dealings now, he could say no. If he sold them a fewpoles, to be sure it would be money in his pockets, so many _Daler_more; but he had no timber to spare, there was nothing gained by that. The engineer in charge comes up himself to ask, but Isak refuses. 

"We've poles enough, " says the engineer, "but it would be easier totake them from your ground up there, and save transport. "

"I've no timber to spare myself, " says Isak. "I want to get up a bitof a saw and do some cutting; there's some more buildings I'll need tohave ready soon. "

Here Brede Olsen put in a word, and says: "If I was you, Isak, I'dsell them poles. "

For all his patience, Isak gave Brede a look and said: "Ay, I dare sayyou would. "

"Well--what?" asks Brede. 

"Only that I'm not you, " said Isak. 

Some of the workmen chuckled a little at this. 

Ay, Isak had reason enough just then to put his neighbour down; thatvery day he had seen three sheep in the fields at Breidablik, and oneof them he knew--the one with the flat ears that Oline had barteredaway. He may keep it, thought Isak, as he went on his way; Brede andhis woman may get all the sheep they want, for me!

That business of the saw was always in his thoughts; it was as he hadsaid. Last winter, when the roads were hard, he had carted up the bigcircular blade and the fittings, ordered from Trondhjem through thevillage store. The parts were lying in one of the sheds now, wellsmeared with oil to keep off the rust. He had brought up some of thebeams too, for the framework; he could begin building when he pleased, but he put it off. What could it be? was he beginning to grow slack, was he wearing out? He could not understand it himself. It would havebeen no surprise to others, perhaps, but Isak could not believe it. Was his head going? He had never been afraid of taking up a piece ofwork before; he must have changed somehow, since the time when he hadbuilt his mill across a river just as big. He could get in help fromthe village, but he would try again alone; he would start in a day orso--and Inger could lend him a hand. 

He spoke to Inger about it. 

"Hm. I don't know if you could find time one of these days to lend ahand with that sawmill?"

Inger thought for a moment. "Ye--s, if I can manage it. So you'regoing to set up a sawmill?"

"Ay, 'tis my intention so. I've worked it all out in my head. "

"Will that be harder than the mill was?"

"Much harder, ten times as hard. Why, it's all got to be as close andexact--down to the tiniest line, and the saw itself exactly midways. "

"If only you can manage it, " said Inger thoughtlessly. 

Isak was offended, and answered, "As to that, we shall see. "

"Couldn't you get a man to help you, some one that knows the work?"

"No. "

"Well, then, you won't be able to manage it, " said she again. 

Isak put up his hand to his hair--it was like a bear lifting his paw. 

"'Twas just that I've been fearing, " said he. "That I might not manageit. And that's why I wanted you that's learned so much to help me. "

That was one to the bear. But nothing gained after all. Inger tossedher head and turned aside unkindly, and would have nothing to do withhis saw. 

"Well, then--" said Isak. 

"Why, do you want me to stand getting drenched in the river and haveme laid up? And who's to do all the sewing, and look to the animalsand keep house, and all the rest?"

"No, that's true, " said Isak. 

Oh, but it was only the four corner posts and the middle ones forthe two long sides he wanted help with, that was all. Inger--was shereally grown so different in her heart through living among folk fromthe towns?

The fact was that Inger had changed a good deal; she thought now lessof their common good than of herself. She had taken loom and wheelinto use again, but the sewing machine was more to her taste; and whenthe pressing-iron came up from the blacksmith's, she was ready to setup as a fully-trained dressmaker. She had a profession now. She beganby making a couple of little frocks for Leopoldine. Isak thought thempretty, and praised them, maybe, a thought too much; Inger hinted thatit was nothing to what she could do when she tried. 

"But they're too short, " said Isak. 

"They're worn that way in town, " said Inger. "You know nothing aboutit. "

Isak saw he had gone too far, and, to make up for it, said somethingabout getting some material for Inger herself, for something or other. 

"For a cloak?" said Inger. 

"Ay, or what you'd like. "

Inger agreed to have something for a cloak, and described the sort ofstuff she wanted. 

But when she had made the cloak, she had to find some one to show itto; accordingly, when the boys went down to the village to be put toschool, Inger herself went with them. And that journey might haveseemed a little thing, but it left its mark. 

They came first of all to Breidablik, and the Breidablik woman and herchildren came out to see who it was going by. There sat Inger and thetwo boys, driving down lordly-wise--the boys on their way to school, nothing less, and Inger wearing a cloak. The Breidablik woman felta sting at the sight; the cloak she could have done without--thankheaven, _she_ set no store by such foolishness!--but . .. She hadchildren of her own--Barbro, a great girl already, Helge, the next, and Kathrine, all of an age for school. The two eldest had been toschool before, when they lived down in the village, but after movingup to Breidablik, to an out-of-the-way place up on the moors, they hadbeen forced to give it up, and let the children run heathen again. 

"You'll be wanting a bite for the boys, maybe, " said the woman. 

"Food? Do you see this chest here? It's my travelling trunk, that Ibrought home with me--I've that full of food. "

"And what'll be in it of sorts?"

"What sorts? I've meat and pork in plenty, and bread and butter andcheese besides. "

"Ay, you've no lack up at Sellanraa, " said the other; and her poor, sallow-faced children listened with eyes and ears to this talk of richthings to eat. "And where will they be staying?" asked the mother. 

"At the blacksmith's, " said Inger. 

"Ho!" said the other. "Ay, mine'll be going to school again soon. They'll stay with the Lensmand. "

"Ho!" said Inger. 

"Ay, or at the doctor's, maybe, or at the parsonage. Brede he's inwith the great folks there, of course. "

Inger fumbled with her cloak, and managed to turn it so that a bit ofblack silk fringe appeared to advantage. 

"Where did you get the cloak?" asked, the woman. "One you had withyou, maybe?"

"I made it myself. "

"Ay, ay, 'tis as I said: wealth and riches full and running over. .. . "

Inger drove on, feeling all set up and pleased with herself, and, coming into the village, she may have been a trifle overproud in herbearing. Lensmand Heyerdahl's lady was not pleased at the sight ofthat cloak; the Sellanraa woman was forgetting her place--forgettingwhere it was she had come from after five years' absence. But Ingerhad at least a chance of showing off her cloak, and the storekeeper'swife and the blacksmith's wife and the schoolmaster's wife all thoughtof getting one like it for themselves--but it could wait a bit. 

And now it was not long before Inger began to have visitors. Oneor two women came across from the other side of the hills, out ofcuriosity. Oline had perhaps chanced to say something against herwill, to this one or that. Those who came now brought news fromInger's own birthplace; what more natural than that Inger should givethem a cup of coffee, and let them look at her sewing-machine! Younggirls came up in pairs from the coast, from the village, to askInger's advice; it was autumn now, and they had been saving up for anew dress, and wanted her to help them. Inger, of course, would knowall about the latest fashions, after being out in the world, and nowand again she would do a little cutting out. Inger herself brightenedup at these visits, and was glad; kindly and helpful she was too, andclever at the work, besides; she could cut out material without apattern. Sometimes she would even hem a whole length on her machine, and all for nothing, and give the stuff back to the girls with adelightful jest: "There--now you can sew the buttons on yourself!"

Later in the year Inger was sent for down to the village, to dodressmaking for some of the great folks there. Inger could not go; shehad a household to look after, and animals besides, all the work ofthe home, and she had no servant. 

Had no what? Servant!

She spoke to Isak one day. 

"If only I had some one to help me, I could put in more time sewing. "

Isak did not understand. "Help?"

"Yes, help in the house--a servant-girl. "

Isak must have been taken aback at this; he laughed a little inhis iron beard, and took it as a jest. "Ay, we should have aservant-girl, " said he. 

"Housewives in the towns always have a servant, " said Inger. 

"Ho!" said Isak. 

Well, Isak was not perhaps in the best of humour just then, notexactly gentle and content, no, for he had started work on thatsawmill, and it was a slow and toilsome business; he couldn't hold thebaulks with one hand, and a level in the other, and fix ends at thesame time. But when the boys came back from school again it waseasier; the lads were useful and a help, bless them! Sivert especiallyhad a genius for knocking in nails, but Eleseus was better at handlinga plumb-line. By the end of a week, Isak and the boys had actually gotthe foundation posts in, and soundly fixed with stretcher pieces asthick as the beams themselves. 

It worked out all right--everything worked out all right somehow. ButIsak was beginning to feel tired in the evenings now--whateverit could be. It was not only building a sawmill and getting thatdone--there was everything else besides. The hay was in, but the cornwas standing yet, soon it would have to be cut and stacked: there werethe potatoes too, they would have to be taken up before long. But theboys were a wonderful help. He did not thank them; 'twas not the wayamong folk of their sort, but he was mightily pleased with them forall that. Now and again they would sit down in the middle of theirwork and talk together, the father almost asking his sons' advice asto what they should do next. Those were proud moments for the lads, they learned also to think well before they spoke, lest they should bein the wrong. 

"'Twould be a pity not to have the saw roofed in before the autumnrains, " said their father. 

If only Inger had been as in the old days! But Inger was not so strongas she had been, it seemed, and that was natural enough after her longspell within walls. That her mind, too, seemed changed was anothermatter. Strange, how little thought, how little care, she seemed totake now; shallow and heedless--was this Inger?

One day she spoke of the child she had killed. 

"And a fool I was to do it, " she said. "We might have had her mouthsewed up too, and then I needn't have throttled her. " And she neverstole off now to a tiny grave in the forest, where once she had pattedthe earth with her hands and set up a little cross. 

But Inger was not altogether heartless yet; she cared for her otherchildren, kept them clean and made new clothes for them; she would situp late at night mending their things. It was her ambition to see themget on in the world. 

The corn was stacked, and the potatoes were taken up. Then came thewinter. No, the sawmill did not get roofed in that autumn, but thatcould not be helped--after all, 'twas not a matter of life or death. Next summer would be time and means enough. 

Chapter XIII

The winter round of work was as before; carting wood, mending toolsand implements. Inger kept house, and did sewing in her spare time. The boys were down in the village again for the long term at school. For several winters past they had had a pair of _ski_ between them;they managed well enough that way as long as they were at home, onewaiting while the other took his turn, or one standing on behind theother. Ay, they managed finely with but one pair, it was the finestthing they knew, and they were innocent and glad. But down in thevillage things were different. The school was full of _ski_; even thechildren at Breidablik, it seemed, had each a pair. And the end of itwas that Isak had to make a new pair for Eleseus, Sivert keeping theold pair for his own. 

Isak did more; he had the boys well clad, and gave them everlastingboots. But when that was done, Isak went to the storekeeper and askedfor a ring. 

"A ring?" said the man. 

"A finger ring. Ay, I've grown that high and mighty now I must give mywife a ring. "

"Do you want a silver one, or gold, or just a brass ring dipped tolook like gold?"

"Let's say a silver ring. "

The storekeeper thought for a while. 

"Look you, Isak, " he said. "If you want to do the proper thing, andgive your wife a ring she needn't be ashamed to wear, you'd bettermake it a gold ring. "

"What!" said Isak aloud. Though maybe in his inmost heart he had beenthinking of a gold ring all the time. 

They talked the matter over seriously, and agreed about getting ameasurement of some sort for the ring. Isak was thoughtful, and shookhis head and reckoned it was a big thing to do, but the storekeeperrefused to order anything but a gold ring. Isak went home again, secretly pleased with his decision, but somewhat anxious, for allthat, at the extravagant lengths he had gone to, all for being in lovewith his wife. 

There was a good average snowfall that winter, and early in the year, when the roads were passable, folk from the village began cartingup telegraph poles over the moors, dropping their loads at regularintervals. They drove big teams, and came up past Breidablik, pastSellanraa farm, and met new teams beyond, coming down with poles fromthe other side of the hills--the line was complete. 

So life went on day by day, without any great event. What was thereto happen, anyway? Spring came, and the work of setting up the polesbegan. Brede Olsen was there again, with the gangs, though he shouldhave been working on his own land at that season. "'Tis a wonder he'sthe time, " thought Isak. 

Isak himself had barely time to eat and sleep; it was a close thing toget through the season's work now, with all the land he had broughtunder tillage. 

Then, between seasons, he got his sawmill roofed in, and could set towork putting up the machine parts. And look you, 'twas no marvel offine woodwork he had set up, but strong it was, as a giant of thehills, and stood there to good use. The saw could work, and cut as asawmill should; Isak had kept his eyes about him down in the village, and used them well. It was hearty and small, this sawmill he hadbuilt, but he was pleased with it; he carved the date above thedoorway, and put his mark. 

And that summer, something more than usual did come about after all atSellanraa. 

The telegraph workers had now reached so far up over the moors thatthe foremost gang came to the farm one evening and asked to be lodgedfor the night. They were given shelter in the big barn. As the dayswent on, the other gangs came along, and all were housed at Sellanraa. The work went on ahead, passing the farm, but the men still cameback to sleep in the barn. One Saturday evening came the engineer incharge, to pay the men. 

At sight of the engineer, Eleseus felt his heart jump, and stole outof the house lest he should be asked about that coloured pencil. Oh, there would be trouble now--and Sivert nowhere to be seen; he wouldhave to face it alone. Eleseus slipped round the corner of the house, like a pale ghost, found his mother, and begged her to tell Sivert tocome. There was no help for it now. 

Sivert took the matter less to heart--but then, he was not the chiefculprit. The two brothers went a little way off and sat down, andEleseus said: "If you'd say it was you, now!"

"Me?" said Sivert. 

"You're younger, he wouldn't do anything to you. "

Sivert thought over it, and saw that his brother was in distress; alsoit flattered him to feel that the other needed his help. 

"Why, I might help you out of it, perhaps, " said he in a grown-upvoice. 

"Ay, if you would!" said Eleseus, and quite simply gave his brotherthe bit of pencil that was left. "You can have it for keeps, " he said. 

They were going in again together, but Eleseus recollected he hadsomething he must do over at the sawmill, or rather, at the cornmill;something he must look to, and it would take some time--he wouldn't befinished just yet. Sivert went in alone. 

There sat the engineer, paying out notes and silver, and when he hadfinished, Inger gave him milk to drink, a jug and a glass, and hethanked her. Then he talked to little Leopoldine, and then, noticingthe drawings on the walls, asked straight out who had done that. "Wasit you?" he asked, turning to Sivert. The man felt, perhaps, he owedsomething for Inger's hospitality, and praised the drawings just toplease her. Inger, on her part, explained the matter as it was: it washer boys had made the drawings--both of them. They had no paper tillshe came home and looked to things, so they had marked all about thewalls. But she hadn't the heart to wash it off again. 

"Why, leave it as it is, " said the engineer. "Paper, did you say?" Andhe took out a heap of big sheets. "There, draw away on that till Icome round again. And how are you off for pencils?"

Sivert stepped forward simply with the stump he had, and showed howsmall it was. And behold, the man gave him a new coloured pencil, noteven sharpened. "There, now you can start afresh. But I'd make thehorses red if I were you, and do the goats with blue. Never seen ablue horse, have you?"

And the engineer went on his way. 

That same evening, a man came up from the village with a basket--hehanded out some bottles to the workmen, and went off again. But afterhe had gone, it was no longer so quiet about the place; some oneplayed an accordion, the men talked loudly, and there was singing, andeven dancing, at Sellanraa. One of the men asked Inger out to dance, and Inger--who would have thought it of her?--she laughed a littlelaugh and actually danced a few turns round. After that, some of theothers asked her, and she danced not a little in the end. 

Inger--who could say what was in her mind? Here she was dancing gaily, maybe for the first time in her life; sought after, riotously pursuedby thirty men, and she alone, the only one to choose from, no one tocut her out. And those burly telegraph men--how they lifted her! Whynot dance? Eleseus and Sivert were fast asleep in the little chamber, undisturbed by all the noise outside; little Leopoldine was up, looking on wonderingly at her mother as she danced. 

Isak was out in the fields all the time; he had gone off directlyafter supper, and when he came home to go to bed, some one offeredhim a bottle. He drank a little, and sat watching the dancing, withLeopoldine on his lap. 

"'Tis a gay time you're having, " said he kindly to Inger--"footing itproperly tonight!"

After a while, the music stopped, and the dance was over. The workmengot ready to leave--they were going down to the village for the restof the evening, and would be there all next day, coming back on Mondaymorning. Soon all was quiet again at Sellanraa; a couple of the oldermen stayed behind, and turned in to sleep in the barn. 

Isak woke up in the night--Inger was not there. Could she be gone tosee to the cows? He got up and went across to the cowshed. "Inger!" hecalled. No answer. The cows turned their heads and looked at him; allwas still. Unthinkingly, from ancient habit, he counted heads, countedthe sheep also; there was one of the ewes had a bad habit of stayingout at night--and out it was now, "Inger!" he called again. Still noanswer. Surely she couldn't have gone with them down to the village?

The summer night was light and warm. Isak stayed a while sitting onthe door-slab, then he went out into the woods to look for the ewe. And he found Inger. Inger and one other. They sat in the heather, shetwirling his peaked cap on one finger, both talking together--theywere after her again, it seemed. 

Isak trundled slowly over towards them. Inger turned and saw him, andbowed forward where she sat; all the life went out of her, she hunglike a rag. 

"H'm. Did you know that ewe's out again?" asked Isak. "But no, youwouldn't know, " said he. 

The young telegraph hand picked up his cap and began sidling away. "I'll be getting along after the others, " he said. "Good-night to ye. "No one answered. 

"So you're sitting here, " said Isak. "Going to stay out a bit, maybe?"And he turned towards home. Inger rose to her knees, got on her feetand followed after, and so they went, man in front and wife behind, tandem-wise. They went home. 

Inger must have found time to think. Oh, she found a way. "'Twas theewe I was after, " said she. "I saw it was out again. Then one of themen came up and helped me look. We'd not been sitting a moment whenyou came. Where are you going now?"

"I? Seems I'd better look for the creature myself. "

"No, no, go and lie down. If any one's to go, let me. Go and lie down, you'll be needing rest. And as for that, the ewe can stay out whereshe is--'twon't be the first time. "

"And be eaten up by some beast or other, " said Isak, and went off. 

Inger ran after him. "Don't, don't, it's not worth it, " she said. "Youneed rest. Let me go. "

Isak gave in. But he would not hear of Inger going out to search byherself. And they went indoors together. 

Inger turned at once to look for the children; went into the littlechamber to see to the boys, as if she had been out on some perfectlynatural errand; it almost seemed, indeed, as if she were trying tomake up to Isak--as if she expected him to be more in love with herthan ever that evening--after she had explained it all so neatly. But no, Isak was not so easy to turn; he would rather have seen herthoroughly distressed and beside herself with contrition. Ay, thatwould have been better. What matter that she had collapsed fora moment when he came on her in the woods; the little moment ofshame--what was the good of that when it all passed off so soon?

He was far from gentle, too, the next day, and that a Sunday; went offand looked to the sawmill, looked to the cornmill, looked over thefields, with the children or by himself. Inger tried once to join him, but Isak turned away: "I'm going up to the river, " he said. "Somethingup there. .. . "

There was trouble in his mind, like enough, but he bore it silently, and made no scene. Oh, there was something great about Isak; as itmight be Israel, promised and ever deceived, but still believing. 

By Monday the tension was less marked, and as the days went on, theimpression of that unhappy Saturday evening grew fainter. Time canmend a deal of things; a spit and a shake, a meal and a good night'srest, and it will heal the sorriest of wounds. Isak's trouble was notso bad as it might have been; after all, he was not certain that hehad been wronged, and apart from that, he had other things to thinkof; the harvesting was at hand. And last, not least, the telegraphline was all but finished now; in a little while they would be left inpeace. A broad light road, a king's highway, had been cut through thedark of the forest; there were poles and wires running right up overthe hills. 

Next Saturday paytime, the last there was to be, Isak managed to beaway from home--he wished it so. He went down into the village withcheese and butter, and came back on Sunday night. The men were allgone from the barn; nearly all, that is; the last man stumbled out ofthe yard with his pack on his shoulder--all but the last, that is. That it was not altogether safe as yet Isak could see, for there was abundle left on the floor of the barn. Where the owner was he could notsay, and did not care to know, but there was a peaked cap on top ofthe bundle--an offence to the eye. 

Isak heaved the bundle out into the yard, flung the cap out afterit, and closed the door. Then he went into the stable and looked outthrough the window. And thought, belike: "Let the bundle stay there, and let the cap lie there, 'tis all one whose they may be. A bit ofdirt he is, and not worth my while"--so he might have thought. Butwhen the fellow comes for his bundle, never doubt but that Isak willbe there to take him by the arm and make that arm a trifle blue. Andas for kicking him off the place in a way he'd remember--why, Isakwould give him that too!

Whereupon Isak left his window in the stable and went back to thecowshed and looked out from there, and could not rest. The bundle wastied up with string; the poor fellow had no lock to his bag, and thestring had come undone--Isak could not feel sure he had not dealt overhardly with that bundle. Whatever it might be--he was not sure he hadacted rightly. Only just now he had been in the village, and seenhis new harrow, a brand-new harrow he had ordered--oh, a wonderfulmachine, an idol to worship, and it had just come. A thing like thatmust carry a blessing with it. And the powers above, that guide thefootsteps of men, might be watching him now at this moment, to see ifhe deserved a blessing or not. Isak gave much thought to thepowers above; ay, he had seen God with his own eyes, one night inharvest-time, in the woods; it was rather a curious sight. 

Isak went out into the yard and stood over the bundle. He was still indoubt; he thrust his hat back and scratched his head, which gave hima devil-may-care appearance for the moment; something lordly andcareless, as it might have been a Spaniard. But then he must havethought something like this: "Nay, here am I, and far from being inany way splendid or excellent; a very dog. " And then he tied up thebundle neatly once more, picked up the cap, and carried all back intothe barn again. And that was done. 

As he went out from the barn and over to the mill, away from the yard, away from everything, there was no Inger to be seen in the window ofthe house. Nay, then, let her be where she pleased--no doubt she wasin bed--where else should she be? But in the old days, in those firstinnocent years, Inger could never rest, but sat up at nights waitingfor him when he had been down to the village. It was different now, different in every way. As, for instance, when he had given her thatring. Could anything have been more utterly a failure? Isak had beengloriously modest, and far from venturing to call it a gold ring. "'Tis nothing grand, but you might put it on your finger just to try. "

"Is it gold?" she asked. 

"Ay, but 'tis none so thick, " said he. 

And here she was to have answered: "Ay, but indeed it is. " But insteadshe had said: "No, 'tis not very thick, but still. .. . "

"Nay, 'tis worth no more than a bit of grass, belike, " said he atlast, and gave up hope. 

But Inger had indeed been glad of the ring, and wore it on her righthand, looking fine there when she was sewing; now and again she wouldlet the village girls try it on, and sit with it on their finger fora bit when they came up to ask of this or that. Foolish Isak--not tounderstand that she was proud of it beyond measure!. .. 

It was a profitless business sitting there alone in the mill, listening to the fall the whole night through. Isak had done no wrong;he had no cause to hide himself away. He left the mill, went up overthe fields, and home--into the house. 

And then in truth it was a shamefaced Isak, shamefaced and glad. Brede Olsen sat there, his neighbour and no other; sat there drinkingcoffee. Ay, Inger was up, the two of them sat there simply andquietly, talking and drinking coffee. 

"Here's Isak, " said Inger pleasantly as could be, and got up andpoured out a cup for him. "Evening, " said Brede, and was just aspleasant too. 

Isak could see that Brede had been spending the evening with thetelegraph gangs, the last night before they went; he was somewhat theworse for it, maybe, but friendly and good-humoured enough. He boasteda little, as was his way: hadn't the time really to bother with thistelegraphic work, the farm took all of a man's day--but he couldn'tvery well say no when the engineer was so anxious to have him. And soit had come about, too, that Brede had had to take over the job ofline inspector. Not for the sake of the money, of course, he couldearn many times that down in the village, but he hadn't liked torefuse. And they'd given him a neat little machine set up on the wall, a curious little thing, a sort of telegraph in itself. 

Ay, Brede was a wastrel and a boaster, but for all that Isak couldbear him no grudge; he himself was too relieved at finding hisneighbour in the house that evening instead of a stranger. Isakhad the peasant's coolness of mind, his few feelings, stability, stubbornness; he chatted with Brede and nodded at his shallowness. "Another cup for Brede, " said he. And Inger poured it out. 

Inger talked of the engineer; a kindly man he was beyond measure; hadlooked at the boys' drawings and writings, and even said somethingabout taking Eleseus to work under him. 

"To work with him?" said Isak. 

"Ay, to the town. To do writing and things, be a clerk in theoffice--all for he was so pleased with the boy's writing and drawing. "

"Ho!" said Isak. 

"Well, and what do you say? He was going to have him confirmed too. That was a great thing, to my mind. "

"Ay, a great thing indeed, " said Brede. "And when the engineer sayshe'll do a thing, he'll do it. I know him, and you can take my wordfor that. "

"We've no Eleseus to spare on this farm as I know of, " said Isak. 

There was something like a painful silence after that. Isak was not aneasy man to talk to. 

"But when the boy himself wants to get on, " said Inger at last, "andhas it in him, too. " Silence again. 

Then said Brede with a laugh: "I wish he'd ask for one of mine, anyway. I've enough of them and to spare. But Barbro's the eldest, andshe's a girl. "

"And a good girl enough, " said Inger, for politeness' sake. 

"Ay, I'll not say no, " said Brede. "Barbro's well enough, and cleverat this and that--she's going to help at the Lensmand's now. "

"Going to the Lensmand's?"

"Well, I had to let her go--his wife was so set on it, I couldn't sayno. "

It was well on towards morning now, and Brede rose to go. 

"I've a bundle and a cap I left in your barn, " he said. "That is ifthe men haven't run off with it, " he added jestingly. 

Chapter XIV

And time went on. 

Yes, Eleseus was sent to town after all; Inger managed that. He wasthere for a year, then he was confirmed, and after that had a regularplace in the engineer's office, and grew more and more clever atwriting and things. To see the letters he sent home--sometimes withred and black ink, like pictures almost. And the talk of them, thewords he used. Now and again he asked for money, something towards hisexpenses. A watch and chain, for instance, he must have, so as not tooversleep himself in the morning and be late at the office; money fora pipe and tobacco also, such as the other young clerks in the townalways had. And for something he called pocket-money, and something hecalled evening classes, where he learned drawing and gymnastics andother matters proper to his rank and position. Altogether, it was nolight matter to keep Eleseus going in a berth in town. 

"Pocket-money?" said Isak. "Is that money to keep in your pocket, maybe?"

"That must be it, no doubt, " said Inger. "So as not to be altogetherwithout. And it's not much; only a _Daler_ now and then. "

"Ay, that's just it, " said Isak harshly. "A _Daler_ now and a _Daler_then. .. . " But his harshness was all because he missed Eleseus himself, and wanted him home. "It makes too many _Dalers_ in the long run, "said he. "I can't keep, on like this; you must write and tell him hecan have no more. "

"Ho, very well then!" said Inger in an offended tone. 

"There's Sivert--what does he get by way of pocket-money?"

Inger answered: "You've never been in a town, and so you don't knowthese things. Sivert's no need of pocket-money. And talking of money, Sivert ought to be none so badly off when his Uncle Sivert dies. "

"You don't know. "

"Ay, but I do know. "

And this was right enough in a way; Uncle Sivert had said somethingabout making little Sivert his heir. Uncle Sivert had heard of Eleseusand his grand doings in town, and the story did not please him; henodded and bit his lips, and muttered that a nephew called up as hisnamesake--named after Uncle Sivert--should not come to want. But whatwas this fortune Uncle Sivert was supposed to possess? Had he really, besides his neglected farm and his fishery, the heap of money andmeans folk generally thought? No one could say for certain. And apartfrom that, Uncle Sivert himself was an obstinate man; he insisted thatlittle Sivert should come to stay with him. It was a point of honourwith him, this last; he should take little Sivert and look after him, as the engineer had done with Eleseus. 

But how could it be done? Send little Sivert away from home?--it wasout of the question. He was all the help left to Isak now. Moreover, the lad himself had no great wish to go and stay with his famousuncle; he had tried it once, but had come home again. He wasconfirmed, shot up in stature, and grew; the down showed on his cheek, his hands were big, a pair of willing slaves. And he worked like aman. 

Isak could hardly have managed to get the new barn built at allwithout Sivert's help--but there it stood now, with bridge-way andair-holes and all, as big as they had at the parsonage itself. True, it was only a half-timbered building covered with boarding, but extrastout built, with iron clinches at the corners, and covered withone-inch plank from Isak's own sawmill. And Sivert had hammered inmore than one nail at the work, and lifted the heavy beams for theframework till he was near fainting. Sivert got on well with hisfather, and worked steadily at his side; he was made of the samestuff. And yet he was not above such simple ways as going up thehillside for tansy to rub with so as to smell nice in church. 'TwasLeopoldine was the one for getting fancies in her head, which wasnatural enough, she being a girl, and the only daughter. That summer, if you please, she had discovered that she could not eat her porridgeat supper without treacle--simply couldn't. And she was no great useat any kind of work either. 

Inger had not yet given up her idea of keeping a servant; shebrought up the question every spring, and every time Isak opposed itstubbornly. All the cutting out and sewing and fine weaving she coulddo, not to speak of making embroidered slippers, if she had but thetime to herself! And of late, Isak had been something less firm in hisrefusal, though he grumbled still. Ho, the first time! He had made awhole long speech about it; not as a matter of right and reason, noryet from pride, but, alas! from weakness, from anger at the idea. Butnow, he seemed to be giving way, as if ashamed. 

"If ever I'm to have help in the house, now's the time, " said Inger. "A few years more, and Leopoldine'll be big enough to do this andthat. "

"Help?" said Isak. "What do you want help with, anyway?"

"Want with it, indeed? Haven't you help yourself? Haven't you Sivertall the time?"

What could Isak say to a meaningless argument like that? He answered:"Ay, well; when you get a girl up here, I doubt you'll be able toplough and sow and reap and manage all by yourselves. And then Sivertand I can go our ways. "

"That's as may be, " said Inger. "But I'll just say this: that I couldget Barbro to come now; she's written home about it. "

"What Barbro?" said Isak. "Is it that Brede's girl you mean?"

"Yes. She's in Bergen now. "

"I'll not have that Brede's girl Barbro up here, " said he. "Whoeveryou get, I'll have none of her. "

That was better than nothing; Isak refused to have Barbro; he nolonger said they would have no servant at all. 

Barbro from Breidablik was not the sort of girl Isak approved of;she was shallow and unsettled like her father--maybe like her mothertoo--a careless creature, no steady character at all. She had notstayed long at the Lensmand's; only a year. After her confirmation, she went to help at the storekeeper's, and was there another year. Here she turned pious and got religion, and when the Salvation Armycame to the village she joined it, and went about with a red band onher sleeve and carried a guitar. She went to Bergen in that costume, on the storekeeper's boat--that was last year. And she had just senthome a photograph of herself to her people at Breidablik. Isak hadseen it; a strange young lady with her hair curled up and a longwatch-chain hanging down over her breast. Her parents were proud oflittle Barbro, and showed the photograph about to all who came; 'twasgrand to see how she had learned town ways and got on in the world. Asfor the red band and the guitar, she had given them up, it seemed. 

"I took the picture along and showed it to the Lensmand's lady, " saidBrede. "She didn't know her again. "

"Is she going to stay in Bergen?" said Isak suspiciously. 

"Why, unless she goes on to Christiania, perhaps, " said Brede. "What'sthere for her to do here? She's got a new place now, as housekeeper, for two young clerks. They've no wives nor womenfolk of their own, andthey pay her well. "

"How much?" said Isak. 

"She doesn't say exactly in the letter. But it must be somethingaltogether different from what folk pay down here, that's plain. Why, she gets Christmas presents, and presents other times as well, and notcounted off her wages at all. "

"Ho!" said Isak. 

"You wouldn't like to have her up at your place?" asked Brede. 

"I?" said Isak, all taken aback. 

"No, of course, he he! It was only a way of speaking. Barbro's wellenough where she is. What was I going to say? You didn't noticeanything wrong with the line coming down--the telegraph, what?"

"With the telegraph? No. "

"No, no . .. There's not much wrong with it now since I took over. And then I've my own machine here on the wall to give a warning ifanything happens. I'll have to take a walk up along the line one ofthese days and see how things are. I've too much to manage and lookafter, 'tis more than one man's work. But as long as I'm Inspectorhere, and hold an official position, of course I can't neglect myduties. If I hadn't the telegraph, of course . .. And it may not be forlong. .. . "

"Why?" said Isak. "You thinking of giving it up, maybe?"

"Well, I can't say exactly, " said Brede. "I haven't quite decided. They want me to move down into the village again. "

"Who is it wants you?" asked Isak. 

"Oh, all of them. The Lensmand wants me to go and be assistant thereagain, and the doctor wants me to drive for him, and the parson's wifesaid more than once she misses me to lend a hand, if it wasn't such along way to go. How was it with that strip of hill, Isak--the bit yousold? Did you get as much for it as they say?"

"Ay, 'tis no lie, " answered Isak. 

"But what did Geissler want with it, anyway? It lies therestill--curious thing! Year after year and nothing done. "

It was a curious thing; Isak had often wondered about it himself; hehad spoken to the Lensmand about it, and asked for Geissler's address, thinking to write to him . .. Ay, it was a mystery. 

"'Tis more than I can say, " said Isak. 

Brede made no secret of his interest in this matter of the sale. "Theysay there's more of the same sort up there, " he said, "besides yours. Maybe there's more in it than we know. 'Tis a pity that we should sithere like dumb beasts and know nothing of it all. I've thought ofgoing up one day myself to have a look. "

"But do you know anything about metals and such-like?" asked Isak. 

"Why, I know a bit. And I've asked one or two others. Anyhow, I'llhave to find something; I can't live and keep us all here on this bitof a farm. It's sheer impossible. 'Twas another matter with you that'sgot all that timber and good soil below. 'Tis naught but moorlandhere. "

"Moorland's good soil enough, " said Isak shortly. "I've the samemyself. "

"But there's no draining it, " said Brede. .. . "It can't be done. "

But it could be done. Coming down the road that day Isak noticed otherclearings; two of them were lower down, nearer the village, but therewas one far up above, between Breidablik and Sellanraa--ay, men werebeginning to work on the land now; in the old days when Isak firstcame up, it had lain waste all of it. And these three new settlerswere folks from another district; men with some sense in their heads, by the look of things. They didn't begin by borrowing money to builda house; no, they came up one year and did their spade work and wentaway again; vanished as if they were dead. That was the proper way;ditching first, then plough and sow. Axel Ström was nearest to Isak'sland now, his next-door neighbour. A clever fellow, unmarried, he camefrom Helgeland. He had borrowed Isak's new harrow to break up hissoil, and not till the second year had he set up a hayshed and a turfhut for himself and a couple of animals. He had called his placeMaaneland, because it looked nice in the moonlight. He had nowomenfolk himself, and found it difficult to get help in the summer, lying so far out, but he managed things the right way, no doubt aboutthat. Not as Brede Olsen did, building a house first, and then comingup with a big family and little ones and all, with neither soil norstock to feed them. What did Brede Olsen know of draining moorland andbreaking new soil?

He knew how to waste his time idling, did Brede. He came by Sellanraaone day, going up to the hills--simply to look for precious metals. Hecame back the same evening; had not found anything definite, he said, but certain signs--and he nodded. He would come up again soon, and goover the hills thoroughly, over towards Sweden. 

And sure enough, Brede came up again. He had taken a fancy to thework, no doubt; but he called it telegraph business this time--mustgo up and look over the whole of the line. Meanwhile his wife andchildren at home looked after the farm, or left it to look afteritself. Isak was sick and tired of Brede's visits, and went out of theroom when he came; then Inger and Brede would sit talking heartilytogether. What could they have to talk about? Brede often went down tothe village, and had always some news to tell of the great folk there;Inger, on the other hand, could always draw upon her famous journey toTrondhjem and her stay there. She had grown talkative in the years shehad been away, and was always ready to gossip with any one. No, shewas no longer the same straightforward, simple Inger of the old days. 

Girls and women came up continually to Sellanraa to have a piece ofwork cut out, or a long hem put through the machine in a moment, andInger entertained them well. Oline too came again, couldn't help it, belike; came both spring and autumn; fair-spoken, soft as butter, andthoroughly false. "Just looked along to see how things are with you, "she said each time. "And I've been longing so for a sight of the lads, I'm that fond of them, the little angels they were. Ay, they're bigfellows now, but it's strange . .. I can't forget the time when theywere small and I had them in my care. And here's you building andbuilding again, and making a whole town of the place. Going to havea bell to ring, maybe, at the roof of the barn, same as at theparsonage?"

Once Oline came and brought another woman with her, and the pair ofthem and Inger had a nice day together. The more Inger had sittinground her, the better she worked at her sewing and cutting out, makinga show of it, waving her scissors and swinging the iron. It remindedher of the place where she had learned it all--there was always manyof them in the workrooms there. Inger made no secret of where she hadgot her knowledge and all her art from; it was from Trondhjem. Italmost appeared as if she had not been in prison at all, in theordinary way, but at school, in an institute, where one could learn tosew and weave and write, and do dressing and dyeing--all that she hadlearned in Trondhjem. She spoke of the place as of a home; there wereso many people she knew there, superintendents and forewomen andattendants, it had been dull and empty to come back here again, andhard to find herself altogether cut off from the life and societyshe had been accustomed to. She even made some show of having acold--couldn't stand the keen air there; for years after her returnshe had been too poorly to work out of doors in all seasons. It wasfor the outside work she really ought to have a servant. 

"Ay, Heaven save us, " said Oline, "and why shouldn't you have aservant indeed, when you've means and learning and a great fine houseand all!"

It was pleasant to meet with sympathy, and Inger did not deny it. Sheworked away at her machine till the place shook, and the ring on herfinger shone. 

"There, you can see for yourself, " said Oline to the woman with her. "It's true what I said, Inger she wears a gold ring on her finger. "

"Would you like to see it?" asked Inger, taking it off. 

Oline seemed still to have her doubts; she turned it in her fingersas a monkey with a nut, looked at the mark. "Ay, 'tis as I say; Ingerwith all her means and riches. "

The other woman took the ring with veneration, and smiled humbly. "Youcan put it on for a bit if you like, " said Inger. "Don't be afraid, itwon't break. "

And Inger was amiable and kind. She told them about the cathedral atTrondhjem, and began like this: "You haven't seen the cathedral atTrondhjem, maybe? No, you haven't been there!" And it might have beenher own cathedral, from the way she praised it, boasted of it, toldthem height and breadth; it was a marvel! Seven priests could standthere preaching all at once and never hear one another. "And then Isuppose you've never seen St. Olaf's Well? Right in the middle of thecathedral itself, it is, on one side, and it's a bottomless well. Whenwe went there, we took each a little stone with us, and dropped it in, but it never reached the bottom. "

"Never reached the bottom?" whispered the two women, shaking theirheads. 

"And there's a thousand other things besides in that cathedral, "exclaimed Inger delightedly. "There's the silver chest to begin with. It's Holy St. Olaf his own silver chest that he had. But the MarbleChurch--that was a little church all of pure marble--the Danes tookthat from us in the war. .. . "

It was time for the women to go. Oline took Inger aside, led her outinto the larder where she knew all the cheeses were stored, and closedthe door. "What is it?" asked Inger. 

Oline whispered: "Os-Anders, he doesn't dare come here any more. I'vetold him. "

"Ho!" said Inger. 

"I told him if he only dared, after what he'd done to you. "

"Ay, " said Inger. "But he's been here many a time since for all that. And he can come if he likes, I'm not afraid. "

"No, that's so, " said Oline. "But I know what I know, and if you like, I'll lay a charge against him. "

"Ho!" said Inger. "No, you've no call to do that. Tis not worth it. "

But she was not ill pleased to have Oline on her side; it cost her acheese, to be sure, but Oline thanked her so fulsomely: "'Tis as Isay, 'tis as I've always said: Inger, she gives with both hands;nothing grudging, nothing sparing about her! No, maybe you're notafraid of Os-Anders, but I've forbid him to come here all the same. 'Twas the least I could do for you. "

Said Inger then: "What harm could it do if he did come, anyway? Hecan't hurt me any more. "

Oline pricked up her ears: "Ho, you've learned a way yourself, maybe?"

"I shan't have any more children, " said Inger. 

And now they were quits, each holding as good a trump as the other:for Oline stood there knowing all the time that Os-Anders the Lapp haddied the day before. .. . 

 * * * * *

Why should Inger say that about having no more children? She was noton bad terms with her husband, 'twas no cat-and-dog life betweenthem--far from it. They had each their own little ways, but it wasrarely they quarrelled, and never for long at a time; it was soon madeup. And many a time Inger would suddenly be just as she had been inthe old days, working hard in the cowshed or in the field; as if shehad had a relapse into health again. And at such times Isak would lookat his wife with grateful eyes; if he had been the sort of man tospeak his mind at once, he might have said, "H'm. What does this mean, heh?" or something of the sort, just to show he appreciated it. Buthe waited too long, and his praise came too late. So Inger, no doubt, found it not worth while, and did not care to keep it up. 

She might have had children till past fifty; as it was, she wasperhaps hardly forty now. She had learned all sorts of things at theinstitution--had she also learned to play tricks with herself? Shehad come back so thoroughly trained and educated after her longassociation with the other murderesses; maybe the men had taught hersomething too--the gaolers, the doctors. She told Isak one day whatone young medical man had said of her little crime: "Why should it bea criminal offence to kill children--ay, even healthy children? Theywere nothing but lumps of flesh after all. "

Isak asked: "Wasn't he terribly cruel himself, then?"

"Him!" exclaimed Inger, and told how kind he had been to her herself;it was he who had got another doctor to operate on her mouth and makea human being of her. Now there was only a scar to be seen. 

Only a scar, yes. And a fine woman she was in her way, tall and notover-stout, dark, with rich hair; in summer she went barefootedmostly, and with her skirt kilted high; Inger was not afraid ofletting her calves be seen. Isak saw them--as who did not!

They did not quarrel, no. Isak had no talent for quarrelling, and hiswife had grown readier-witted to answer back. A thorough good quarreltook a long time to grow with Isak, heavy stub of a man as he was;he found himself all entangled in her words, and could say next tonothing himself; and besides, he was fond of her--powerfully in lovewas Isak. And it was not often he had any need to answer. Inger didnot complain; he was an excellent husband in many ways, and she lethim alone. What had she to complain of at all? Isak was not a man tobe despised; she might have married a worse. Worn out, was he? True, he showed signs of being tired now at times, but nothing serious. Hewas full of old health and unwasted strength, like herself, and inthis autumn of their married life he fulfilled his part at least asaffectionately as she did. 

But nothing particularly beautiful nor grand about him? No. And herecame her superiority. Inger might well think to herself at times howshe had seen finer men; handsome gentlemen with walking-sticks andhandkerchiefs and starched collars to wear--oh, those gentlemen of thetown! And so she kept Isak in his place, treated him, as it were, nobetter than he deserved. He was only a peasant, a clodhopper of thewilds; if her mouth had been as it was now from the start she wouldnever have taken him; be sure of that. No, she could have done betterthan that! The home he had given her, the life he offered her, werepoor enough; she might at least have married some one from her ownvillage, and lived among neighbours, with a circle of friends, insteadof here like an outcast in the wilds. It was not the place for hernow; she had learned to look differently at life. 

Strange, how one could come to look differently at things! Inger foundno pleasure now in admiring a new calf; she did not clap her hands insurprise when Isak came down from the hills with a big basket of fish;no, she had lived for six years among greater things. And of late shehad even ceased to be heavenly and sweet when she called him in todinner. "Your food's ready, aren't you coming in?" was all she saidnow. And it didn't sound nice. Isak wondered a little at first; it wasa curious way to speak; a nasty, uncaring, take-it-or-leave-it way tospeak. And he answered: "Why, I didn't know 'twas ready. " But whenInger pointed out that he ought to have known, or might have guessedit, anyway, by the sun, he said no more, and let the matter drop. 

Ah, but once he got a hold on her and used it--that was when she triedto steal his money from him. Not that Isak was a miser in that way, but the money was clearly his. Ho, it was nearly being ruin anddisaster for her that time! But even then it was not exactlythoroughgoing, out-and-out wickedness on Inger's part; she wanted themoney for Eleseus--for her blessed boy Eleseus in town, who was askingfor his _Daler_ again. Was he to go there among all the fine folk andwith empty pockets? After all, she had a mother's heart. She asked hisfather for the money first, and, finding it was no good, had taken itherself. Whether Isak had had some suspicion beforehand, or had foundit out by accident--anyhow, it was found out. And suddenly Inger foundherself gripped by both arms, felt herself lifted from the floor, and thumped down on to the floor again. It was something strange andterrible--a sort of avalanche. Isak's hands were not weak, not wornout now. Inger gave a groan, her head fell back, she shivered, andgave up the money. 

Even then Isak said little, though Inger made no attempt to hinder himfrom speaking. What he did say was uttered, as it were, in one hardbreath: "Huttch! You--you're not fit to have in the place!"

She hardly knew him again. Oh, but it must have been long-storedbitterness that would not be repressed. 

A miserable day, and a long night, and a day beyond. Isak went out ofthe house and lay outside, for all that there was hay to be got in;Sivert was with his father. Inger had little Leopoldine and theanimals to keep her company; but lonely she was for all that, cryingnearly all the time and shaking her head at herself. Only once in allher life before had she felt so moved, and this day called it to mind;it was when she had lain in her bed and throttled a newborn child. 

Where were Isak and his son? They had not been idle; no, they hadstolen a day and a night or thereabouts from the haymaking, and hadbuilt a boat up on the lake. Oh, a rough and poor-looking vesselenough, but strong and sound as their work had always been; they had aboat now, and could go fishing with nets. 

When they came home the hay was dry as ever. They had cheatedprovidence by trusting it, and suffered no loss; they had gained byit. And then Sivert flung out an arm, and said: "Ho! Mother's beenhaymaking!" Isak looked down over the fields and said "H'm. " Isak hadnoticed already that some of the hay had been shifted; Inger ought tobe home now for her midday meal. It was well done indeed of her to getin the hay, after he had scolded her the day before and said "Huttch!"And it was no light hay to move; she must have worked hard, and allthe cows and goats to milk besides. .. . "Go in and get something toeat, " he said to Sivert. 

"Aren't you coming, then?"

"No. "

A little while after, Inger came out and stood humbly on the door-slaband said:

"If you'd think of yourself a little--and come in and have a bite toeat. "

Isak grumbled at that and said "H'm. " But it was so strange a thingof late for Inger to be humble in any way, that his stubbornness wasshaken. 

"If you could manage to set a couple of teeth in my rake, I could geton again with the hay, " said she. Ay, she came to her husband, themaster of the place, to ask for something, and was grateful that hedid not turn scornfully away. 

"You've worked enough, " said he, "raking and carting and all. "

"No, 'tis not enough. "

"I've no time, anyway, to mend rakes now. You can see there's raincoming soon. "

And Isak went off to his work. 

It was all meant to save her, no doubt; for the couple of minutes itwould have taken to mend the rake would have been more than tenfoldrepaid by letting Inger work on. Anyhow, Inger came out with her rakeas it was, and fell to haymaking with a will; Sivert came up with thehorse and haycart, and all went at it, sweating at the work, andthe hay was got in. It was a good stroke of work, and Isak fell tothinking once more of the powers above that guide all our ways--fromstealing a _Daler_ to getting a crop of hay. Moreover, there laythe boat; after half a generation of thinking it over, the boat wasfinished; it was there, up on the lake. 

"Eyah, _Herregud_!" said Isak. 

Chapter XV

It was a strange evening altogether: a turning-point. Inger had beenrunning off the line for a long time now; and one lift up from thefloor had set her in her place again. Neither spoke of what hadhappened. Isak had felt ashamed of himself after--all for the sake ofa _Daler_, a trifle of money, that he would have had to give her afterall, because he himself would gladly have let the boy have it. Andthen again--was not the money as much Inger's as his own? There came atime when Isak found it his turn to be humble. 

There came many sorts of times. Inger must have changed her mindagain, it seemed; once more she was different, gradually forgettingher fine ways and turning earnest anew: a settler's wife, earnest andthoughtful as she had been before. To think that a man's hard gripcould work such wonders! But it was right; here was a strong andhealthy woman, sensible enough, but spoiled and warped by longconfinement in an artificial air--and she had butted into a man whostood firmly on his feet. Never for a moment had he left his naturalplace on the earth, on the soil. Nothing could move him. 

Many sorts of times. Next year came the drought again, killing thegrowth off slowly, and wearing down human courage. The corn stoodthere and shrivelled up; the potatoes--the wonderful potatoes--theydid not shrivel up, but flowered and flowered. The meadows turnedgrey, but the potatoes flowered. The powers above guided all things, no doubt, but the meadows were turning grey. 

Then one day came Geissler--ex-Lensmand Geissler came again at last. It was good to find that he was not dead, but had turned up again. Andwhat had he come for now?

Geissler had no grand surprises with him this time, by the look of it;no purchases of mining rights and documents and such-like. Geisslerwas poorly dressed, his hair and beard turned greyer, and his eyesredder at the edges than before. He had no man, either, to carry histhings, but had his papers in a pocket, and not even a bag. 

"_Goddag_" said Geissler. 

"_Goddag_" answered Isak and Inger. "Here's the like of visitors tosee this way!"

Geissler nodded. 

"And thanks for all you did that time--in Trondhjem, " said Inger allby herself. 

And Isak nodded at that, and said: "Ay, 'tis two of us owe you thanksfor that. "

But Geissler--it was not his way to be all feelings and sentiments; hesaid: "Yes, I'm just going across to Sweden. "

For all their trouble of mind over the drought, Sellanraa's folk wereglad to see Geissler again; they gave him the best they had, and wereheartily glad to do what they could for him after all he had done. 

Geissler himself had no troubles that could be seen; he grew talkativeat once, looked out over the fields and nodded. He carried himselfupright as ever, and looked as if he had several hundreds of _Daler_in his pockets. It livened them up and brightened everything to havehim there; not that he made any boisterous fun, but a lively talker, that he was. 

"Fine place, Sellanraa, splendid place, " he said. "And now there'sothers coming up one after another, since you've started, Isak. Icounted five myself. Are there any more?"

"Seven in all. There's two that can't be seen from the road. "

"Seven holdings; say fifty souls. Why, it'll be a densely populatedneighbourhood before long. And you've a school already, so I hear?"

"Ay, we have. "

"There--what did I say? A school all to yourselves, down by Brede'splace, being more in the middle. Fancy Brede as a farmer in thewilds!" and Geissler laughed at the thought. "Ay, I've heard all aboutyou, Isak; you're the best man here. And I'm glad of it. Sawmill, too, you've got?"

"Ay, such as it is. But it serves me well enough. And I've sawed a bitnow and again for them down below. "

"Bravo! That's the way!"

"I'd be glad to hear what you think of it, Lensmand, if so be you'dcare to look at that sawmill for yourself. "

Geissler nodded, with the air of an expert; yes, he would look atit, examine it thoroughly. Then he asked: "You had two boys, hadn'tyou--what's become of the other? In town? Clerk in an office? H'm, "said Geissler. "But this one here looks a sturdy sort--what was yourname, now?"

"Sivert. "

"And the other one?"

"Eleseus. "

"And he's in an engineer's office--what's he reckon to learn there? Astarvation-business. Much better have come to me, " said Geissler. 

"Ay, " said Isak, for politeness' sake. He felt a sort of pity forGeissler at the moment. Oh, that good man did not look as if he couldafford to keep clerks; had to work hard enough by himself, belike. That jacket--it was worn to fringes at the wrists. 

"Won't you have some dry hose to put on?" said Inger, and brought outa pair of her own. They were from her best days; fine and thin, with aborder. 

"No, thanks, " said Geissler shortly, though he must have been wetthrough. --"Much better have come to me, " he said again, speaking ofEleseus. "I want him badly. " He took a small silver tobacco box fromhis pocket and sat playing with it in his fingers. It was perhaps theonly thing of value left him now. 

But Geissler was restless, changing from one thing to another. Heslipped the thing back into his pocket again and started a new theme. "But--what's that? Why, the meadow that's all grey. I thought it wasthe shadow. The ground is simply parched. Come along with me, Sivert. "

He rose from the table suddenly, thinking no more of food, turned inthe doorway to say "Thank you" to Inger for the meal, and disappeared, Sivert following. 

They went across to the river, Geissler peering keenly about all thetime. "Here!" he cried, and stopped. And then he explained: "Where'sthe sense of letting your land dry up to nothing when you've a riverthere big enough to drown it in a minute? We'll have, that meadowgreen by tomorrow!"

Sivert, all astonishment, said "Yes. "

"Dig down obliquely from here, see?--on a slope. The ground's level;have to make some sort of a channel. You've a sawmill there--I supposeyou can find some long planks from somewhere? Good! Run and fetch apick and spade, and start here; I'll go back and mark out a properline. "

He ran up to the house again, his boots squelching, for they were wetthrough. He set Isak to work making pipes, a whole lot of them, to belaid down where the ground could not well be cut with ditches. Isaktried to object that the water might not get so far; the dry groundwould soak it up before it reached the parched fields. Geisslerexplained that it would take some time; the earth must drink a littlefirst, but then gradually the water would go on--"field and meadowgreen by this time tomorrow. "

"Ho!" said Isak, and fell to boxing up long planks as hard as hecould. 

Off hurries Geissler to Sivert once more: "That's right--keep atit--didn't I say he was a sturdy sort? Follow these stakes, youunderstand, where I've marked out. If you come up against heavyboulders, or rock, then turn aside and go round, but keep thelevel--the same depth; you see what I mean?"

Then back to Isak again: "That's one finished--good! But we shall wantmore--half a dozen, perhaps. Keep at it, Isak; you see, we'll have itall green by tomorrow--we've saved your crops!" And Geissler sat downon the ground, slapped his knees with both hands and was delighted, chattered away, thought in flashes of lightning. "Any pitch, anyoakum, or anything about the place? That's splendid--got everything. These things'll leak at the edges you see, to begin with, but thewood'll swell after a while, and they'll be as taut as a bottle. Oakumand pitch--fancy you having it too!--What? Built a boat, you say?Where is the boat? Up in the lake? Good! I must have a look at thattoo. "

Oh, Geissler was all promises. Light come, light go--and he seemedmore giving to fussing about than before. He worked at things byfits and starts, but at a furious rate when he did work. There wasa certain superiority about him after all. True, he exaggerated abit--it was impossible, of course, to get all green by this timetomorrow, as he had said, but for all that, Geissler was a sharpfellow, quick to see and take a decision; ay, a strange man wasGeissler. And it was he and no other that saved the crops that year atSellanraa. 

"How many have you got done? Not enough. The more wood you can lay, the quicker it'll flow. Make them twenty feet long or twenty-five, if you can. Any planks that length on the place? Good; fetch themalong--you'll find it'll pay you at harvest-time!"

Restless again--up and off to Sivert once more. "That's the way, Sivert man; getting on finely. Your father's turning out culverts likea poet, there'll be more than I ever thought. Run across and get somenow, and we'll make a start. "

All that afternoon was one hurrying spell; Sivert had never seen sucha furious piece of work; he was not accustomed to see things done atthat pace. They hardly gave themselves time to eat. But the water wasflowing already! Here and there they had to dig deeper, a culvert hadto be raised or lowered, but it flowed. The three men were at it tilllate that night, touching up their work, and keenly on the look outfor any fault. But when the water began to trickle out over the driestspots, there was joy and delight at Sellanraa. "I forgot to bring mywatch, " said Geissler. "What's the time, I wonder? Ay, she'll be greenby this time tomorrow!" said he. 

Sivert got up in the middle of the night to see how things were going, and found his father out already on the same errand. Oh, but it was athrilling time--a day of great events!

But next day, Geissler stayed in bed till nearly noon, worn out nowthat the fit had passed. He did not trouble to go up and look at theboat on the lake; and but for what he had said the day before, hewould never have bothered to look at the sawmill. Even the irrigationworks interested him less than at first--and when he saw that neitherfield nor meadow had turned green in the course of the night, he lostheart, never thinking of how the water flowed, and flowed all thetime, and spread out farther and farther over the ground. He backeddown a little, and said now: "It may take time--you won't see anychange perhaps before tomorrow again. But it'll be all right, neverfear. "

Later in the day Brede Olsen came lounging in; he had brought somesamples of rock he wanted Geissler to see. "And something out of thecommon, this time, to my mind, " said Brede. 

Geissler would not look at the things. "That the way you manage afarm, " he asked scornfully, "pottering about up in the hills lookingfor a fortune?"

Brede apparently did not fancy being taken to task now by his formerchief; he answered sharply, without any form of respect, treating theex-Lensmand as an equal: "If you think I care what you say . .. "

"You've no more sense than you had before, " said Geissler. "Foolingaway your time. "

"What about yourself?" said Brede. "What about you, I'd like to know?You've got a mine of your own up here, and what have you done with it?Huh! Lies there doing nothing. Ay, you're the sort to have a mine, aren't you? He he!"

"Get out of this, " said Geissler. And Brede did not stay long, butshouldered his load of samples and went down to his own _menage_, without saying good-bye. 

Geissler sat down and began to look over some papers with a thoughtfulair. He seemed to have caught a touch of the fever himself, and wantednow to look over that business of the copper mine, the contract, theanalyses. It was fine ore, almost pure copper; he must do somethingwith it, and not let everything slide. 

"What I really came up for was to get the whole thing settled, " hesaid to Isak. "I've been thinking of making a start here, and thatvery soon. Get a lot of men to work, and run the thing properly. Whatdo you think?"

Isak felt sorry for the man, and would not say anything against it. 

"It's a matter that concerns you as well, you know. There'll be a lotof bother, of course; a lot of men about the place, and a bit rowdy attimes, perhaps. And blasting up in the hills--I don't know how you'lllike that. On the other hand, there'll be more life in the districtwhere we begin, and you'll have a good market close at hand for farmproduce and that sort of thing. Fix your own price, too. "

"Ay, " said Isak. 

"Besides your share in the mine--you'll get a high percentage ofearnings, you know. Big money, Isak. "

Said Isak: "You've paid me fairly already, and more than enough. .. . "

Next morning Geissler left, hurrying off eastward, over toward Sweden. "No, thanks, " he said shortly, when Isak offered to go with him. Itwas almost painful to see him start off in that poor fashion, on footand all alone. Inger had put up a fine parcel of food for him to take, all as nice as she could make it, and made some wafers specially toput in. Even that was not enough; she would have given him a can ofcream and a whole lot of eggs, but he wouldn't carry them, and Ingerwas disappointed. 

Geissler himself must have found it hard to leave Sellanraa withoutpaying as he generally did for his keep; so he pretended that he hadpaid; made as if he had laid down a big note in payment, and said tolittle Leopoldine: "Here, child, here's something for you as well. "And with that he gave her the silver box, his tobacco box. "You canrinse it out and use it to keep pins and things in, " he said. "It'snot the sort of thing for a present really. If I were at home I couldhave found her something else; I've a heap of things. .. . "

But Geissler's waterwork remained after Geissler had gone; there itwas, working wonders day and night, week after week; the fields turnedgreen, the potatoes ceased to flower, the corn shot up. .. . 

The settlers from the holdings farther down began to come up, allanxious to see the marvel for themselves. Axel Ström, --the neighbourfrom Maaneland, the man who had no wife, and no woman to help him, butmanaged for himself, --he came too. He was in a good humour that day;he told them how he had just got a promise of a girl to help throughthe summer--and that was a weight off his mind. He did not say who thegirl was, and Isak did not ask, but it was Brede's girl Barbro who wasto come. It would cost the price of a telegram to Bergen to fetch her;but Axel paid the money, though he was not one of your extravagantsort, but rather something of a miser. 

It was the waterwork business that had enticed him up today; he hadlooked it over from one end to the other, and was highly interested. There was no big river on his land, but he had a bit of a stream; hehad no planks, either, to make culverts with, but he would dig hischannels in the earth; it could be done. Up to now, things were notabsolutely at their worst on his land, which lay lower down theslopes; but if the drought continued, he, too, would have to irrigate. When he had seen what he wanted, he took his leave and went back atonce. No, he would not come in, hadn't the time; he was going to startditching that same evening. And off he went. 

This was something different from Brede's way. 

Oh, Brede, he could run about the moorland farms now telling news:miraculous waterworks at Sellanraa! "It doesn't pay to work your soilovermuch, " he had said. "Look at Isak up there; he's dug and dug aboutso long that at last he's had to water the whole ground. "

Isak was patient, but he wished many a time that he could get rid ofthe fellow, hanging about Sellanraa with his boastful ways. Brede putit all down to the telegraph; as long as he was a public official, itwas his duty to keep the line in order. But the telegraph company hadalready had occasion several times to reprimand him for neglect, andhad again offered the post to Isak. No, it was not the telegraph thatwas in Brede's mind all the time, but the ore up in the hills; it washis one idea now, a mania. 

He took to dropping in often now at Sellanraa, confident that he hadfound the treasure; he would nod his head and say: "I can't tellyou all about it yet, but I don't mind saying I've struck somethingremarkable this time. " Wasting hours and energy all for nothing. Andwhen he came back in the evening to his little house, he would flingdown a little sack of samples on the floor, and puff and blow afterhis day's work, as if no man could have toiled harder for his dailybread. He grew a few potatoes on sour, peaty soil, and cut the tuftsof grass that grew by themselves on the ground about the house--thatwas Brede's farming. He was never made for a farmer, and there couldbe but one end to it all. His turf roof was falling to pieces already, and the steps to the kitchen were rotten with damp; a grindstone layon the ground, and the cart was still left uncovered in the open. 

Brede was fortunate perhaps in that such little matters never troubledhim. When the children rolled his grindstone about for play, he waskind and indulgent, and would even help them to roll it himself. Aneasy-going, idle nature, never serious, but also never down-hearted, aweak, irresponsible character; but he managed to find food, such as itwas, and kept himself and his alive from day to day; managed to keepthem somehow. But it was not to be expected that the storekeeper couldgo on feeding Brede and his family for ever; he had said so more thanonce to Brede himself, and he said it now in earnest. Brede admittedhe was right, and promised to turn over a new leaf--he would sell hisplace, and very likely make a good thing out of it--and pay what heowed at the store!

Oh, but Brede would sell out anyhow, even at a loss; what was the goodof a farm for him? He was home-sick for the village again, the easygossiping life there, and the little shop--it suited him better thansettling down here to work, and trying to forget the world outside. Could he ever forget the Christmas trees and parties, or thenational feastings on Constitution Day, or the bazaars held in themeeting-rooms? He loved to talk with his kind, to exchange news andviews, but who was there to talk with here? Inger up at Sellanraahad seemed to be one of his sort for a while, but then she hadchanged--there was no getting a word out of her now. And besides, shehad been in prison; and for a man in his position--no, it would neverdo. 

No, he had made a mistake in ever leaving the village; it was throwinghimself away. He noted with envy that the Lensmand had got anotherassistant, and the doctor another man to drive for him; he had runaway from the people who needed him, and now that he was no longerthere, they managed without him. But the men who had taken hisplace--they were no earthly good, of course. Properly speaking, he, Brede, ought to be fetched back to the village in triumph!

Then there was Barbro--why had he backed up the idea of getting her togo as help to Sellanraa? Well, that was after talking over things withhis wife. If all went well, it might mean a good future for the girl, perhaps a future of a sort for all of them. All very well to behousekeeper for two young clerks in Bergen, but who could say what shewould get out of that in the long run? Barbro was a pretty girl, andliked to look well; there might be a better chance for her here, afterall. For there were two sons at Sellanraa. 

But when Brede saw that this plan would never come to anything, hehit on another. After all, there was no great catch in marrying intoInger's lot--Inger who had been in prison. And there were other ladsto be thought of besides those two Sellanraa boys--there was AxelStröm, for instance. He had a farm and a hut of his own, he was a manwho scraped and saved and little by little managed to get hold of abit of live stock and such-like, but with no wife, and no woman tohelp him. "Well, I don't mind telling you, if you take Barbro, she'llbe all the help you'll need, " said Brede to him. "Look, here's herpicture; you can see. "

And after a week or so, came Barbro. Axel was in the midst of hishaymaking, and had to do his mowing by day and haymaking by night, andall by himself--and then came Barbro! It was a godsend. Barbro soonshowed she was not afraid of work; she washed clothes and cleanedthings, cooked and milked and helped in the hayfield--helped to carryin the hay, she did. Axel determined to give her good wages, and notlose by it. 

She was not merely a photograph of a fine lady here. Barbro wasstraight and thin, spoke somewhat hoarsely, showed sense andexperience in various ways--she was not a child. Axel wondered whatmade her so thin and haggard in the face. "I'd know you by yourlooks, " he said; "but you're not like the photograph. "

"That's only the journey, " she said, "and living in town air all thattime. "

And indeed, she very soon grew plump and well-looking again. "Take myword for it, " said Barbro, "it pulls you down a bit, a journeylike that, and living in town like that. " She hinted also at thetemptations of life in Bergen--one had to be careful there. Butwhile they sat talking, she begged him to take in a paper--a Bergennewspaper--so that she could read a bit and see the news of the world. She had got accustomed to reading, and theatres and music, and it wasso dull in a place like this. 

Axel was pleased with the results of his summer help, and took in apaper. He also bore with the frequent visits of the Brede family, whowere constantly dropping in at his place and eating and drinking. Hewas anxious to show that he appreciated this servant-girl of his. And what could be nicer and homelier than when Barbro sat there of aSunday evening twanging the strings of a guitar and singing a littlewith her hoarse voice? Axel, was touched by it all, by the pretty, strange songs, by the mere fact that some one really sat there singingon his poor half-baked farm. 

True, in the course of the summer he learned to know other sides ofBarbro's character, but on the whole, he was content. She had herfancies, and could answer hastily at times; was somewhat over-quick toanswer back. That Saturday evening, for instance, when Axel himselfhad to go down to the village to get some things, it was wrong ofBarbro to run away from the hut and the animals and leave the place toitself. They had a few words over that. And where had she been? Onlyto her home, to Breidablik, but still . .. When Axel came back to thehut that night, Barbro was not there; he looked to the animals, gothimself something to eat, and turned in. Towards morning Barbro came. "I only wanted to see what it was like to step on a wooden flooragain, " she said, somewhat scornfully. And Axel could find nothingmuch to say to that, seeing that he had as yet but a turf hut with afloor of beaten earth. He did say, however, that if it came to that, he could get a few planks himself, and no doubt but he'd have a housewith a wooden floor himself in time! Barbro seemed penitent at that;she was not altogether unkindly. And for all it was Sunday, she wentoff at once to the woods and gathered fresh juniper twigs to spread onthe earthen floor. 

And then, seeing she was so fine-hearted and behaved so splendidly, what could Axel do but bring out the kerchief he had bought for herthe evening before, though he had really thought of keeping it by awhile, and getting something respectable out of her in return. Andthere! she was pleased with it, and tried it on at once--ay, sheturned to him and asked if she didn't look nice in it. And yes, indeedshe did; and she might put on his old fur cap if she liked, and she'dlook nice in that! Barbro laughed at this and tried to say somethingreally nice in return; she said: "I'd far rather go to church andcommunion in this kerchief than wear a hat. In Bergen, of course, wealways wore hats--all except common servant-girls from the country. "

Friends again, as nice as could be. 

And when Axel brought out the newspaper he had fetched from the postoffice, Barbro sat down to read news of the world: of a burglary ata jeweller's shop in one Bergen street, and a quarrel between twogipsies in another; of a horrible find in the harbour--the dead bodyof a newborn child sewed up in an old shirt with the sleeves cut off. "I wonder who can have done it?" said Barbro. And she read the list ofmarketing prices too, as she always did. 

So the summer passed. 

Chapter XVI

Great changes at Sellanraa. 

There was no knowing the place again, after what it had been at first:sawmill, cornmill, buildings of all sorts and kinds--the wildernesswas peopled country now. And there was more to come. But Inger wasperhaps the strangest of all; so altered she was, and good and cleveragain. 

The great event of last year, when things had come to a head, washardly enough in itself, perhaps, to change her careless ways; therewas backsliding now and then, as when she found herself beginning totalk of the "Institute" again, and the cathedral at Trondhjem. Oh, innocent things enough; and she took off her ring, and let down thatbold skirt of hers some inches. She was grown thoughtful, there wasmore quiet about the place, and visits were less frequent; the girlsand women from the village came but rarely now, for Inger no longercared to see them. No one can live in the depth of the wilds and havetime for such foolishness. Happiness and nonsense are two differentthings. 

In the wilds, each season has its wonders, but always, unchangingly, there is that immense heavy sound of heaven and earth, the senseof being surrounded on all sides, the darkness of the forest, thekindliness of the trees. All is heavy and soft, no thought isimpossible there. North of Sellanraa there was a little tarn, a merepuddle, no bigger than an aquarium. There lived some tiny baby fishthat never grew bigger, lived and died there and were no use atall--_Herregud_! no use on earth. One evening Inger stood therelistening for the cowbells; all was dead about her, she heard nothing, and then came a song from the tarn. A little, little song, hardlythere at all, almost lost. It was the tiny fishes' song. 

 * * * * *

They had this good fortune at Sellanraa, that every spring and autumnthey could see the grey geese sailing in fleets above that wilderness, and hear their chatter up in the air--delirious talk it was. And as ifthe world stood still for a moment, till the train of them had passed. And the human souls beneath, did they not feel a weakness glidingthrough them now? They went to their work again, but drawing breathfirst; something had spoken to them, something from beyond. 

Great marvels were about them at all times; in the winter were thestars; in winter often, too, the northern lights, a firmament ofwings, a conflagration in the mansions of God. Now and then, notoften; not commonly, but now and then, they heard the thunder. It camemostly in the autumn, and a dark and solemn thing it was for man andbeast; the animals grazing near home would bunch together and standwaiting. Bowing their heads--what for? Waiting for the end? And man, what of man standing in the wilds with bowed head, waiting, when thethunder came? Waiting for what?

The spring--ay, with its haste and joy and madcap delight; but theautumn! It called up a fear of darkness, drove one to an eveningprayer; there were visions about, and warnings on the air. Folks mightgo out one day in autumn seeking for something--the man for a pieceof timber to his work, the woman after cattle that ran wild now aftermushroom growths: they would come home with many secrets in theirmind. Did they tread unexpectedly upon an ant, crushing its hind partfast to the path, so the fore part could not free itself again? Orstep too near a white grouse nest, putting up a fluttering hissingmother to dash against them? Even the big cow-mushrooms are notaltogether meaningless; not a mere white emptiness in the eye. The bigmushroom does not flower, it does not move, but there is somethingoverturning in the look of it; it is a monster, a thing like a lungstanding there alive and naked--a lung without a body. 

Inger grew despondent at last, the wilds oppressed her, she turnedreligious. How could she help it? No one can help it in the wilds;life there is not all earthly toil and worldliness; there is piety andthe fear of death and rich superstition. Inger, maybe, felt that shehad more reason than others to fear the judgment of Heaven, and itwould not pass her by; she knew how God walked about in the eveningtime looking out over all His wilderness with fabulous eyes; ay, Hewould find her. There was not so much in her daily life wherein shecould improve; true, she might bury her gold ring deep in the bottomof a clothes chest, and she could write to Eleseus and tell him tobe converted too; after that, there was nothing more she could findbeyond doing her work well and not sparing herself. Ay, one thingmore; she could dress in humble things, only fastening a blue ribbonat her neck of Sundays. False, unnecessary poverty--but it was theexpression of a kind of philosophy, self-humiliation, stoicism. Theblue ribbon was not new; it had been cut from a cap little Leopoldinehad grown out of; it was faded here and there, and, to tell the truth, a little dirty--Inger wore it now as a piece of modest finery on holydays. Ay, it may be that she went beyond reason, feigning to be poor, striving falsely to imitate the wretched who live in hovels; but evenso--would her desert have been greater if that sorry finery had beenher best? Leave her in peace; she has a right to peace!

She overdid things finely, and worked harder than she ought. Therewere two men on the place, but Inger took the chance when both wereaway at once, and set to work herself sawing wood; and where wasthe good of torturing and mortifying the flesh that way? She was soinsignificant a creature, so little worth, her powers of so commona sort; her death or life would not be noticed in the land, in theState, only here in the wilds. Here, she was almost great--at anyrate, the greatest; and she may well have thought herself worth allthe chastening she ordered and endured. Her husband said:

"Sivert and I, we've been talking about this; we're not going to haveyou sawing wood, and wearing yourself out. "

"I do it for conscience' sake, " she answered. 

Conscience! The word made Isak thoughtful once more. He was gettingon in years, slow to think, but weighty when he did come to anything. Conscience must be something pretty strong if it could turn Inger allupside down like that. And however it might be, Inger's conversionmade a change in him also; he caught it from her, grew tame, and givento pondering. Life was all heavy-like and stern that winter; he soughtfor loneliness, for a hiding-place. To save his own trees he hadbought up a piece of the State forest near by, with some good timber, over toward the Swedish side, and he did the felling now alone, refusing all help. Sivert was ordered to stay at home and see that hismother did not work too much. 

And so, in those short winter days, Isak went out to his work in thedark, and came home in the dark; it was not always there was a moon, or any stars, and at times his own track of the morning would becovered with snow by nightfall, so he was hard put to it to find hisway. And one evening something happened. 

He was nearing home; in the fine moonlight he could see Sellanraathere on the hillside, neat and clear of the forest, but small, undergroundish to look at, by reason of the snow banked high againstthe walls. He had more timber now, and it was to be a grand surprisefor Inger and the children when they heard what use he would make ofit--the wonderful building he had in mind. He sat down in the snow torest a bit, not to seem worn out when he came home. 

All is quiet around him, and God's blessing on this quiet andthoughtfulness, for it is nothing but good! Isak is a man at work ona clearing in the forest, and he looks out over the ground, reckoningwhat is to be cleared next turn; heaving aside great stones in hismind--Isak had a real talent for that work. There, he knows now, is adeep, bare patch on his ground; it is full of ore; there is always ametallic film over every puddle of water there--and now he will digit out. He marks out squares with his eye, making his plans for all, speculating over all; they are to be made green and fruitful. Oh, buta piece of tilled soil was a great and good thing; it was like rightand order to his mind, and a delight beyond. .. . 

He got up, and felt suddenly confused. H'm. What had happened now?Nothing, only that he had been sitting down a bit. Now there issomething standing there before him, a Being, a spirit; grey silk--no, it was nothing. He felt strange--took one short, uncertain stepforward, and walked straight into a look, a great look, a pair ofeyes. At the same moment the aspens close by began rustling. Now anyone knows that an aspen can have a horrible eerie way of rustling attimes; anyhow, Isak had never before heard such an utterly horriblerustling as this, and he shuddered. Also he put out one hand in frontof him, and it was perhaps the most helpless movement that hand hadever made. 

But what was this thing before him? Was it ghost-work or reality? Isakwould all his days have been ready to swear that this was a higherpower, and once indeed he had seen it, but the thing he saw nowdid not look like God. Possibly the Holy Ghost? If so, what was itstanding there for anyway, in the midst of nowhere; two eyes, a look, and nothing more? If it had come to him, to fetch away his soul, why, so it would have to be; it would happen one day, after all, and thenhe would go to heaven and be among the blest. 

Isak was eager to see what would come next; he was shivering still; acoldness seemed to radiate from the figure before him--it must be theEvil One! And here Isak was no longer sure of his ground, so to speak. It might be the Evil One--but what did he want here? What had he, Isak, been doing? Nothing but sitting still and tilling the ground, asit were, in his thoughts--there could surely be no harm in that? Therewas no other guilt he could call to mind just then; he was only comingback from his work in the forest, a tired and hungry woodman, goinghome to Sellanraa--he means no harm. .. . 

He took a step forward again, but it was only a little one, and, totell the truth, he stepped back again immediately. The vision wouldnot give way. Isak knitted his brows, as if beginning to suspectsomething. If it were the Evil One, why, let it be; the Evil One wasnot all-powerful--there was Luther, for instance, who had nearlykilled the fiend himself, not to speak of many who had put him toflight by the sign of the cross and Jesu name. Not that Isak meantto defy the peril before him; it was not in his mind to sit down andlaugh in its face, but he certainly gave up his first idea of dyingand the next world. He took two steps forward straight at the vision, crossed himself, and cried out: "In Jesu name!"

H'm. At the sound of his own voice he came, as it were, to himselfagain, and saw Sellanraa over on the hillside once more. The two eyesin the air had gone. 

He lost no time in getting home, and took no steps to challenge thespectre further. But when he found himself once more safely on his owndoor-slab, he cleared his throat with a sense of power and security;he walked into the house with lofty mien, like a man--ay, a man of theworld. 

Inger started at the sight of him, and asked what made him so pale. 

And at that he did not deny having met the Evil One himself. 

"Where?" she asked. 

"Over there. Right up towards our place. "

Inger evinced no jealousy on her part. She did not praise him for it, true, but there was nothing in her manner suggestive of a hard wordor a contemptuous kick. Inger herself, you see, had grown somewhatlighter of heart and kindlier of late, whatever the cause; and now shemerely asked:

"The Evil One himself?"

Isak nodded: as far as he could see it was himself and no other. 

"And how did you get rid of him?"

"I went for him in Jesu name, " said Isak. 

Inger wagged her head, altogether overwhelmed, and it was some timebefore she could get his supper on the table. 

"Anyhow, " said she at last, "we'll have no more of you going out alonein the woods by yourself. "

She was anxious about him--and it did him good to know it. He made outto be as bold as ever, and altogether careless whether he went aloneor in company; but this was only to quiet Inger's mind, not tofrighten her more than necessary with the awful thing that hadhappened to himself. It was his place to protect her and them all; hewas the Man, the Leader. 

But Inger saw through it also, and said: "Oh, I know you don't want tofrighten me. But you must take Sivert with you all the same. "

Isak only sniffed. 

"You might be taken poorly of a sudden, taken ill out in thewoods--you've not been over well lately. "

Isak sniffed again. Ill? Tired, perhaps, and worn out a bit, but ill?No need for Inger to start worrying and making a fool of him; he wassound and well enough; ate, slept, and worked; his health was simplyterrific, it was incurable! Once, felling a tree, the thing had comedown on top of him, and broken his ear; but he made light of it. Heset the ear in place again, and kept it there by wearing his capdrawn over it night and day, and it grew together again that way. Forinternal complaints, he dosed himself with _treak_ boiled in milk tomake him sweat--liquorice it was, bought at the store, an old andtried remedy, the _Teriak_ of the ancients. If he chanced to cut hishand, he treated the wound with an ever-present fluid containingsalts, and it healed up in a few days. No doctor was ever Sent for toSellanraa. 

No, Isak was not ill. A meeting with the Evil One might happen evento the healthiest man. And he felt none the worse for his adventureafterwards; on the contrary, it seemed to have strengthened him. Andas the winter drew on, and it was not such a dreadful time to waittill the spring, he, the Man and the Leader, began to feel himselfalmost a hero: he understood these things; only trust to him andall would be well. In case of need, he could exorcise the Evil Onehimself!

Altogether, the days were longer and lighter now; Easter was past, Isak had hauled up all his timber, everything looked bright, humanbeings could breathe again after another winter gone. 

Inger was again the first to brighten up; she had been more cheerfulnow for a long time. What could it be? Ho, 'twas for a very simplereason; Inger was heavy again; expecting a child again. Everythingworked out easily in her life, no hitch anywhere. But what a mercy, after the way she had sinned! it was more than she had any rightto expect. Ay, she was fortunate, fortunate. Isak himself actuallynoticed something one day, and asked her straight out: "Looks to me asif you're on the way again; what do you say yourself?"

"Ay, Lord be thanked, 'tis surely so, " she answered. 

They were both equally astonished. Not that Inger was past the age, of course; to Isak's mind, she was not too old in any way. But still, another child . .. Well, well. .. . And little Leopoldine going to schoolseveral times a year down at Breidablik--that left them with no littleones about the place now--besides which, Leopoldine herself was grownup now. 

Some days passed, and Isak resolutely threw away a wholeweek-end--from Saturday evening till Monday morning--on a trip down tothe village. He would not say what he was going for when he set out, but on his return, he brought with him a girl. "This is Jensine, " hesaid. "Come to help. "

"'Tis all your nonsense, " said Inger, "I've no need of help at all. "

Isak answered that she did need a help--just now. 

Need or not--it was a kind and generous thought of his; Inger wasabashed and grateful. The new girl was a daughter of the blacksmith, and she was to stay with them for the present; through the summer, anyhow, and then they would see. 

"And I've sent a telegram, " said Isak, "after him Eleseus. "

This fairly startled Inger; startled the mother. A telegram? Did hemean to upset her completely with his thoughtfulness? It had beenher great sorrow of late that boy Eleseus was away in town--in theevil-minded town; she had written to him about God, and likewiseexplained to him how his father here was beginning to sink underthe work, and the place getting bigger all the time; little Sivertcouldn't manage it all by himself, and besides, he was to have moneyafter his uncle one day--all this she had written, and sent him themoney for his journey once for all. But Eleseus was a man-about-townnow, and had no sort of longing for a peasant's life; he answeredsomething about what was he to do anyway if he did come home? Work ona farm and throw away all the knowledge and learning he had gained?"In point of fact, "--that was how he put it, --"I've no desire to comeback now. And if you could send me some stuff for underclothes, itwould save me getting the things on credit. " So he wrote. And yes, hismother sent him stuff--sent him remarkable quantities of stuff fromtime to time for underclothes. But when she was converted, and gotreligion, the scales fell from her eyes, and she understood thatEleseus was selling the stuff and spending the money on other things. 

His father saw it too. He never spoke of it; he knew that Eleseus washis mother's darling, and how she cried over him and shook her head;but one piece of finely woven stuff went after another the sameway, and he knew it was more than any living man could use forunderclothes. Altogether, it came to this: Isak must be Man and Leaderagain--head of the house, and step in and interfere. It had cost aterrible lot of money, to be sure, getting the storekeeper to send atelegram; but in the first place, a telegram could not fail to make animpression on the boy, and also--it was something unusually finefor Isak himself to come home and tell Inger. He carried theservant-girl's box on his back as he strode home; but for all that, hewas proud and full of weighty secrets as he had been the day he camehome with that gold ring. .. . 

It was a grand time after that. For a long while, Inger could not doenough in the way of showing her husband how good and useful she couldbe. She would say to him now, as in the old days: "You're workingyourself to death!" Or again: "'Tis more than any man can stand. "Or again: "Now, you're not to work any more; come in and havedinner--I've made some wafers for you!" And to please him, she said:"I should just like to know, now, what you've got in your mind withall that wood, and what you're going to build, now, next?"

"Why, I can't say as yet, " said Isak, making a mystery of it. 

Ay, just as in the old days. And after the child was born--and itwas a little girl--a great big girl, fine-looking and sturdy andsound--after that, Isak must have been a stone and a miserablecreature if he had not thanked God. But what was he going to build? Itwould be more news for Oline to go gadding about with--a new buildingagain at Sellanraa. A new wing of the house--a new house it was to be. And there were so many now at Sellanraa--they had a servant-girl; andEleseus, he was coming home; and a brand-new little girl-child oftheir own, just come--the old house would be just an extra room now, nothing more. 

And, of course, he had to tell Inger about it one day; she was socurious to know, and though maybe Inger knew it all beforehand, from Sivert, --they two were often whispering together, --she was allsurprised as any one could be, and let her arms fall, and said: "'Tisall your nonsense--you don't mean it?"

And Isak, brimming over with greatness inside, he answered her: "Why, with you bringing I don't know how many more children on the place, 'tis the least I can do, it seems. "

The two menfolk were out now every day getting stone for the walls ofthe new house. They worked their utmost together each in his own way:the one young, and with his young body firmly set, quick to see hisway, to mark out the stones that would suit; the other ageing--tough, with long arms, and a mighty weight to bear down on a crowbar. Whenthey had managed some specially difficult feat, they would hold abreathing-space, and talk together in a curious, reserved fashion oftheir own. 

"Brede, he talks of selling out, " said the father. 

"Ay, " said the son. "Wonder what he'll be asking for the place?"

"Ay, I wonder. "

"You've not heard anything?"

"No. "

"I've heard two hundred. "

The father thought for a while, and said: "What d'you think, 'll thisbe a good stone?"

"All depends if we can get this shell off him, " said Sivert, and wason his feet in a moment, giving the setting-hammer to his father, andtaking the sledge himself. He grew red and hot, stood up to his fullheight and let the sledge-hammer fall; rose again and let it fall;twenty strokes alike--twenty thunder-strokes. He spared neither toolnor strength; it was heavy work; his shirt rucked up from his trousersat the waist, leaving him bare in front; he lifted on his toes eachtime to give the sledge a better swing. Twenty strokes. 

"Now! Let's look!" cried his father. 

The son stops, and asks: "Marked him any?"

And they lay down together to look at the stone; look at the beast, the devil of a thing; no, not marked any as yet. 

"I've a mind to try with the sledge alone, " said the father, and stoodup. Still harder work this, sheer force alone, the hammer grew hot, the steel crushed, the pen grew blunt. 

"She'll be slipping the head, " he said, and stopped. "And I'm no handat this any more, " he said. 

Oh, but he never meant it; it was not his thought, that he was no handat the work any more!

This father, this barge of a man, simple, full of patience andgoodness, he would let his son strike the last few blows and cleavethe stone. And there it lay, split in two. 

"Ay, you've the trick of it, " said the father. "H'm, yes . .. Breidablik . .. Might make something but of that place. "

"Ay, should think so, " said the son. 

"Only the land was fairly ditched and turned. "

"The house'd have to be done up. "

"Ay, that of course. Place all done up--'twould mean a lot of work atfirst, but . .. What I was going to say, d'you know if your mother wasgoing to church come Sunday?"

"Ay, she said something like it. "

"Ho!. .. H'm. Keep your eyes open now and look out for a good bigdoor-slab for the new house. You haven't seen a bit would do?"

"No, " said Sivert. 

And they fell to work again. 

A couple of days later both agreed they had enough stone now for thewalls. It was Friday evening; they sat taking a breathing-space, andtalking together the while. 

"H'm--what d'you say?" said the father. "Should we think it over, maybe, about Breidablik?"

"How d'you mean?" asked the son. "What to do with it?"

"Why, I don't know. There's the school there, and it's midway downthis tract now. "

"And what then?" asked the son. "I don't know what we'd do with it, though; it's not worth much as it is. "

"That's what you've been thinking of?"

"No, not that way. .. . Unless Eleseus he'd like to have the place towork on. "

"Eleseus? Well, no, I don't know--"

Long pause, the two men thinking hard. The father begins gatheringtools together, packing up to go home. 

"Ay, unless . .. " said Sivert. "You might ask him what he says. "

The father made an end of the matter thus: "Well, there's another day, and we haven't found that door-slab yet, either. "

Next day was Saturday, and they had to be off early to get across thehills with the child. Jensine, the servant-girl, was to go with them;that was one godmother, the rest they would have to find from amongInger's folk on the other side. 

Inger looked nice; she had made herself a dainty cotton dress, withwhite at the neck and wrists. The child was all in white, with a newblue silk ribbon drawn through the lower edge of its dress; but thenshe was a wonder of a child, to be sure, that could smile and chatteralready, and lay and listened when the clock struck on the wall. Herfather had chosen her name. It was his right; he was determined tohave his say--only trust to him! He had hesitated between Jacobine andRebecca, as being both sort of related to Isak; and at last he went toInger and asked timidly: "What d'you think, now, of Rebecca?"

"Why, yes, " said Inger. 

And when Isak heard that, he grew suddenly independent and master inhis own house. "If she's to have a name at all, " he said sharply, "itshall be Rebecca! I'll see to that. "

And of course he was going with the party to church, partly to carry, and partly for propriety's sake. It would never do to let Rebecca goto be christened without a decent following! Isak trimmed his beardand put on a red shirt, as in his younger days; it was in the worst ofthe hot weather, but he had a nice new winter suit, that looked wellon him, and he wore it. But for all that, Isak was not the man to makea duty of finery and show; as now, for instance, he put on a pair offabulously heavy boots for the march. 

Sivert and Leopoldine stayed behind to look after the place. 

Then they rowed in a boat across the lake, and that was a deal easierthan before, when they had had to walk round all the way. But half-wayacross, as Inger unfastened her dress to nurse the child, Isak noticedsomething bright hung in a string round her neck; whatever it mightbe. And in the church he noticed that she wore that gold ring on herfinger. Oh, Inger--it had been too much for her after all!

Chapter XVII

Eleseus came home. 

He had been away now for some years, and had grown taller than hisfather, with long white hands and a little dark growth on his upperlip. He did not give himself airs, but seemed anxious to appearnatural and kindly; his mother, was surprised and pleased. He sharedthe small bedroom with Sivert; the two brothers got on well together, and were constantly playing tricks on each other by way of amusement. But, naturally, Eleseus had to take his share of the work in buildingthe house; and tired and miserable it made him, all unused as he wasto bodily fatigue of any kind. It was worse still when Sivert had togo off and leave it all to the other two; Eleseus then was almost moreof a hindrance than a help. 

And where had Sivert gone off to? Why, 'twas Oline had come over thehills one day with word from Uncle Sivert that he was dying; and, ofcourse, young Sivert had to go. A nice state of things all at once--itcouldn't have happened worse than to have Sivert running off just now. But there was no help for it. 

Said Oline: "I'd no time to go running errands, and that's the truth;but for all that . .. I've taken a fancy to the children here, all ofthem, and little Sivert, and if as I could help him to his legacy. .. . "

"But was Uncle Sivert very bad, then?"

"Bad? Heaven bless us, he's falling away day by day. "

"Was he in bed, then?"

"In bed? How can you talk so light and flighty of death before God'sJudgment-seat? Nay, he'll neither hop nor run again in this world, will your Uncle Sivert. "

All this seemed to mean that Uncle Sivert had not long to live, andInger insisted that little Sivert should set off at once. 

But Uncle Sivert, incorrigible old knave, was not on his death-bed;was not even confined to bed at all. When young Sivert came, hefound the little place in terrible muddle and disorder; they had notfinished the spring season's work properly yet--had not even cartedout all the winter manure; but as for approaching death, there was nosign of it that he could see. Uncle Sivert was an old man now, over seventy; he was something of an invalid, and pottered abouthalf-dressed in the house, and often kept his bed for a time. Heneeded help on the place in many ways, as, for instance, with theherring nets that hung rotting in the sheds. Oh, but for all that hewas by no means at his last gasp; he could still eat sour fish andsmoke his pipe. 

When Sivert had been there half an hour and seen how things were, hewas for going back home again. 

"Home?" said the old man. 

"We're building a house, and father's none to help him properly. "

"Ho!" said his uncle. "Isn't Eleseus come home, then?"

"Ay, but he's not used to the work. "

"Then why did you come at all?"

Sivert told him about Oline and her message, how she had said thatUncle Sivert was on the point of death. 

"Point of death?" cried the old man. "Said I was on the point ofdeath, did she? A cursed old fool!"

"Ha ha ha!" said Sivert. 

The old man looked sternly at him. "Eh? Laugh at a dying man, do you, and you called after me and all!"

But Sivert was too young to put on a graveyard face for that; he hadnever cared much for his uncle. And now he wanted to get back homeagain. 

"Ho, so you thought so, too?" said the old man again. "Thought I wasat my last gasp, and that fetched you, did it?"

"'Twas Oline said so, " answered Sivert. 

His uncle was silent for a while, then spoke again: "Look you here. If you'll mend that net of mine and put it right, I'll show yousomething. "

"H'm, " said Sivert. "What is it?"

"Well, never you mind, " said the old man sullenly, and went to bedagain. 

It was going to be a long business, evidently. Sivert writheduncomfortably. He went out and took a look round the place; everythingwas shamefully neglected and uncared for; it was hopeless to beginwork here. When he came in after a while, his uncle was sitting up, warming himself at the stove. 

"See that?" He pointed to an oak chest on the floor at his feet. Itwas his money chest. As a matter of fact, it was a lined case made tohold bottles, such as visiting justices and other great folk used tocarry with them when travelling about the country in the old days, but there were no bottles in it now; the old man had used it for hisdocuments and papers as district treasurer; he kept his accounts andhis money in it now. The story ran that it was full of uncountedriches; the village folk would shake their heads and say: "Ah! if I'donly as much as lies in old Sivert his chest!"

Uncle Sivert took out a paper from the box and said solemnly: "You canread writing, I suppose?"

Little Sivert was not by any means a great hand at that, it is true, but he made out so much as told him he was to inherit all that hisuncle might leave at his death. 

"There, " said the old man. "And now you can do as you please. " And helaid the paper back in the chest. 

Sivert was not greatly impressed; after all, the paper told him nomore than he had known before; ever since he was a child he had heardsay that he was to have what Uncle Sivert left one day. A sight of thetreasure would be another matter. 

"There's some fine things in that chest, I doubt, " said he. 

"There's more than you think, " said the old man shortly. 

He was angry and disappointed with his nephew; he locked up the boxand went to bed again. There he lay, delivering jets of information. "I've been district treasurer and warden of the public moneys in thisvillage over thirty year; _I've_ no need to beg and pray for a helpinghand from any man! Who told Oline, I'd like to know, that I was on mydeathbed? I can send three men, carriage and cart to fetch a doctor ifI want one. Don't try your games with me, young man! Can't even waittill I'm gone, it seems. I've shown you the document and you've seenit, and it's there in the chest--that's all I've got to say. Butif you go running off and leave me now, you can just carry word toEleseus and tell _him_ to come. He's not named after me and called bymy earthly name--let _him_ come. "

But for all the threatening tone, Sivert only thought a moment, andsaid: "Ay, I'll tell Eleseus to come. "

Oline was still at Sellanraa when Sivert got back. She had found timeto pay a visit lower down, to Axel Ström and Barbro on their place, and came back full of mysteries and whisperings. "That girl Barbro'sfilling out a deal of late--Lord knows what it may mean. But not aword that I've said so! And here's Sivert back again? No need to askwhat news, I suppose? Your Uncle Sivert's passed away? Ay, well, anold man he was and an aged one, on the brink of the grave. What--notdead? Well, well, we've much to be thankful for, and that's a solemnword! Me talking nonsense, you say? Oh, if I'd never more to answerfor! How was I to know your uncle he was lying there a sham and afalse pretender before the Lord? Not long to live, that's what I said. And I'll hold by it, when the time comes, before the Throne. What'sthat you say? Well, and wasn't he lying there his very self in hisbed, and folding his hands on his breast and saying 'twould soon beover?"

There was no arguing with Oline, she bewildered her adversaries withtalk and cast them down. When she learned that Uncle Sivert had sentfor Eleseus, she grasped at that too, and made her own advantage ofit: "There you are, and see if I was talking nonsense. Here's oldSivert calling up his kinsfolk and longing for a sight of his ownflesh and blood; ay, he's nearing his end! You can't refuse him, Eleseus; off with you at once this minute and see your uncle whilethere's life in him. I'm going that way too, we'll go together. "

Oline did not leave Sellanraa without taking Inger aside for morewhisperings of Barbro. "Not a word I've said--but I could see thesigns of it! And now I suppose she'll be wife and all on the farmthere. Ay, there's some folk are born to great things, for all theymay be small as the sands of the sea in their beginnings. And who'dhave ever thought it of that girl Barbro! Axel, yes, never doubt buthe's a toiling sort and getting on, and great fine lands and means andall like you've got here--'tis more than we know of over on our sidethe hills, as you know's a true word, Inger, being born and come ofthe place yourself. Barbro, she'd a trifle of wool in a chest; 'twasnaught but winter wool, and I wasn't asking and she never offered me. We said but _Goddag_ and _Farvel_, for all that I'd known her from shewas a toddling child all that time I was here at Sellanraa by reasonof you being away and learning knowledge at the Institute. .. . "

"There's Rebecca crying, " said Inger, breaking in on Oline. But shegave her a handful of wool. 

Then a great thanksgiving speech from Oline: ay, wasn't it just as shehad said to Barbro herself of Inger, and how there was not her liketo be found for giving to folk; ay, she'd give till she was bare, andgive her fingers to the bone, and never complain. Ay, go in and see tothe sweet angel, and never was there a child in the world so like hermother as Rebecca--no. Did Inger remember how she'd said one day asshe'd never have children again? Ah, now she could see! No, bettergive ear to them as were grown old and had borne children of theirown, for who should fathom the Lord His ways, said Oline. 

And with that she padded off after Eleseus up through the forest, shrunken with age, grey and abject, and for ever nosing after things, imperishable. Going to old Sivert now, to let him know how she, Oline, had managed to persuade Eleseus to come. 

But Eleseus had needed no persuading, there was no difficulty there. For, look you, Eleseus had turned out better, after all, than he'dbegun; a decent lad in his way, kindly and easy-going from a child, only nothing great in the way of bodily strength. It was not withoutreason he had been unwilling to come home this time; he knew wellenough that his mother had been in prison for child-murder; he hadnever heard a word about it there in the town, but at home in thevillage every one would remember. And it was not for nothing he hadbeen living with companions of another sort. He had grown to be moresensitive and finer feeling than ever before. He knew that a fork wasreally just as necessary as a knife. As a man of business, he used theterms of the new coinage, whereas, out in the wilds, men still countedmoney by the ancient _Daler_. Ay, he was not unwilling to walk acrossthe hills to other parts; here, at home, he was constantly forced tokeep down his own superiority. He tried his best to adapt himself tothe others, and he managed well; but it was always having to be on hisguard. As, for instance, when he had first come back to Sellanraaa couple of weeks ago, he had brought with him his light springovercoat, though it was midsummer; and when he hung it up on a nail, he might just as well have turned it so as to show the silver plateinside with his initials, but he didn't. And the same with hisstick--his walking-stick. True, it was only an umbrella stick really, that he had dismantled and taken the framework off; but here he hadnot used it as he did in town, swinging it about--only carried ithidden against his thigh. 

No, it was not surprising that Eleseus went across the hills. He wasno good at building houses; he was good at writing with letters, athing not every one could do, but here at home there was no one in allthe place that set any store by the art of it save perhaps his mother. He set off gaily through the woods, far ahead of Oline; he could waitfor her farther up. He ran like a calf; he hurried. Eleseus had in away stolen off from the farm; he was afraid of being seen. For, to tell the truth, he had taken with him both spring coat andwalking-stick for the journey. Over on the other side there might be achance of seeing people, and being seen himself; he might even be ableto go to church. And so he sweated happily under the weight of anunnecessary spring coat in the heat of the sun. 

They did not miss him at the building, far from it. Isak had Sivertback again, and Sivert was worth a host of his brother at that work;he could keep at it from morning to night. It did not take themlong to get the framework up; it was only three walls, as they werebuilding out from the other. And they had less trouble with thetimber; they could cut their planks at the sawmill, which gave themthe outside pieces for roofing at the same time. And one fine daythere was the house all finished, before their eyes, roofed, floored, and with the windows in. They had no time for more than this betweenthe seasons; the boarding and painting would have to wait. 

And now came Geissler with a great following across the hills fromSweden. And the men with him rode on horseback with glossy-coatedhorses and yellow saddles; rich travellers they must be no doubt;stout, heavy men; the horses bowed under their weight. And among allthese great personages came Geissler on foot. Four gentlemen andGeissler made up the party, and then there were a couple of servantseach leading a packhorse. 

The riders dismounted outside the farm, and Geissler said: "Here'sIsak--here's the Margrave of the place himself. _Goddag_, Isak! I'vecome back again, you see, as I said I would. "

Geissler was the same as ever. For all that he came on foot, hismanner showed no consciousness of inferiority to the rest; ay, histhreadbare coat hung long and wretched-looking down over his shrunkenback, but he put on a grand enough air for all that. He evensaid: "We're going up into the hills a bit, these gentlemen andmyself--it'll do them good to get their weight down a bit. "

The gentlemen themselves were nice and pleasant enough; they smiledat Geissler's words, and hoped Isak would excuse their coming riotingover his land like this. They had brought their own provisions, anddid not propose to eat him out of house and home, but they would beglad of a roof over their heads for the night. Perhaps he could putthem up in the new building there?

When they had rested a while, and Geissler had been inside with Ingerand the children, the whole party went up into the hills and stayedout till evening. Now and again in the course of the afternoon, thefolks at Sellanraa could hear an unusually heavy report from thedistance, and the train of them came down with new bags of samples. "Blue copper, " they said, nodding at the ore. They talked long andlearnedly, and consulting a sort of map they had drawn; there was anengineer among them, and a mining expert; one appeared to be a biglandowner or manager of works. They talked of aerial railways andcable traction. Geissler threw in a word here and there, and each timeas if advising them; they paid great attention to what he said. 

"Who owns the land south of the lake?" one of them asked Isak. 

"The State, " answered Geissler quickly. He was wide awake and sharp, and held in his hand the document Isak had once signed with his mark. "I told you before--the State, " he said. "No need to ask again. If youdon't believe me, you can find out for yourself if you please. "

Later in the evening, Geissler took Isak aside and said: "Look here, shall we sell that copper mine?"

Said Isak: "Why, as to that, 'twas so that Lensmand bought it of meonce, and paid for it. "

"True, " said Geissler. "I bought the ground. But then there was aprovision that you were to have a percentage of receipts from workingor sale; are you willing to dispose of your share?"

This was more than Isak could understand, and Geissler had to explain. Isak could not work a mine, being a farmer and a clearer of forestland; Geissler himself couldn't run a mine either. Money, capital? Ho, as much as he wanted, never fear! But he hadn't the time, too manythings to do, always running about the country, attending to hisproperty in the south, his property in the north. And now Geissler wasthinking of selling out to these Swedish gentlemen here; they wererelatives of his wife, all of them, and rich men. "Do you see what Imean?"

"I'll do it what way you please, " said Isak. 

A strange thing--this complete confidence seemed to comfort Geisslerwonderfully in his threadbareness. "Well, I'm not sure it's the bestthing you could do, " he said thoughtfully. Then suddenly he wascertain, and went on: "But if you'll give me a free hand to act onmy discretion, I can do better for you at any rate than you could byyourself. "

"H'm, " began Isak. "You've always been a good man to us all here. .. . "

But Geissler frowned at that, and cut him short: "All right, then. "

Next morning the gentlemen sat down to write. It was a seriousbusiness; there was first of all a contract for forty thousand_Kroner_ for the sale of the mine, then a document whereby Geisslermade over the whole of the money to his wife and children. Isak andSivert were called in to witness the signatures to these. When itwas done, the gentlemen wanted to buy over Isak's percentage for aridiculous sum--five hundred _Kroner_. Geissler put a stop to that, however. "Jesting apart, " he said. 

Isak himself understood but little of the whole affair; he had soldthe place once, and got his money. But in any case, he did not caremuch about _Kroner_--it was not real money like _Daler_. Sivert, onthe other hand, followed the business with more understanding. There was something peculiar, he thought, about the tone of thesenegotiations; it looked very much like a family affair between theparties. One of the strangers would say: "My dear Geissler, you oughtnot to have such red eyes, you know. " Whereto Geissler answeredsharply, if evasively: "No, I ought not, I know. But we don't all getwhat we ought to in this world!"

It looked very much as if Fru Geissler's brothers and kinsmen weretrying to buy off her husband, secure themselves against his visitsfor the future, and get quit of a troublesome relation. As to themine, it was worth something in itself, no doubt, no one denied it;but it lay far out of the way, and the buyers themselves said theywere only taking it over in order to sell it again to some one betterin a position to work it. There was nothing unreasonable in that. Theydeclared too, quite frankly, that they had no idea what they would beable to get for it as it stood; if it were taken up and worked, thenthe forty thousand might turn out to be only a fraction of what it wasworth; if it were allowed to lie there as it was, the money was simplythrown away. But in any case, they wanted to have a clear title, without encumbrance, and therefore they offered Isak five hundred_Kroner_ for his share. 

"I'm acting on his behalf, " said Geissler, "and I'm not going to sellout his share for less than ten per cent. Of the purchase-money. "

"Four thousand!" said the others. 

"Four thousand, " said Geissler. "The land was his, and his share comesto four thousand. It wasn't mine, and I get forty thousand. Kindlyturn that over in your minds, if you please. "

"Yes, but--four thousand _Kroner_!"

Geissler rose from his place, and said: "That, or no sale. "

They thought it over, whispered about it, went out into the yard, talking as long as they could. "Get the horses ready, " they called tothe servants. One of the gentlemen went in to Inger and paid royallyfor coffee, a few eggs, and their lodging. Geissler walked about witha careless air, but he was wide awake all the same. 

"How did that irrigation work turn out last year?" he asked Sivert. 

"It saved the whole crop. "

"You've cut away that mound there since I was here last, what?"

"Ay. "

"You must have another horse on the farm, " said Geissler. He noticedeverything. 

One of the strangers came up. "Now then, let's get this matter settledand have done with it, " he said. 

They all went into the new building again, and Isak's four thousand_Kroner_ were counted out. Geissler was given a paper, which hethrust into his pocket as if it were of no value at all. "Keep thatcarefully, " they told him, "and in a few days your wife shall have thebankbook sent. "

Geissler puckered his forehead and said shortly: "Very good. "

But they were not finished with Geissler yet. Not that he opened hismouth to ask for anything; he simply stood there, and they saw how hestood there: maybe he had stipulated beforehand for a trifle on hisown account. The leader gave him a bundle of notes, and Geisslersimply nodded again, and said: "Very good. "

"And now I think we ought to drink a glass with Geissler, " said theother. 

They drank, and that was done. And then they took leave of Geissler. 

Just at that moment came Brede Olsen walking up. Now what did he want?Brede had doubtless heard the reports of the blasting charges the daybefore, and understood that there was something on foot in the wayof mines. And now he came up ready to sell something too. He walkedstraight past Geissler, and addressed himself to the gentlemen; hehad found some remarkable specimens of rock hereabouts, quiteextraordinary, some blood-like, others like silver; he knew everycranny and corner in the hills around and could go straight to everyspot; he knew of long veins of some heavy metal--whatever it might be. 

"Have you any samples?" asked the mining expert. 

Yes, Brede had samples. But couldn't they just as well go up and lookat the places at once? It wasn't far. Samples--oh, sacks of them, whole packing-cases full. No, he had not brought them with him, theywere at home--he could run down and fetch them. But it would bequicker just to run up into the hills and fetch some more, if theywould only wait. 

The men shook their heads and went on their way. 

Brede looked after them with an injured air. If he had felt a glimmerof hope for the moment, it was gone now; fate was against him, nothingever went right. Well for Brede that he was not easily cast down; helooked after the men as they rode away, and said at last: "Wish you apleasant journey!" And that was all. 

But now he was humble again in his manner towards Geissler, his formerchief, and no longer treated him as an equal, but used forms ofrespect. Geissler had taken out his pocket-book on some pretext orother, and any one could see that it was stuffed full of notes. 

"If only Lensmand could help me a bit, " said Brede. 

"Go back home and work your land properly, " said Geissler, and helpedhim not a bit. 

"I might easily have brought up a whole barrow-load of samples, butwouldn't it have been easier to go up and look at the place itselfwhile they were here?"

Geissler took no notice of him, and turned to Isak: "Did you see whatI did with that document? It was a most important thing--a matterof several thousand _Kroner_. Oh, here it is, in among a bundle ofnotes. "

"Who were those people?" asked Brede. "Just out for a ride, or what?"

Geissler had been having an anxious time, no doubt, and now he cooleddown. But he had still something of life and eagerness in him, enoughto do a little more; he went up into the hills with Sivert, and took abig sheet of paper with him, and drew a map of the ground south of thelake--Heaven knows what he had in mind. When he came down to the farmsome hours later, Brede was still there, but Geissler took no noticeof his questions; Geissler was tired, and waved him aside. 

He slept like a stone till next morning early, then he rose with thesun, and was himself again. "Sellanraa, " said he, standing outside andlooking all round. 

"All that money, " said Isak; "does it mean I'm to have it all?"

"All?" said Geissler. "Heavens, man, can't you see it ought to havebeen ever so much more? And it was my business really to pay you, according to our contract; but you saw how things were--it was theonly way to manage it. What did you get? Only a thousand _Daler_, according to the old reckoning. I've been thinking, you'll needanother horse on the place now. "

"Ay. "

"Well, I know of one. That fellow Heyerdahl's assistant, he's lettinghis place go to rack and ruin; takes more interest in running aboutselling folk up. He's sold a deal of his stock already, and he'll bewilling to sell the horse. "

"I'll see him about it, " said Isak. 

Geissler waved his hand broadly around, and said: "Margrave, landowner--that's you! House and stock and cultivated land--they can'tstarve you out if they try!"

"No, " said Isak. "We've all we could wish for that the Lord evermade. "

Geissler went fussing about the place, and suddenly slipped in toInger. "Could you manage a bit of food for me to take along again?" heasked. "Just a few wafers--no butter and cheese; there's good thingsenough in them already. No, do as I say; I can't carry more. "

Out again. Geissler was restless, he went into the new building andsat down to write. He had thought it all out beforehand, and it didnot take long now to get it down. Sending in an application to theState, he explained loftily to Isak--"to the Ministry of the Interior, you understand. Yes, I've no end of things to look after all at once. "

When he had got his parcel of food and had taken leave, he seemed toremember something all of a sudden: "Oh, by the way, I'm afraid I oweyou something from last time--I took out a note from my pocket-book onpurpose, and then stuck it in my waistcoat pocket--I found it thereafterwards. Too many things to think about all at once. .. . " He putsomething into Inger's hand and off he went. 

Ay, off went Geissler, bravely enough to all seeming. Nothing downcastnor anyway nearing his end; he came to Sellanraa again after, and itwas long years before he died. Each time he went away the Sellanraafolk missed him as a friend. Isak had been thinking of asking himabout Breidablik, getting his advice, but nothing came of it. Andmaybe Geissler would have dissuaded him there; have thought it a riskything to buy up land for cultivation and give it to Eleseus; to aclerk. 

Chapter XVIII

Uncle Sivert died after all. Eleseus spent three weeks looking afterhim, and then the old man died. Eleseus arranged the funeral, andmanaged things very well; got hold of a fuchsia or so from thecottages round, and borrowed a flag to hoist at half-mast, and boughtsome black stuff from the store for lowered blinds. Isak and Ingerwere sent for, and came to the burial. Eleseus acted as host, andserved out refreshments to the guests; ay, and when the body wascarried out, and they had sung a hymn, Eleseus actually said a fewsuitable words over the coffin, and his mother was so proud andtouched that she had to use her handkerchief. Everything went offsplendidly. 

Then on the way home with his father, Eleseus had to carry that springcoat of his openly, though he managed to hide the stick in one of thesleeves. All went well till they had to cross the water in a boat;then his father sat down unexpectedly on the coat, and there was acrack. "What was that?" asked Isak. 

"Oh, nothing, " said Eleseus. 

But he did not throw the broken stick away; as soon as they got home, he set about looking for a bit of tube or something to mend it with. "We'll fix it all right, " said Sivert, the incorrigible. "Look here, get a good stout splint of wood on either side, and lash all fast withwaxed thread. .. . "

"I'll lash you with waxed thread, " said Eleseus. 

"Ha ha ha! Well, perhaps you'd rather tie it up neatly with a redgarter?"

"Ha ha ha, " said Eleseus himself at that; but he went in to hismother, and got her to give him an old thimble, filed off the end, andmade quite a fine ferrule. Oh, Eleseus was not so helpless after all, with his long, white hands. 

The brothers teased each other as much as ever. "Am I to have whatUncle Sivert's left?" asked Eleseus. 

"You have it? How much is it?" asked Sivert. 

"Ha ha ha, you want to know how much it is first, you old miser!"

"Well, you can have it, anyway, " said Sivert. 

"It's between five and ten thousand. "

"_Daler_?" cried Sivert; he couldn't help it. 

Now Eleseus never reckoned in _Daler_, but he didn't like to say no atthe time, so he just nodded, and left it at that till next day. 

Then he took up the matter again. "Aren't you sorry you gave me allthat yesterday?" he said. 

"Woodenhead! Of course not, " said Sivert. That was what he said, but--well, five thousand _Daler_ was five thousand _Daler_, and nolittle sum; if his brother were anything but a lousy Indian savage, heought to give back half. 

"Well, to tell the truth, " explained Eleseus, "I don't reckon to getfat on that legacy, after all. "

Sivert looked at him in astonishment. "Ho, don't you?"

"No, nothing special, that is to say. Not what you might call _parexcellence_. "

Eleseus had some notions of accounts, of course, and Uncle Sivert'smoney-chest, the famous bottle-case, had been opened and examinedwhile he was there; he had had to go through all the accounts and makeup a balance sheet. Uncle Sivert had not set this nephew to work onthe fields or mending of herring nets; he had initiated him into acomplex muddle of figures, the weirdest book-keeping ever seen. If aman had paid his taxes some years back in kind, with a goat, say, ora load of dried cod, there was neither flesh nor fish to show for itnow; but old Sivert searched his memory and said, "He's paid!"

"Right, then we'll cross him out, " said Sivert. 

Eleseus was the man for this sort of work; he was bright and quick, and encouraged the invalid by assuring him that things were all right;the two had got on well together, even to jesting at times. Eleseuswas a bit of a fool, perhaps, in some things, but so was his uncle;and the two of them sat there drawing up elaborate documents in favournot only of little Sivert but also to benefit the village, the communewhich the old man had served for thirty years. Oh, they were granddays! "I couldn't have got a better man to help with all this thanyou, Eleseus boy, " said Uncle Sivert. He sent out and bought mutton, in the middle of the summer; fish was brought up fresh from the sea, Eleseus being ordered to pay cash from the chest. They lived wellenough. They got hold of Oline--they couldn't have found a betterperson to invite to a feast, nor one more sure to spread abroad thenews of Uncle Sivert's greatness to the end. And the satisfaction wasmutual. "We must do something for Oline, too, " said Uncle Sivert, "shebeing a widow and not well off. There'll be enough for little Sivert, anyhow. " Eleseus managed it with a few strokes of the pen; a merecodicil to the last will and testament, and lo, Oline was also asharer in the inheritance. 

"I'll look after you, " said Uncle Sivert to her. "If so be I shouldn'tget better this time and get about again on earth I'll take careyou're not left out. " Oline declared that she was speechless, butspeechless she was not; she wept and was touched to the heart andgrateful; there was none to compare with Oline for finding theimmediate connection between a worldly gift and being "repaid athousandfold eternally in the world to come. " No, speechless she wasnot. 

But Eleseus? At first, perhaps, he may have taken a bright enough viewof his uncle's affairs, but after a while he began to think thingsover and talk as well. He tried at first with a slight hint: "Theaccounts aren't exactly as they should be, " he said. 

"Well, never mind that, " said the old man. "There'll be enough and tospare when I'm gone. "

"You've money outstanding besides, maybe?" said Eleseus. "In a bank, or so?" For so report had said. 

"H'm, " said the old man. "That's as it may be. But, anyhow, with thefishery, the farm and buildings and stock, red cows and white cows andall--don't you worry about that, Eleseus, my boy. "

Eleseus had no idea what the fishery business might be worth, buthe had seen the live stock; it consisted of one cow, partly red andpartly white. Uncle Sivert must have been delirious. Some of theaccounts, too, were difficult to make out at all; they were a muddle, a bare jumble of figures, especially from the date when the coinagewas changed; the district treasurer had frequently reckoned the small_Kroner_ as if they were full _Daler_. No wonder he fancied himselfrich! But when everything was reduced to something like order, Eleseusfeared there would not be much left over. Perhaps not enough to settleat all. 

Ay, Sivert might easily promise him all that came to him from hisuncle!

The two brothers jested about it. Sivert was not upset over thematter, not at all; perhaps, indeed, it might have irked him somethingmore if he really had thrown away five thousand _Daler_. He knew wellenough that it had been a mere speculation, naming him after hisuncle; he had no claim to anything there. And now he pressed Eleseusto take what there was. "It's to be yours, of course, " said he. "Comealong, let's get it set down in writing. I'd like to see you a richman. Don't be too proud to take it!"

Ay, they had many a laugh together. Sivert, indeed, was the one thathelped most to keep Eleseus at home; it would have been much harderbut for him. 

As a matter of fact, Eleseus was getting rather spoiled again; thethree weeks' idling on the other side of the hills had not done himany good. He had also been to church there, and made a show; ay, hehad even met some girls there. Here at Sellanraa there was nothing ofthat sort; Jensine, the servant-maid, was a mere nothing, a worker andno more, rather suited to Sivert. 

"I've a fancy to see how that girl Barbro from Breidablik turned outnow she's grown up, " said Eleseus one day. 

"Well, go down to Axel Ström's place and see, " said Sivert. 

Eleseus went down one Sunday. Ay, he had been away, gained confidenceand high spirits once more; he had tasted excitement of a sort, and hemade things livelier at Axel's little place. Barbro herself was by nomeans to be despised; at any rate she was the only one anywhere near. She played the guitar and talked readily; moreover, she did not smellof tansy, but of real scent, the sort you buy in shops. Eleseus, onhis part, let it be understood that he was only home for a holiday, and would soon be called back to the office again. But it was not sobad being at home after all, in the old place, and, of course, he hadthe little bedroom to live in. But it was not like being in town!

"Nay, that's a true word, " said Barbro, "Town's very different fromthis. "

Axel himself was altogether out of it with these two town-folk; hefound it dull with them, and preferred to go out and look over hisland. The pair of them were left to do as they liked, and Eleseusmanaged things grandly. He told how he had been over to theneighbouring village to bury his uncle, and did not forget to mentionthe speech he had made over the coffin. 

When he took his leave, he asked Barbro to go part of the way homewith him. But Barbro, thank you, was not inclined that way. 

"Is that the way they do things where you've been, " she asked--"forthe ladies to escort the gentlemen home?"

That was a nasty hit for Eleseus; he turned red, and understood he hadoffended her. 

Nevertheless, he went down to Maaneland again next Sunday, and thistime he took his stick. They talked as before, and Axel was out of italtogether, as before. "'Tis a big place your father's got, " said he. "And building again, now, it seems. "

"Ay, it's all very well for him, " said Eleseus, anxious to show offa little. "He can afford it. It's another matter with poor folk likeourselves. "

"How d'you mean?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? There's been some Swedish millionaires camedown the other day and bought a mine of him, a copper mine. "

"Why, you don't say? And he'll have got a heap of money for it, then?"

"Enormous. Well, I don't want to boast, but it was at any rate everso many thousands. What was I going to say? Build? You've a deal oftimber lying about here yourself. When are you going to start?"

Barbro put in her word here: "Never!"

Now that was pure exaggeration and impertinence. Axel had got hisstones the autumn before, and carted them home that winter; now, between seasons, he had got the foundation walls done, and cellar andall else--all that remained was to build the timbered part above. Hewas hoping to get part of it roofed in this autumn, and had thoughtof asking Sivert to lend him a hand for a few days--what did Eleseusthink of that?

Eleseus thought like as not. "But why not ask me?" he said, smiling. 

"You?" said Axel, and he spoke with sudden respect at the idea. "You've talents for other things than that, I take it. "

Oh, but it was pleasant to find oneself appreciated here in the wilds!"Why, I'm afraid my hands aren't much good at that sort of work, " saidEleseus delicately. 

"Let me look, " said Barbro, and took his hand. 

Axel dropped out of the conversation again, and went out, leaving thetwo of them alone. They were of an age, had been to school together, and played and kissed each other and raced about; and now, with afine disdainful carelessness, they talked of old times--exchangingreminiscences--and Barbro, perhaps, was inclined to show off a littlebefore her companion. True, this Eleseus was not like the really fineyoung men in offices, that wore glasses and gold watches and so on, but he could pass for a gentleman here in the wilds, there wasno denying that. And she took out her photograph now and showedhim--that's what she looked like then--"all different now, of course. "And Barbro sighed. 

"Why, what's the matter with you now?" he asked. 

"Don't you think I've changed for the worse since then?"

"Changed for the worse, indeed! Well, I don't mind telling you you'reever so much prettier now, " said he, "filled out all round. For theworse? Ho! That's a fine idea!"

"But it's a nice dress, don't you think? Cut open just a bit front andback. And then I had that silver chain you see there, and it cost aheap of money, too; it was a present from one of the young clerks Iwas with then. But I lost it. Not exactly lost it, you know, but Iwanted money to come home. "

Eleseus asked: "Can I have the photo to keep?"

"To keep? H'm. What'll you give me for it?"

Oh, Eleseus knew well enough what he wanted to say, but he dared not. "I'll have mine taken when I go back to town, " he said instead, "andsend it you. "

Barbro put away the photograph. "No, it's the only one I've left. "

That was a stroke of darkness to his young heart, and he stretched outhis hand towards the picture. 

"Well, give me something for it, now, " she said, laughing. And at thathe up and kissed her properly. 

After that it was easier all round; Eleseus brightened up, and goton finely. They flirted and joked and laughed, and were excellentfriends. "When you took my hand just now it was like a bit of swan'sdown--yours, I mean. "

"Oh, you'll be going back to town again, and never come back here, I'll be bound, " said Barbro. 

"Do you think I'm that sort?" said Eleseus. 

"Ah, I dare say there's a somebody there you're fond of. "

"No, there isn't. Between you and me, I'm not engaged at all, " saidhe. 

"Oh yes, you are; I know. "

"No, solemn fact, I'm not. "

They carried on like this quite a while; Eleseus was plainly in love. "I'll write to you, " said he. "May I?"

"Yes, " said she. 

"For I wouldn't be mean enough if you didn't care about it, youknow. " And suddenly he was jealous, and asked: "I've heard say you'repromised to Axel here; is it true?"

"Axel?" she said scornfully, and he brightened up again. "I'll see himfarther!" But then she turned penitent, and added: "Alex, he's goodenough for me, though. .. . And he takes in a paper all for me to read, and gives me things now and again--lots of things. I will say that"

"Oh, of course, " Eleseus agreed. "He may be an excellent fellow in hisway, but that's not everything. .. . "

But the thought of Axel seemed to have made Barbro anxious; she gotup, and said to Eleseus: "You'll have to go now; I must see to theanimals. "

Next Sunday Eleseus went down a good deal later than usual, andcarried the letter himself. It was a letter! A whole week ofexcitement, all the trouble it had cost him to write, but here itwas at last; he had managed to produce a letter: "To Fröken BarbroBredesen. It is two or three times now I have had the inexpressibledelight of seeing you again. .. . "

Coming so late as he did now, Barbro must at any rate have finishedseeing to the animals, and might perhaps have gone to bed already. That wouldn't matter--quite the reverse, indeed. 

But Barbro was up, sitting in the hut. She looked now as if she hadsuddenly lost all idea of being nice to him and making love--Eleseusfancied Axel had perhaps got hold of her and warned her. 

"Here's the letter I promised you, " he said. 

"Thank you, " said she, and opened it, and read it through withoutseeming much moved. "I wish I could write as nice a hand as that, " shesaid. 

Eleseus was disappointed. What had he done--what was the matter withher? And where was Axel? He was not there. Beginning to get tired ofthese foolish Sunday visits, perhaps, and preferred to stay away; orhe might have had some business to keep him over, when he went down tothe village the day before. Anyhow, he was not there. 

"What d'you want to sit here in this stuffy old place for on a lovelyevening?" asked Eleseus. "Come out for a walk. "

"I'm waiting for Axel, " she answered. 

"Axel? Can't you live without Axel, then?"

"Yes. But he'll want something to eat when he comes back. "

Time went, time dribbled away, they came no nearer each other; Barbrowas as cross and contrary as ever. He tried telling her again of hisvisit across the hills, and did not forget about the speech he hadmade: "'Twasn't much I had to say, but all the same it brought out thetears from some of them. "

"Did it?" said she. 

"And then one Sunday I went to church. "

"What news there?"

"News? Oh, nothing. Only to have a look round. Not much of a priest, as far as I know anything about it; no sort of manner, he had. "

Time went. 

"What d'you think Axel'd say if he found you here this evening again?"said Barbro suddenly. 

There was a thing to say! It was as if she had struck him. Had sheforgotten all about last time? Hadn't they agreed that he was to comethis evening? Eleseus was deeply hurt, and murmured: "I can go, if youlike. What have I done?" he asked then, his lips trembling. He was indistress, in trouble, that was plain to see. 

"Done? Oh, you haven't done anything. "

"Well, what's the matter with you, anyway, this evening?"

"With me? Ha ha ha!--But come to think of it, 'tis no wonder Axelshould be angry. "

"I'll go, then, " said Eleseus again. But she was still indifferent, not in the least afraid, caring nothing that he sat there strugglingwith his feelings. Fool of a woman!

And now he began to grow angry; he hinted his displeasure at firstdelicately: to the effect that she was a nice sort indeed, and acredit to her sex, huh! But when that produced no effect--oh, he wouldhave done better to endure it patiently, and say nothing. But he grewno better for that; he said: "If I'd known you were going to be likethis, I'd never have come this evening at all. "

"Well, what if you hadn't?" said she. "You'd have lost a chance ofairing that cane of yours that you're so fond of. "

Oh, Barbro, she had lived in Bergen, she knew how to jeer at a man;she had seen real walking-sticks, and could ask now what he wanted togo swinging a patched-up umbrella handle like that for. But he let hergo on. 

"I suppose now you'll be wanting that photograph back you gave me, "he said. And if that didn't move her, surely nothing would, for amongfolks in the wilds, there was nothing counted so mean as to take backa gift. 

"That's as it may be, " she answered evasively. 

"Oh, you shall have it all right, " he answered bravely. "I'll sendit back at once, never fear. And now perhaps you'll give me back myletter. " Eleseus rose to his feet. 

Very well; she gave him back the letter. But now the tears came intoher eyes as she did so; this servant girl was touched; her friend wasforsaking her--good-bye for ever!

"You've no need to go, " she said. "I don't care for what Axel says. "

But Eleseus had the upper hand now, and must use it; he thankedher and said good-bye. "When a lady carries on that way, " he said, "there's nothing else to be done. "

He left the house, quietly, and walked up homeward, whistling, swinging his stick, and playing the man. Huh! A little while aftercame Barbro walking up; she called to him once or twice. Very well;he stopped, so he did, but was a wounded lion. She sat down in theheather looking penitent; she fidgeted with a sprig, and a littleafter he too softened, and asked for a kiss, the last time, just tosay good-bye, he said. No, she would not. "Be nice and be a dear, likeyou were last time, " he begged, and moved round her on all sides, stepping quickly, if he could see his chance. But she would not be adear; she got up. And there she stood. And at that he simply noddedand went. 

When he was out of sight, Axel appeared suddenly from behindsome bushes. Barbro started, all taken aback, and asked: "What'sthat--where have you been? Up that way?"

"No; I've been down that way, " he answered. "But I saw you two goingup here. "

"Ho, did you? And a lot of good it did you, I dare say, " she cried, suddenly furious. She was certainly not easier to deal with now. "Whatare you poking and sniffing about after, I'd like to know? What's itto do with you?"

Axel was not in the best of temper himself. "H'm. So he's been hereagain today?"

"Well, what if he has? What do you want with him?"

"I want with him? It's what you want with him, I'd like to ask. Youought to be ashamed. "

"Ashamed? Huh! The least said about that, if you ask me, " said Barbro. "I'm here to sit in the house like a statue, I suppose? What have Igot to be ashamed of, anyway? If you like to go and get some one elseto look after the place, I'm ready to go. You hold your tongue, that'sall I've got to say, if it's not too much to ask. I'm going back nowto get your supper and make the coffee, and after that I can do as Iplease. "

They came home with the quarrel at its height. 

No, they were not always the best of friends, Axel and Barbro; therewas trouble now and again. She had been with him now for a couple ofyears, and they had had words before; mostly when Barbro talked offinding another place. He wanted her to stay there for ever, to settledown there and share the house and life with him; he knew how hardit would be for him if he were left without help again. And she hadpromised several times--ay, in her more affectionate moments she wouldnot think of going away at all. But the moment they quarrelled aboutanything, she invariably threatened to go. If for nothing else, shemust go to have her teeth seen to in town. Go, go away . .. Axel felthe must find a means to keep her. 

Keep her? A lot Barbro cared for his trying to keep her if she didn'twant to stay. 

"Ho, so you want to go away again?" said he. 

"Well, and if I do?"

"_Can_ you, d'you think?"

"Well, and why not? If you think I'm afraid because the winter'scoming on . .. But I can get a place in Bergen any day I like. "

Then said Axel steadily enough: "It'll be some time before you can dothat, anyway. As long as you're with child. "

"With child? What are you talking about?"

Axel stared. Was the girl mad? True, he himself should have been morepatient. Now that he had the means of keeping her, he had grown tooconfident, and that was a mistake; there was no need to be sharp withher and make her wild; he need not have ordered her in so many wordsto help him with the potatoes that spring--he might have plantedthem by himself. There would be plenty of time for him to assert hisauthority after they were married; until then he ought to have hadsense enough to give way. 

But--it _was_ too bad, this business with Eleseus, this clerk, whocame swaggering about with his walking-stick and all his fine talk. For a girl to carry on like that when she was promised to anotherman--and in her condition! It was beyond understanding. Up to then, Axel had had no rival to compete with--now, it was different. 

"Here's a new paper for you, " he said. "And here's a bit of a thing Igot you. Don't know if you'll care about it. "

Barbro was cold. They were sitting there together, drinking scaldinghot coffee from the bowl, but for all that she answered icy cold:

"I suppose that's the gold ring you've been promising me thistwelvemonth and more. "

This, however, was beyond the mark, for it _was_ the ring after all. But a gold ring it was not, and that he had never promised her--'twasan invention of her own; silver it was, with gilt hands clasped, realsilver, with the mark on and all. But ah, that unlucky voyage of hersto Bergen! Barbro had seen real engagement rings--no use telling her!

"That ring! Huh! You can keep it yourself. "

"What's wrong with it, then?"

"Wrong with it? There's nothing wrong with it that I know, " sheanswered, and got up to clear the table. 

"Why, you'll needs make do with it for now, " he said. "Maybe I'llmanage another some day. "

Barbro made no answer. 

A thankless creature was Barbro this evening. A new silver ring--shemight at least have thanked him nicely for it. It must be that clerkwith the town ways that had turned her head. Axel could not helpsaying: "I'd like to know what that fellow Eleseus keeps coming herefor, anyway. What does he want with you?"

"With me?"

"Ay. Is he such a greenhorn and can't see how 'tis with you now?Hasn't he eyes in his head?"

Barbro turned on him straight at that: "Oh, so you think you've gota hold on me because of _that_? You'll find out you're wrong, that'sall. "

"Ho!" said Axel. 

"Ay, and I'll not stay here, neither. "

But Axel only smiled a little at this; not broadly and laughing inher face, no; for he did not mean to cross her. And then he spokesoothingly, as to a child: "Be a good girl now, Barbro. 'Tis you andme, you know. "

And of course in the end Barbro gave in and was good, and even went tosleep with the silver ring on her finger. 

It would all come right in time, never fear. 

For the two in the hut, yes. But what about Eleseus? 'Twas worse withhim; he found it hard to get over the shameful way Barbro had treatedhim. He knew nothing of hysterics, and took it as all pure cruelty onher part; that girl Barbro from Breidablik thought a deal too much ofherself, even though she _had_ been in Bergen. .. . 

He sent her back the photograph in a way of his own--took it downhimself one night and stuck it through the door to her in the hayloft, where she slept. 'Twas not done in any rough unmannerly way, not atall; he had fidgeted with the door a long time so as to wake her, andwhen she rose up on her elbow and asked, "What's the matter; can't youfind your way in this evening?" he understood the question was meantfor some one else, and it went through him like a needle; like asabre. 

He walked back home--no walking-stick, no whistling. He did not careabout playing the man any longer. A stab at the heart is no lightmatter. 

And was that the last of it?

One Sunday he went down just to look; to peep and spy. With a sicklyand unnatural patience he lay in hiding among the bushes, staring overat the hut. And when at last there came a sign of life and movement itwas enough to make an end of him altogether: Axel and Barbro cameout together and went across to the cowshed. They were loving andaffectionate now, ay, they had a blessed hour; they walked with theirarms round each other, and he was going to help her with the animals. Ho, yes!

Eleseus watched the pair with a look as if he had lost all; as aruined man. And his thought, maybe, was like this: There she goes armin arm with Axel Ström. How she could ever do it I can't think; therewas a time when she put her arms round me! And there they disappearedinto the shed. 

Well, let them! Huh! Was he to lie here in the bushes and forgethimself? A nice thing for him--to lie there flat on his belly andforget himself. Who was she, after all? But he was the man he was. Huh! again. 

He sprang to his feet and stood up. Brushed the twigs and dust fromhis clothes and drew himself up and stood upright again. His rage anddesperation came out in a curious fashion now: he threw all care tothe winds, and began singing a ballad of highly frivolous import. Andthere was an earnest expression on his face as he took care to singthe worst parts loudest of all. 

Chapter XIX

Isak came back from the village with a horse. Ay, it had come to that;he had bought the horse from the Lensmand's assistant; the animal wasfor sale, as Geissler had said, but it cost two hundred and forty_Kroner_--that was sixty _Daler_. The price of horseflesh had gone upbeyond all bounds: when Isak was a boy the best horse could be boughtfor fifty _Daler_. 

But why had he never raised a horse himself? He had thought of it, hadimagined a nice little foal--that he had been waiting for these twoyears past. That was a business for folk who could spare the time fromtheir land, could leave waste patches lying waste till they got ahorse to carry home the crop. The Lensmand's assistant had said: "Idon't care about paying for a horse's keep myself; I've no more haythan my womenfolk can get it in by themselves while I'm away on duty. "

The new horse was an old idea of Isak's, he had been thinking of itfor years; it was not Geissler who had put him up to it. And he hadalso made preparations such as he could; a new stall, a new rope fortethering it in the summer; as for carts, he had some already, he mustmake some more for the autumn. Most important of all was the fodder, and he had not forgotten that, of course; or why should he havethought it so important to get that last patch broken up last year ifit hadn't been to save getting rid of one of the cows, and yet haveenough keep for a new horse? It was, sown for green fodder now; thatwas for the calving cows. 

Ay, he had thought it all out. Well might Inger be astonished again, and clap her hands just as in the old days. 

Isak brought news from the village; Breidablik was to be sold, therewas a notice outside the church. The bit of crop, such as it was, --hayand potatoes, --to go with the rest. Perhaps the live stock too; a fewbeasts only, nothing big. 

"Is he going to sell up the home altogether and leave nothing?" criedInger. "And where's he going to live?"

"In the village. "

It was true enough. Brede was going back to the tillage. But he hadfirst tried to get Axel Ström to let him live there with Barbro. He didn't succeed. Brede would never dream of interfering with therelations between his daughter and Axel, so he was careful not to makehimself a nuisance, though to be sure it was a hard set-back, with allthe rest. Axel was going to get his new house built that autumn; well, then, when he and Barbro moved in there, why couldn't Brede and hisfamily have a hut? No! 'Twas so with Brede, he didn't look at thingslike a farmer and a settler on new land; he didn't understand thatAxel had to move out because he wanted the hut for his growing stock;the hut was to be a new cowshed. And even when this was explained tohim, he failed to see the point of view; surely human beings shouldcome before animals, he said. No, a settler's way was different;animals first; a man could always find himself a shelter for thewinter. But Barbro put in a word herself now: "Ho, so you put theanimals first and us after? 'Tis just as well I know it!" So Axel hadmade enemies of a whole family because he hadn't room to house them. But he would not give way. He was no good-natured fool, was Axel, buton the contrary he had grown more and more careful; he knew well thata crowd like that moving in would give him so many more mouths tofill. Brede bade his daughter be quiet, and tried to make out that hehimself would rather move down to the village again; couldn't endurelife in the wilderness, he said--'twas only for that reason he wasselling the place. 

Oh, but to tell the truth it was not so much Brede was selling theplace; 'twas the Bank and the storekeeper were selling up Breidablik, though for the sake of appearances they let it be done in Brede'sname. That way, he thought he was saved from disgrace. And Brede wasnot altogether dejected when Isak met him; he consoled himself withthe thought that he was still Inspector on the telegraph line; thatwas a regular income, anyway, and in time he would be able to work upto his old position in the place as the Lensmand's companion and thisand that. He was something affected at the change, of course; 'twasnot so easy to say good-bye to a place where one had lived and toiledand moiled so many years, and come to care for. But Brede, good man, was never long cast down. 'Twas his best point, the charm of him. Hehad once in his life taken it into his head to be a tiller of thesoil, 'twas an inspiration had come to him. True, he had not made asuccess of it, but he had taken up other plans in the same airy wayand got on better; and who could say--perhaps his samples of ore mightafter all turn out something wonderful in time! And then look atBarbro, he had got her fixed up there at Maaneland, and she'd not beleaving Axel Ström now, that he could swear--'twas plain indeed forany one to see. 

No, there was nothing to fear as long as he had his health and couldwork for himself and those that looked to him, said Brede Olsen. Andthe children were just growing up, and big enough now to go out andmake their own way in the world, said he. Helge was gone to theherring fisheries already, and Katrine was going to help at thedoctor's. That left only the two youngest--well, well, there was athird on the way, true, but, anyhow . .. 

Isak had more news from the village: the Lensmand's lady had had ababy. Inger suddenly interested at this: "Boy or girl?"

"Why, I didn't hear which, " said Isak. 

But the Lensmand's lady had had a child after all--after all the wayshe'd spoken at the women's club about the increasing birth-rate amongthe poor; better give women the franchise and let them have some sayin their own affairs, she said. And now she was caught. Yes, theparson's wife had said, "She's had some say in lots of things--buther own affairs are none the better for it, ha ha ha!" And that was aclever saying that went the round of the village, and there were manythat understood what was meant--Inger no doubt as well; it was onlyIsak who did not understand. 

Isak understood his work, his calling. He was a rich man now, with abig farm, but the heavy cash payments that had come to him by a luckychance he used but poorly; he put the money aside. The land saved him. If he had lived down in the village, maybe the great world would haveaffected even him; so much gaiety, so many elegant manners and ways;he would have been buying useless trifles, and wearing a red Sundayshirt on weekdays. Here in the wilds he was sheltered from allimmoderation; he lived in clear air, washed himself on Sundaymornings, and took a bath when he went up to the lake. Those thousand_Daler_--well, 'twas a gift from Heaven, to be kept intact. What elseshould he do? His ordinary outgoings were more than covered by theproduce of his fields and stock. 

Eleseus, of course, knew better; he had advised his father to put themoney in the Bank. Well, perhaps that was the best, but Isak had putoff doing it for the present--perhaps it would never be done at all. Not that Isak was above taking advice from his son; Eleseus was nofool, as he showed later on. Now, in the haymaking season, he hadtried his hand with the scythe--but he was no master hand at that, no. He kept close to Sivert, and had to get him to use the whetstone everytime. But Eleseus had long arms and could pick up hay in first-ratefashion. And he and Sivert and Leopoldine, and Jensine theservant-maid, they were all busy now in the fields with the first lotof hay that year. Eleseus did not spare himself either, but raked awaytill his hands were blistered and had to be wrapped in rags. He hadlost his appetite for a week or so, but worked none the worse forit now. Something had come over the boy; it looked perhaps as if acertain unhappy love affair or something of the sort, a touch ofnever-to-be-forgotten sorrow and distress, had done him a world ofgood. And, look you, he had by now smoked the last of the tobaccohe had brought with him from town; ordinarily, that would have beenenough to make a clerk go about banging doors and expressing himselfemphatically upon many points; but no, Eleseus only grew the steadierfor it firmer and more upright; a man indeed. Even Sivert, the jester, could not put him out of countenance. Today the pair of them werelying out on boulders in the river to drink, and Sivert imprudentlyoffered to get some extra fine moss and dry it for tobacco--"unlessyou'd rather smoke it raw?" he said. 

"I'll give you tobacco, " said Eleseus, and reaching out, ducked Siverthead and shoulders in the water. Ho, one for him! Sivert came backwith his hair still dripping. 

"Looks like Eleseus he's turning out for the good, " thought Isak tohimself, watching his son at work. And to Inger he said: "H'm--wonderif Eleseus he'll be staying home now for good?"

And she just as queerly cautious again: "'Tis more than I can say. No, I doubt if he will. "

"Ho! Have you said a word of it to himself?"

"No--well, yes, I've talked a bit with him, maybe. But that's the wayI think. "

"Like to know, now--suppose he'd a bit of land of his own. .. . "

"How do you mean?"

"If he'd work on a place of his own?"

"No. "

"Well, have you said anything?"

"Said anything? Can't you see for yourself? No, I don't see anythingin him Eleseus, that way. "

"Don't sit there talking ill of him, " said Isak impartially. "All Ican see is, he's doing a good day's work down there. "

"Ay, maybe, " said Inger submissively. 

"And I can't see what you've got to find fault with the lad, " criedIsak, evidently displeased. "He does his work better and better everyday, and what can you ask more?"

Inger murmured: "Ay, but he's not like he used to be. You try talkingto him about waistcoats. "

"About waistcoats? What d'you mean?"

"How he used to wear white waistcoats in summer when he was in town, so he says. "

Isak pondered this a while; it was beyond him. "Well, can't he have awhite waistcoat?" he said. Isak was out of his depth here; of courseit was only women's nonsense; to his mind, the boy had a perfect rightto a white waistcoat, if it pleased him; anyhow, he couldn't see whatthere was to make a fuss about, and was inclined to put the matteraside and go on. 

"Well, what do you think, if he had Brede's bit of land to work on?"

"Who?" said Inger. 

"Him Eleseus. "

"Breidablik? Nay, 'tis more than's worth your while. "

The fact was, she had already been talking over that very plan withEleseus, she had heard it from Sivert, who could not keep the secret. And indeed, why should Sivert keep the matter secret when his fatherhad surely told him of it on purpose to feel his way? It was not thefirst time he had used Sivert as a go-between. Well, but what hadEleseus answered? Just as before, as in his letters from town, that no, he would not throw away all he had learned, and be aninsignificant nothing again. That was what he had said. Well, and thenhis mother had brought out all her good reasons, but Eleseus had saidno to them all; he had other plans for his life. Young hearts havetheir unfathomable depths, and after what had happened, likely enoughhe did not care about staying on with Barbro as a neighbour. Who couldsay? He had put it loftily enough in talking to his mother; he couldget a better position in town than the one he had; could go as clerkto one of the higher officials. He must get on, he must rise in theworld. In a few years, perhaps, he might be a Lensmand, or perhaps alighthouse keeper, or get into the Customs. There were so many roadsopen to a man with learning. 

However it might be, his mother came round, was drawn over to hispoint of view. Oh, she was so little sure of herself yet; the worldhad not quite lost its hold on her. Last winter she had gone so far asto read occasionally a certain excellent devotional work which she hadbrought from Trondhjem, from the Institute; but now, Eleseus might bea Lensmand one day!

"And why not?" said Eleseus. "What's Heyerdahl himself but a formerclerk in the same department?"

Splendid prospects. His mother herself advised him not to give up hiscareer and throw himself away. What was a man like that to do in thewilds?

But why should Eleseus then trouble to work hard and steadily as hewas doing now on his father's land? Heaven knows, he had some reason, maybe. Something of inborn pride in him still, perhaps; he would notbe outdone by others; and besides, it would do him no harm to be inhis father's good books the day he went away. To tell the truth, hehad a number of little debts in town, and it would be a good thing tobe able to settle them at once--improve his credit a lot. And it wasnot a question now of a mere hundred _Kroner_, but something worthconsidering. 

Eleseus was far from stupid, but on the contrary, a sly fellow in hisway. He had seen his father come home, and knew well enough he wassitting there in the window at that moment, looking out. No harm inputting his back into it then for a bit, working a little harder forthe moment--it would hurt no one, and might do himself good. 

Eleseus was somehow changed; whatever it might be, something in himhad been warped, and quietly spoiled; he was not bad, but somethingblemished. Had he lacked a guiding hand those last few years? Whatcould his mother do to help him now? Only stand by him and agree. Shecould let herself be dazzled by her son's bright prospects for thefuture, and stand between him and his father, to take his part--shecould do that. 

But Isak grew impatient at last over her opposition; to his mind, theidea about Breidablik was by no means a bad one. Only that very day, coming up, he had stopped the horse almost without thinking, to lookout with a critical eye over the ill-tended land; ay, it could be madea fine place in proper hands. 

"Why not worth while?" he asked Inger now. "I've that much feeling forEleseus, anyway, that I'd help him to it. "

"If you've any feeling for him, then say never a word of Breidablikagain, " she answered. 

"Ho!"

"Ay, for he's greater thoughts in his head than the like of us. "

Isak, too, is hardly sure of himself here, and it weakens him; but heis by no means pleased at having shown his hand, and spoken straightout about his plan. He is unwilling to give it up now. 

"He shall do as I say, " declares Isak suddenly. And he raises hisvoice threateningly, in case Inger by any chance should be hard ofhearing. "Ay, you may look; I'll say no mere. It's midway up, with aschoolhouse by, and everything; what's the greater thoughts he's gotbeyond that, I'd like to know? With a son like that I might starve todeath--is that any better, d'you think? And can you tell me why my ownflesh and blood should turn and go contrary to--to my own flesh andblood?"

Isak stopped; he realized that the more he talked the worse it wouldbe. He was on the point of changing his clothes, getting out of hisbest things he had put on to go down to the village in; but no, healtered his mind, he would stay as he was--whatever he meant by that. "You'd better say a word of it to Eleseus, " he says then. 

And Inger answers: "Best if you'd say it yourself. He won't do as Isay. "

Very well, then, Isak is head of the house, so he should think; nowsee if Eleseus dares to murmur! But, whether it were because he feareddefeat, Isak draws back now, and says: "Ay, 'tis true, I might say aword of it myself. But by reason of having so many things to do, andbusy with this and that, I've something else to think of. "

"Well . .. ?" said Inger in surprise. 

And Isak goes off again--not very far, only to the farther fields, butstill, he goes off. He is full of mysteries, and must hide himself outof the way. The fact is this: he had brought back a third piece ofnews from the village today, and that was something more than therest, something enormous; and he had hidden it at the edge of thewood. There it stands, wrapped up in sacking and paper; he uncoversit, and lo, a huge machine. Look! red and blue, wonderful to see, witha heap of teeth and a heap of knives, with joints and arms and screwsand wheels--a mowing-machine. No, Isak would not have gone down todayfor the new horse if it hadn't been for that machine. 

He stands with a marvellously keen expression, going over in his mindfrom beginning to end the instructions for use that the storekeeperhad read out; he sets a spring here, and shifts a bolt there, then heoils every hole and every crevice, then he looks over the whole thingonce more. Isak had never known such an hour in his life. To pick up apen and write one's mark on a paper, a document--ay, 'twas a perilousgreat thing that, no doubt. Likewise in the matter of a new harrow hehad once brought up--there were many curiously twisted parts in thatto be considered. Not to speak of the great circular saw that had tobe set in its course to the nicety of a pencil line, neverswaying east nor west, lest it should fly asunder. But this--thismowing-machine of his--'twas a crawling nest of steel springs andhooks and apparatus, and hundreds of screws--Inger's sewing-machinewas a bookmarker compared with this!

Isak harnessed himself to the shafts and tried the thing. Here was thewonderful moment. And that was why he kept out of sight and was hisown horse. 

For--what if the machine had been wrongly put together and did not doits work, but went to pieces with a crash! No such calamity happened, however; the machine could cut grass. And so indeed it ought, afterIsak had stood there, deep in study, for hours. The sun had gone down. Again he harnesses himself and tries it; ay, the thing cuts grass. Andso indeed it ought!

When the dew began to fall close after the heat of the day, and theboys came out, each with his scythe to mow in readiness for next day, Isak came in sight close to the house and said:

"Put away scythes for tonight. Get out the new horse, you can, andbring him down to the edge of the wood. "

And on that, instead of going indoors to his supper as the others haddone already, he turned where he stood and went back the way he hadcome. 

"D'you want the cart, then?" Sivert called after him. 

"No, " said his father, and walked on. 

Swelling with mystery, full of pride; with a little lift and throwfrom the knee at every step, so emphatically did he walk. So a braveman might walk to death and destruction, carrying no weapon in hishand. 

The boys came up with the horse, saw the machine, and stopped dead. It was the first mowing-machine in the wilds, the first in thevillage--red and blue, a thing of splendour to man's eyes. And thefather, head of them all, called out, oh, in a careless tone, as if itwere nothing uncommon: "Harness up to this machine here. "

And they drove it; the father drove. Brrr! said the thing, and felledthe grass in swathes. The boys walked behind, nothing in their hands, doing no work, smiling. The father stopped and looked back. H'm, notas clear as it might be. He screws up a nut here and there to bringthe knives closer to the ground, and tries again. No, not right yet, all uneven; the frame with the cutters seems to be hopping a little. Father and sons discuss what it can be. Eleseus has found theinstructions and is reading them. "Here, it says to sit up on the seatwhen you drive--then it runs steadier, " he says. 

"Ho!" says his father. "Ay, 'tis so, I know, " he answers. "I'vestudied it all through. " He gets up into the seat and starts offagain; it goes steadily now. Suddenly the machine stops working--theknives are not cutting at all. "_Ptro_! What's wrong now?" Father downfrom his seat, no longer swelling with pride, but bending an anxious, questioning face down over the machine. Father and sons all stare atit; something must be wrong. Eleseus stands holding the instructions. 

"Here's a bolt or something, " says Sivert, picking up a thing from thegrass. 

"Ho, that's all right, then, " says his father, as if that was all thatwas needed to set everything in order. "I was just looking for thatbolt. " But now they could not find the hole for it to fit in--wherein the name of wonder could the hole be, now?

And it was now that Eleseus could begin to feel himself a personof importance; he was the man to make out a printed paper ofinstructions. What would they do without him? He pointed unnecessarilylong to the hole and explained: "According to the illustration, thebolt should fit in there. "

"Ay, that's where she goes, " said his father. "'Twas there I had itbefore. " And, by way of regaining lost prestige, he ordered Sivertto set about looking for more bolts in the grass. "There ought to beanother, " he said, looking very important, as if he carried the wholething in his head. "Can't you find another? Well, well, it'll be inits hole then, all right. "

Father starts off again. 

"Wait a minute--this is wrong, " cried Eleseus. Ho, Eleseus standingthere with the drawing in his hand, with the Law in his hand; nogetting away from him! "That spring there goes outside, " he says tohis father. 

"Ay, what then?"

"Why, you've got it in under, you've set it wrong. It's a steelspring, and you have to fix it outside, else the bolt jars out againand stops the knives. You can see in the picture here. "

"I've left my spectacles behind, and can't see it quite, " says hisfather, something meekly. "You can see better--you set it as it shouldgo. I don't want to go up to the house for my spectacles now. "

All in order now, and Isak gets up. Eleseus calls after him: "You mustdrive pretty fast, it cuts better that way--it says so here. "

Isak drives and drives, and everything goes well, and Brrr! says themachine. There is a broad track of cut grass in his wake, neatly inline, ready to take up. Now they can see him from the house, and allthe womenfolk come out; Inger carries little Rebecca on her arm, though little Rebecca has learned to walk by herself long since. But there they come--four womenfolk, big and small--hurrying withstraining eyes down towards the miracle, flocking down to see. Oh, butnow is Isak's hour. Now he is truly proud, a mighty man, sitting highaloft dressed in holiday clothes, in all his finery; in jacket andhat, though the sweat is pouring off him. He swings round in four bigangles, goes over a good bit of ground, swings round, drives, cutsgrass, passes along by where the women are standing; they aredumbfounded, it is all beyond them, and Brrr! says the machine. 

Then Isak stops and gets down. Longing, no doubt, to hear what thesefolk on earth down there will say; what they will find to say about itall. He hears smothered cries; they fear to disturb him, these beingson earth, in his lordly work, but they turn to one another with awedquestionings, and he hears what they say. And now, that he may be akind and fatherly lord and ruler to them all, to encourage them, hesays: "There, I'll just do this bit, and you can spread it tomorrow. "

"Haven't you time to come in and have a bite of food?" says Inger, alloverwhelmed. 

"Nay, I've other things to do, " he answers. 

Then he oils the machine again; gives them to understand that he isoccupied with scientific work. Drives off again, cutting more grass. And, at long last, the womenfolk go back home. 

Happy Isak--happy folk at Sellanraa!

Very soon the neighbours from below will be coming up. Axel Strömis interested in things, he may be up tomorrow. But Brede fromBreidablik, he might be here that very evening. Isak would not be lothto show them his machine, explain it to them, tell them how it works, and all about it. He can point out how that no man with a scythe couldever cut so fine and clean. But it costs money, of course--oh, ared-and-blue machine like that is a terribly costly thing!

Happy Isak!

But as he stops for oil the third time, there! his spectacles fallfrom his pocket. And, worst of all, the two boys saw it. Was therea higher power behind that little happening--a warning againstoverweening pride? He had put on those spectacles time and again thatday to study the instructions, without making out a word; Eleseus hadto help him with that. Eyah, _Herregud_, 'twas a good thing, no doubt, to be book-learned. And, by way of humbling himself, Isak determinesto give up his plan of making Eleseus a tiller of soil in the wilds;he will never say a word of it again. 

Not that the boys made any great business about that matter of thespectacles; far from it. Sivert, the jester, had to say something, ofcourse; it was too much for him. He plucked Eleseus by the sleeve andsaid: "Here, come along, we'll go back home and throw those scythes onthe fire. Father's going to do all the mowing now with his machine!"And that was a jest indeed. 

Book Two

Chapter I

Sellanraa is no longer a desolate spot in in the waste; human beingslive here--seven of them, counting great and small. But in the littletime the haymaking lasted there came a stranger or so, folk wantingto see the mowing-machine. Brede Olsen was first, of course, but AxelStröm came, too, and other neighbours from lower down--ay, fromright down in the village. And from across the hills came Oline, theimperishable Oline. 

This time, too, she brought news with her from her own village; 'twasnot Oline's way to come empty of gossip. Old Sivert's affairs had beengone into, his accounts reckoned up, and the fortune remaining afterhim come to nothing. Nothing!

Here Oline pressed her lips together and looked from one to another. Well, was there not a sigh--would not the roof fall down? Eleseus wasthe first to smile. 

"Let's see--you're called after your Uncle Sivert, aren't you?" heasked softly. 

And little Sivert answered as softly again:

"That's so. But I made you a present of all that might come to meafter him. "

"And how much was it?"

"Between five and ten thousand. "

"_Daler_?" cried Eleseus suddenly, mimicking his brother. 

Oline, no doubt, thought this ill-timed jesting. Oh, she had herselfbeen cheated of her due; for all that she had managed to squeeze outsomething like real tears over old Sivert's grave. Eleseus should knowbest what he himself had written--so-and-so much to Oline, to bea comfort and support in her declining years. And where was thatsupport? Oh, a broken reed!

Poor Oline; they might have left her something--single golden gleamin her life! Oline was not over-blessed with this world's goods. Practised in evil--ay, well used to edging her way by tricks andlittle meannesses from day to day; strong only as a scandalmonger, asone whose tongue was to be feared; ay, so. But nothing could have madeher worse than before; least of all a pittance left her by the dead. She had toiled all her life, had borne children, and taught them herown few arts; begged for them, maybe stolen for them, but alwaysmanaging for them somehow--a mother in her poor way. Her powers werenot less than those of other politicians; she acted for herself andthose belonging to her, set her speech according to the moment, andgained her end, earning a cheese or a handful of wool each time; shealso could live and die in commonplace insincerity and readiness ofwit. Oline--maybe old Sivert had for a moment thought of her as young, pretty, and rosy-cheeked, but now she is old, deformed, a picture ofdecay; she ought to have been dead. Where is she to be buried? Shehas no family vault of her own; nay, she will be lowered down in agraveyard to lie among the bones of strangers and unknown; ay, to thatshe comes at last--Oline, born and died. She had been young once. Apittance left to her now, at the eleventh hour? Ay, a single goldengleam, and this slave-woman's hands would have been folded for amoment. Justice would have overtaken her with its late reward; forthat she had begged for her children, maybe stolen for them, butalways managed for them some way. A moment--and the darkness wouldreign in her as before; her eyes glower, her fingers feel outgraspingly--how much? she would say. What, no more? she would say. She would be right again. A mother many times, realizing life--it wasworthy of a great reward. 

But all went otherwise. Old Sivert's accounts had appeared more orless in order after Eleseus had been through them; but the farm andthe cow, the fishery and nets were barely enough to cover the deficit. And it was due in some measure to Oline that things had turned out noworse; so earnest was she in trying to secure a small remainder forherself that she dragged to light forgotten items that she, as gossipand newsmonger for years, remembered still, or matters outstandingwhich others would have passed over on purpose, to avoid causingunpleasantness to respectable fellow-citizens. Oh, that Oline! And shedid not even say a word against old Sivert now; he had made his willin kindness of heart, and there would have been a plenty after him, but that the two men sent by the Department to arrange things hadcheated her. But one day all would come to the ears of the Almighty, said Oline threateningly. 

Strange, she found nothing ridiculous in the fact that she wasmentioned in the will; after all, it was an honour of a sort; none ofher likes were named there with her!

The Sellanraa folk took the blow with patience; they were notaltogether unprepared. True, Inger could not understand it--UncleSivert that had always been so rich. .. . 

"He might have stood forth an upright man and a wealthy before theLamb and before the Throne, " said Oline, "if they hadn't robbed him. "

Isak was standing ready to go out to his fields, and Oline said: "Pityyou've got to go now, Isak; then I shan't see the new machine, afterall. You've got a new machine, they say?"

"Ay. "

"Ay, there's talk of it about, and how it cuts quicker than a hundredscythes. And what haven't you got, Isak, with all your means andriches! Priest, our way, he's got a new plough with two handles; butwhat's he, compared with you, and I'd tell him so to his face. "

"Sivert here'll show you the machine; he's better at working her thanhis father, " said Isak, and went out. 

Isak went out. There is an auction to be held at Breidablik that noon, and he is going; there's but just time to get there now. Not that Isakany longer thinks of buying the place, but the auction--it is thefirst auction held there in the wilds, and it would be strange not togo. 

He gets down as far as Maaneland and sees Barbro, and would pass bywith only a greeting, but Barbro calls to him and asks if he is goingdown. "Ay, " said Isak, making to go on again. It is her home that isbeing sold, and that is why he answers shortly. 

"You going to the sale?" she asks. 

"To the sale? Well, I was only going down a bit. What you've done withAxel?"

"Axel? Nay, I don't know. He's gone down to sale. Doubt he'll beseeing his chance to pick up something for nothing, like the rest. "

Heavy to look at was Barbro now--ay, and sharp and bitter-tongued!

The auction has begun; Isak hears the Lensmand calling out, and sees acrowd of people. Coming nearer, he does not know them all; there aresome from other villages, but Brede is fussing about, in his bestfinery, and chattering in his old way. "_Goddag_, Isak. So you'redoing me the honour to come and see my auction sale. Thanks, thanks. Ay, we've been neighbours and friends these many years now, and neveran ill word between us. " Brede grows pathetic. "Ay, 'tis strange tothink of leaving a place where you've lived and toiled and grown fondof. But what's a man to do when it's fated so to be?"

"Maybe 'twill be better for you after, " says Isak comfortingly. 

"Why, " says Brede, grasping at it himself, "to tell the truth, I thinkit will. I'm not regretting it, not a bit. I won't say I've made afortune on the place here, but that's to come, maybe; and the youngones getting older and leaving the nest--ay, 'tis true the wife's gotanother on the way; but for all that. .. . " And suddenly Brede tells hisnews straight out: "I've given up the telegraph business. "

"What?" asks Isak. 

"I've given up that telegraph. "

"Given up the telegraph?"

"Ay, from new year to be. What was the good of it, anyway? Andsupposing I was out on business, or driving for the Lensmand or thedoctor, then to have to look after the telegraph first of all--no, there's no sense nor meaning in it that way. Well enough for themthat's time to spare. But running over hill and dale after a telegraphwire for next to nothing wages, 'tis no job that for Brede. And then, besides, I've had words with the people from the telegraph officeabout it--they've been making a fuss again. "

The Lensmand keeps repeating the bids for the farm; they have got upto the few hundred _Kroner_ the place is judged to be worth, and thebidding goes slowly, now, with but five or ten _Kroner_ more eachtime. 

"Why, surely--'tis Axel there's bidding, " cries Brede suddenly, andhurries eagerly across. "What, you going to take over my place too?Haven't you enough to look after?"

"I'm bidding for another man, " says Axel evasively. 

"Well, well, 'tis no harm to me, 'twasn't that I meant. "

The Lensmand raises his hammer, a new bid is made, a whole hundred_Kroner_ at once; no one bids higher, the Lensmand repeats the figureagain and again, waits for a moment with his hammer raised, and thenstrikes. 

Whose bid?

Axel Ström--on behalf of another. 

The Lensmand notes it down: Axel Ström as agent. 

"Who's that you buying for?" asks Brede. "Not that it's any businessof mine, of course, but. .. . "

But now some men at the Lensmand's table are putting their headstogether; there is a representative from the Bank, the storekeeper hassent his assistant; there is something the matter; the creditorsare not satisfied. Brede is called up, and Brede, careless andlight-hearted, only nods and is agreed--"but who'd ever have thoughtit didn't come up to more?" says he. And suddenly he raises his voiceand declares to all present:

"Seeing as we've an auction holding anyhow, and I've troubled theLensmand all this way, I'm willing to sell what I've got here on theplace: the cart, live stock, a pitchfork, a grindstone. I've no usefor the things now; we'll sell the lot!"

Small bidding now. Brede's wife, careless and light-hearted ashimself, for all the fulness of her in front, has begun selling coffeeat a table. She finds it amusing to play at shop, and smiles; and whenBrede himself comes up for some coffee, she tells him jestingly thathe must pay for it like the rest. And Brede actually takes out hislean purse and pays. "There's a wife for you, " he says to the others. "Thrifty, what?"

The cart is not worth much--it has stood too long uncovered in theopen; but Axel bids a full five _Kroner_ more at last, and gets thecart as well. After that Axel buys no more, but all are astonished tosee that cautious man buying so much as he has. 

Then came the animals. They had been kept in their shed today, so asto be there in readiness. What did Brede want with live stock when hehad no farm to keep them on? He had no cows; he had started farmingwith two goats, and had now four. Besides these, there were six sheep. No horse. 

Isak bought a certain sheep with flat ears. When Brede's children ledit out from the shed, he started bidding at once, and people looked athim. Isak from Sellanraa was a rich man, in a good position, with noneed of more sheep than he had. Brede's wife stops selling coffee fora moment, and says: "Ay, you may buy her, Isak; she's old, 'tis true, but she's two and three lambs every blessed year, and that's thetruth. "

"I know it, " said Isak, looking straight at her. "I've seen that sheepbefore. "

He walks up with Axel Ström on the way back, leading his sheep on astring. Axel is taciturn, seemingly anxious about something, whateverit might be. There's nothing he need be troubled about that one cansee, thinks Isak; his crops are looking well, most of his fodder ishoused already, and he has begun timbering his house. All as it shouldbe with Axel Ström; a thought slowly, but sure in the end. And now hehad got a horse. 

"So you've bought Brede's place?" said Isak. "Going to work ityourself?"

"No, not for myself. I bought it for another man. "

"Ho!"

"What d'you think; was it too much I gave for it?"

"Why, no. Tis good land for a man that'll work it as it should. "

"I bought it for a brother of mine up in Helgeland. "

"Ho!"

"Then I thought perhaps I'd half a mind to change with him, too. "

"Change with him--would you?"

"And perhaps how Barbro she'd like it better that way. "

"Ay, maybe, " said Isak. 

They walk on for a good way in silence. Then says Axel:

"They've been after me to take over that telegraph business. "

"The telegraph? H'm. Ay, I heard that Brede he's given it up. "

"H'm, " says Axel, smiling. "'Tis not so much that way of it, but Bredethat's been turned off. "

"Ay, so, " says Isak, and trying to find some excuse for Brede. "Ittakes a deal of time to look after, no doubt. "

"They gave him notice to the new year, if he didn't do better. "

"H'm. "

"You don't think it'd be worth my while to take it?"

Isak thought for a long while, and answered: "Ay, there's the money, true, but still. .. . "

"They've offered me more. "

"How much?"

"Double. "

"Double? Why, then, I'd say you should think it over. "

"But they've made the line a bit longer now. No, I don't know what'sbest to do--there's not so much timber to sell here as you've got onyours, and I've need to buy more things for the work that I've gotnow. And buying things needs money in 'cash, and I've not so much outof the land and stock that there's much over to sell. Seems to me I'llhave to try a year at the telegraph to begin with. .. . "

It did not occur to either of them that Brede might "do better" andkeep the post himself. 

When they reached Maaneland, Oline was there already, on her way down. Ay, a strange creature, Oline, crawling about fat and round as amaggot, and over seventy years and all, but still getting about. Shesits drinking coffee in the hut, but seeing the men come up, all mustgive way to that, and she comes out. 

"_Goddag_, Axel, and welcome back from the sale. You'll not mind melooking in to see how you and Barbro's getting on? And you're gettingon finely, to see, and building a new house and getting richer andricher! And you been buying sheep, Isak?"

"Ay, " said Isak. "You know her, maybe?"

"If I know her? Nay. .. . "

"With these flat ears, you can see. "

"Flat ears? How d'you mean now? And what then? What I was going tosay: Who bought Brede's place, after all? I was just saying to Barbrohere, who'd be your neighbours that way now? said I. And Barbro, poor thing, she sits crying, as natural enough, to be sure; but theAlmighty that's decreed her a new home here at Maaneland . .. Flatears? I've seen a deal of sheep in my day with flat ears and all. AndI'll tell you, Isak, that machine of yours, 'twas almost more than myold eyes could see nor understand. And what she'll have cost you Iwon't even ask for I never could count so far. Axel, if you've seenit, you know what I mean; 'twas all as it might be Elijah and hischariot of fire, and Heaven forgive me that I say it. .. . "

When the hay was all in, Eleseus began making preparations for hisreturn to town. He had written to the engineer to say he was coming, but received the extraordinary reply that times were bad, and theywould have to economize; the office would have to dispense withEleseus' services, and the chief would do the work himself. 

The deuce and all! But after all, what did a district surveyor wantwith an office staff? When he had taken Eleseus on as a youngster, hehad done so, no doubt, only to show himself as a great man to thesefolks in the wilds; and if he had given him clothes and board tillhis confirmation, he had got some return for it in the way of writingwork, that was true. Now the boy was grown up, and that made all thedifference. 

"But, " said the engineer, "if you do come back I will do all I can toget you a place somewhere else, though it may be a difficult matter, as there are more young men than are wanted looking out for the samething. With kind regards. .. . "

Eleseus would go back to town, of course, there could be no questionabout that. Was he to throw himself away? He wanted to get on in theworld. And he said nothing to those at home as to the altered state ofaffairs; it would be no use, and, to tell the truth, he felt a littleout of humour with the whole thing. 

Anyhow, he said nothing. The life at Sellanraa was having its effecton him again; it was an inglorious, commonplace life, but quiet anddulling to the sense, a dreamy life; there was nothing for him to showoff about, a looking-glass was a thing he had no use for. His townlife had wrought a schism in himself, and made him finer than theothers, made him weaker; he began indeed to feel that he must behomeless anywhere. He had come to like the smell of tansy again--letthat pass. But there was no sense at all in a peasant lad's standinglistening in the morning to the girls milking the cows and thinkingthus: they're milking, listen now; 'tis almost by way of somethingwonderful to hear, a kind of song in nothing but little streams, different from the brass bands in the town and the Salvation Army andthe steamer sirens. Music streaming into a pail. .. . 

It was not the way at Sellanraa to show one's feelings overmuch, andEleseus dreaded the moment when he would have to say good-bye. He waswell equipped now; again his mother had given him a stock of wovenstuff for underclothes, and his father had commissioned some one tohand him money as he went out of the door. Money--could Isak reallyspare such a thing as money? But it was so, and no otherwise. Ingerhinted that it would doubtless be the last time; for was not Eleseusgoing to get on and rise in the world by himself?

"H'm, " said Isak. 

There was an atmosphere of solemnity, of stillness in the home; theyhad each had a boiled egg at the last meal, and Sivert stood outsideall ready to go down with his brother and carry his things. It was forEleseus to begin. 

He began with Leopoldine. Well and good, she said good-bye in return, and managed it very well. Likewise Jensine the servant-maid, she satcarding wool and answered good-bye--but both girls stared at him, confound them! and all because he might perhaps be the least bit redabout the eyes. He shook hands with his mother, and she cried ofcourse quite openly, never caring to remember how he hated crying. "Goo--ood-bye and bl--bless you!" she sobbed out. It was worst with hisfather; worst of all with him. Oh, in every way; he was so toil-wornand so utterly faithful; he had carried the children in his arms, hadtold them of the seagulls and other birds and beasts, and the wondersof the field; it was not so long ago, a few years. .. . Father stands bythe glass window, then suddenly he turns round, grasps his son's hand, and says quickly and peevishly: "Well, good-bye. There's the new horsegetting loose, " and he swings out of the door and hurries away. Oh, but he had himself taken care to let the new horse loose a while ago, and Sivert, the rascal, knew it too, as he stood outside watching hisfather, and smiling to himself. And, anyway, the horse was only in therowens. 

Eleseus had got it over at last. 

And then his mother must needs come out on the door-slab and hiccupagain and say, "God bless you!" and give him something. "Takethis--and you're not to thank him, he says you're not to. And don'tforget to write; write often. "

Two hundred _Kroner_. 

Eleseus looked down the field: his father was furiously at workdriving a tethering-peg into the ground; he seemed to find it adifficult matter, for all that the ground was soft enough. 

The brothers set off down the road; they came to Maaneland, and therestood Barbro in the doorway and called to them to come up. 

"You going away again, Eleseus? Nay, then, you must come in and take acup of coffee at least. "

They go into the hut, and Eleseus is no longer a prey to the pangsof love, nor wishful to jump out of windows and take poison; nay, hespreads his light spring overcoat across his knees, taking care to layit so the silver plate is to be seen; then he wipes his hair withhis handkerchief, and observes delicately: "Beautiful day, isn'tit--simply classic!"

Barbro too is self-possessed enough; she plays with a silver ring onone hand and a gold ring on the other--ay, true enough, if she hasn'tgot a gold ring too--and she wears an apron reaching from neck tofeet, as if to say she is not spoiled as to her figure, whoever elsemay be that way. And when the coffee is ready and her guests aredrinking, she sews a little to begin with on a white cloth, and thendoes a little crochet-work with a collar of some sort, and so with allmanner of maidenly tasks. Barbro is not put out by their visit, andall the better; they can talk naturally, and Eleseus can be all on thesurface again, young and witty as he pleases. 

"What have you done with Axel?" asks Sivert. 

"Oh, he's about the place somewhere, " she answers, pulling herself up. "And so we'll not be seeing you this way any more, I doubt?" she asksEleseus. 

"It's hardly probable, " says he. 

"Ay, 'tis no place for one as is used to the town. I only wish I couldgo along with you. "

"You don't mean that, I know. "

"Don't mean it? Oh, I've known what it is to live in town, and whatit's like here; and I've been in a bigger town than you, for thatmatter--and shouldn't I miss it?"

"I didn't mean that way, " says Eleseus hastily. "After you being inBergen itself and all. " Strange, how impatient she was, after all!

"I only know that if it wasn't for having the papers to read, I'd notstay here another day, " says she. 

"But what about Axel, then, and all the rest?--'twas that I wasthinking. "

"As for Axel, 'tis no business of mine. And what about yourself--Idoubt there'll be some one waiting for you in town?"

And at that, Eleseus couldn't help showing off a little and closinghis eyes and turning over the morsel on his tongue: perhaps trueenough there was some one waiting for him in town. Oh, but he couldhave managed this ever so differently, snapped at the chance, if ithadn't been for Sivert sitting there! As it was, he could only say:"Don't talk such nonsense!"

"Ho, " said she--and indeed she was shamefully ill-humouredtoday--"nonsense, indeed! Well, what can you expect of folk atMaaneland? we're not so great and fine as you--no. "

Oh, she could go to the devil, what did Eleseus care; her face wasvisibly dirty, and her condition plain enough now even to his innocenteyes. 

"Can't you play a bit on the guitar?" he asked. 

"No, " answered Barbro shortly. "What I was going to say: Sivert, couldn't you come and help Axel a bit with the new house a day orso? If you could begin tomorrow, say, when you come back from thevillage?"

Sivert thought for a moment. "Ay, maybe. But I've no clothes. "

"I could run up and fetch your working clothes this evening, sothey'll be here when you get back. "

"Ay, " said Sivert, "if you could. "

And Barbro unnecessarily eager now: "Oh, if only you would come!Here's summer nearly gone already, and the house that should be up androofed before the autumn rains. Axel, he's been going to ask you amany times before, but he couldn't, somehow. Oh, you'd be helping usno end!"

"I'll help as well as I can, " said Sivert. 

And that was settled. 

But now it was Eleseus' turn to be offended. He can see well enoughthat it's clever of Barbro and all that, to look out and manage to herown advantage and Axel's too, and get help for the building and savethe house, but the whole thing is a little too plain; after all, sheis not mistress of the place as yet, and it's not so long since hehimself had kissed her--the creature! Was there never an atom of shamein her at all?

"Ay, " said Eleseus, then suddenly: "I'll come back again in time andbe a godfather when you're ready. "

She sent him a glance, and answered in great offence: "Godfather, indeed! And who's talking nonsense now, I'd like to know? 'Twill betime enough for you when I send word I'm looking out for godfathers. "And what could Eleseus do then but laugh foolishly and wish himselfout of the place!

"Here's thanks!" says Sivert, and gets up from his seat to go. 

"Here's thanks!" says Eleseus also; but he did not rise nor bow as aman should do in saying thanks for a cup of coffee; not he, indeed--hewould see her at the devil for a bitter-tongued lump of ugliness. 

"Let me look, " said Barbro. "Oh yes; the young men I stayed with intown, they had silver plates on their overcoats too, much bigger thanthis, " said she. "Well, then, you'll come in on your way back, Sivert, and stay the night? I'll get your clothes all right. "

And that was good-bye to Barbro. 

The brothers went on again. Eleseus was not distressed in any way inthe matter of Barbro; she could go to the devil--and, besides, he hadtwo big bank-notes in his pocket! The brothers took care not to touchon any mournful things, such as the strange way father had saidgood-bye, or how mother had cried. They went a long way round to avoidbeing stopped at Breidablik, and made a jest of that little ruse. But when they came down in sight of the village, and it was time forSivert to turn homeward again, they both behaved in somewhat unmanlyfashion. Sivert, for instance, was weak enough to say: "I doubt it'llbe a bit lonely, maybe, when you're gone. "

And at that Eleseus must fall to whistling, and looking to his shoes, and finding a splinter in his finger, and searching after something inhis pockets; some papers, he said, couldn't make out . .. Oh, 'twouldhave gone ill with them if Sivert had not saved things at the last. "Touch!" he cried suddenly, and touched his brother on the shoulderand sprang away. It was better after that; they shouted a word offarewell or so from a distance, and went each on his own way. 

Fate or chance--whatever it might be. Eleseus went back, after all, to the town, to a post that was no longer open for him, but that sameoccasion led to Axel Ström's getting a man to work for him. 

They began work on the house the 21st of August, and ten days laterthe place was roofed in. Oh, 'twas no great house to see, and nothingmuch in the way of height; the best that could be said of it was thatit was a wooden house and no turf hut. But, at least, it meant thatthe animals would have a splendid shelter for the winter in what hadbeen a house for human beings up to then. 

Chapter II

On the 3rd of September Barbro was not to be found. 'Twas not that shewas altogether lost, but she was not up at the house. 

Axel was doing carpenter's work the best he could; he was trying hardto get a glass window and a door set in the new house, and it wastaking all his time to do it. But being long past noon, and no wordsaid about coming in to dinner, he went in himself into the hut. Noone there. He got himself some food, and looked about while he waseating. All Barbro's clothes were hanging there; she must be outsomewhere, that was all. He went back to his work on the new building, and kept at it for a while, then he looked in at the hut again--no, nobody there. She must be lying down somewhere. He sets out to findher. 

"Barbro!" he calls. No. He looks all round the houses, goes acrossto some bushes on the edge of his land, searches about a long while, maybe an hour, calls out--no. He comes on her a long way off, lying onthe ground, hidden by some bushes; the stream flows by at her feet, she is barefoot and bareheaded, and wet all up the back as well. 

"You lying here?" says he. "Why didn't you answer?"

"I couldn't, " she answers, and her voice so hoarse he can scarcelyhear. 

"What--you been in the water?"

"Yes. Slipped down--oh!"

"Is it hurting you now?"

"Ay--it's over now. "

"Is it over?" says he. 

"Yes. Help me to get home. "

"Where's . .. ?"

"What?"

"Wasn't it--the child?"

"No. Twas dead. "

"Was it dead?"

"Yes. "

Axel is slow of mind, and slow to act. He stands there still. "Whereis it, then?" he asks. 

"You've no call to know, " says she. "Help me back home. Twas dead. Ican walk if you hold my arm a bit. "

Axel carries her back home and sets her in a chair, the water drippingoff her. "Was it dead?" he asks. 

"I told you 'twas so, " she answers. 

"What have you done with it, then?"

"D'you want to smell it? D'you get anything to eat while I was away?"

"But what did you want down by the water?"

"By the water? I was looking for juniper twigs. "

"Juniper twigs? What for?"

"For cleaning the buckets. "

"There's none that way, " says he. 

"You get on with your work, " says she hoarsely, and all impatient. "What was I doing by the water? I wanted twigs for a broom. Have youhad anything to eat, d'you hear?"

"Eat?" says he. "How d'you feel now?"

"Tis well enough. "

"I doubt I'd better fetch the doctor up. "

"You'd better try!" says she, getting up and looking about for dryclothes to put on. "As if you'd no better to do with your money!"

Axel goes back to his work, and 'tis but little he gets done, butmakes a bit of noise with planing and hammering, so she can hear. Atlast he gets the window wedged in, and stops the frame all round withmoss. 

That evening Barbro seems not to care for her food, but goes about, all the same, busy with this and that--goes to the cowshed atmilking-time, only stepping a thought more carefully over thedoor-sill. She went to bed in the hayshed as usual. Axel went in twiceto look at her, and she was sleeping soundly. She had a good night. 

Next morning she was almost as usual, only so hoarse she could hardlyspeak at all, and with a long stocking wound round her throat. Theycould not talk together. Days passed, and the matter was no longernew; other things cropped up, and it slipped aside. The new houseought by rights to have been left a while for the timber to worktogether and make it tight and sound, but there was no time for thatnow; they had to get it into use at once, and the new cowshed ready. When it was done, and they had moved in, they took up the potatoes, and after that there was the corn to get in. Life was the same asever. 

But there were signs enough, great or small, that things weredifferent now at Maaneland. Barbro felt herself no more at home therenow than any other serving-maid; no more bound to the place. Axelcould see that his hold on her had loosened with the death of thechild. He had thought to himself so confidently: wait till the childcomes! But the child had come and gone. And at last Barbro even tookoff the rings from her fingers, and wore neither. 

"What's that mean?" he asked. 

"What's it mean?" she said, tossing her head. 

But it could hardly mean anything else than faithlessness anddesertion on her part. 

And he had found the little body by the stream. Not that he had madeany search for it, to speak of; he knew pretty closely where it mustbe, but he had left the matter idly as it was. Then chance willed itso that he should not forget it altogether; birds began to hover abovethe spot, shrieking grouse and crows, and then, later on, a pair ofeagles at a giddy height above. To begin with, only a single bird hadseen something buried there, and, being unable to keep a secret like ahuman being, had shouted it abroad. Then Axel roused himself from hisapathy, and waited for an opportunity to steal out to the spot. Hefound the thing under a heap of moss and twigs, kept down by flatstones, and wrapped in a cloth, in a piece of rag. With a feeling ofcuriosity and horror he drew the cloth a little aside--eyes closed, dark hair, a boy, and the legs crossed--that was all he saw. Thecloth had been wet, but was drying now; the whole thing looked like ahalf-wrung bundle of washing. 

He could not leave it there in the light of day, and in his heart, perhaps, he feared some ill to himself or to the place. He ran homefor a spade and dug the grave deeper; but, being so near the stream, the water came in, and he had to shift it farther up the bank. As heworked, his fear lest Barbro should come and find him disappeared; hegrew defiant and thoroughly bitter. Let her come, and he would makeher wrap up the body neatly and decently after her, stillborn or no!He saw well enough all he had lost by the death of the child; how hewas faced now with the prospect of being left without help again onthe place--and that, moreover, with three times the stock to care forhe had had at first. Let her come--he did not care! But Barbro--itmight be she had some inkling of what he was at; anyway, she did notcome, and Axel had to wrap up the body himself as best he could andmove it to the new grave. He laid down the turf again on top, just asbefore, hiding it all. When he had done, there was nothing to be seenbut a little green mound among the bushes. 

He found Barbro outside the house as he came home. 

"Where you been?" she asked. 

The bitterness must have left him, for he only said: "Nowhere. Where've you been?"

Oh, but the look on his face must have warned her; she said no more, but went into the house. 

He followed her. 

"Look here, " he said, and asked her straight out, "What d'you mean bytaking off those rings?"

Barbro, maybe, found it best to give way a little; she laughed, andanswered: "Well, you are serious today--I can't help laughing! But ifyou want me to put on the rings and wear them out weekdays, why, Iwill!" And she got out the rings and put them on. 

But seeing him look all foolish and content at that, she grew bolder. "Is there anything else I've done, I'd like to know?"

"I'm not complaining, " answered he. "And you've only to be as you werebefore, all the time before, when you first came. That's all I mean. "

'Tis not so easy to be always together and always agree. 

Axel went on: "When I bought that place after your father, 'twasthinking maybe you'd like better to be there, and so we could shift. What d'you think?"

Ho, there he gave himself away; he was afraid of losing her and beingleft without help, with none to look to the place and the animalsagain--she knew! "Ay, you've said that before, " she answered coldly. 

"Ay, so I have; but I've got no answer. "

"Answer?" said she. "Oh, I'm sick of hearing it. "

Axel might fairly consider he had been lenient; he had let Brede andhis family stay on at Breidablik, and for all that he had bought thegood crop with the place, he had carted home no more than a few loadsof hay, and left the potatoes to them. It was all unreasonable ofBarbro to be contrary now; but she paid no heed to that, and askedindignantly: "So you'd have us move down to Breidablik now, and turnout a whole family to be homeless?"

Had he heard aright? He sat for a moment staring and gaping, clearedhis throat as if to answer thoroughly, but it came to nothing; he onlyasked: "Aren't they going to the village, then?"

"Don't ask me, " said Barbro. "Or perhaps you've got a place for themto be there?"

Axel was still loth to quarrel with her, but he could not help lettingher see he was surprised at her, just a little surprised. "You'regetting more and more cross and hard, " said he, "though you don't meanany harm, belike. "

"I mean every word I say, " she answered. "And why couldn't you havelet my folks come up here?--answer me that! Then I'd have had motherto help me a bit. But you think, perhaps, I've so little to do, I'veno need of help?"

There was some sense in this, of course, but also much that wasunreasonable altogether. If Bredes had come, they would have had tolive in the hut, and Axel would have had no place for his beasts--asbadly off as before. What was the woman getting at?--had she neithersense nor wit in her head?

"Look here, " said he, "you'd better have a servant-girl to help. "

"Now--with the winter coming on and less to do than ever? No, youshould have thought of that when I needed it. "

Here, again, she was right in a way; when she had been heavy andailing--that was the time to talk of help. But then Barbro herself haddone her work all the time as if nothing were the matter; she had beenquick and clever as usual, did all that had to be done, and had neverspoken a word about getting help. 

"Well, I can't make it out, anyway, " said he hopelessly. 

Silence. 

Barbro asked: "What's this about you taking over the telegraph afterfather?"

"What? Who said a word about that?"

"Well, they say it's to be. "

"Why, " said Axel, "it may come to something; I'll not say no. "

"Ho!"

But why d'you ask?"

"Nothing, " said Barbro; "only that you've turned my father out ofhouse and home, and now you're taking the bread out of his mouth. "

Silence. 

Oh, but that was the end of Axel's patience. "I'll tell you this, " hecried, "you're not worth all I've done for you and yours!"

"Ho!" said Barbro. 

"No!" said he, striking his fist on the table. And then he got up. 

"You can't frighten me, so don't think, " whimpered Barbro, and movedover nearer the wall. 

"Frighten you?" he said again, and sniffed scornfully. "I'm going tospeak out now in earnest. What about that child? Did you drown it?"

"Drown it?"

"Ay. It's been in the water. "

"Ho, so you've seen it? You've been--" "sniffing at it, " she was goingto say, but dared not; Axel was not to be played with just then, byhis looks. "You've been and found it?"

"I saw it had been in the water. "

"Ay, " said she, "and well it might. 'Twas born in the water; I slippedin and couldn't get up again. "

"Slipped, did you?"

"Yes, and the child came before I could get out. "

"H'm, " said he. "But you took the bit of wrapping with you before youwent out--was that in case you should happen to fall in?"

"Wrapping?" said she again. 

"A bit of white rag--one of my shirts you'd cut half across. "

"Ay, " said Barbro, "'twas a bit of rag I took with me to carry backjuniper twigs in. "

"Juniper twigs?"

"Yes. Didn't I tell you that was what I'd been for?"

"Ay, so you said. Or else it was twigs for a broom. "

"Well, no matter what it was. .. . "

It was an open quarrel between them this time. But even that diedaway after a time, and all was well again. That is to say, not wellexactly--no, but passable. Barbro was careful and more submissive; sheknew there was danger. But that way, life at Maaneland grew even moreforced and intolerable--no frankness, no joy between them, always onguard. It could not last long, but as long as it lasted at all, Axelwas forced to be content. He had got this girl on the place, and hadwanted her for himself and had her, tied his life to her; it was notan easy matter to alter all that. Barbro knew everything about theplace: where pots and vessels stood, when cows and goats were to bear, if the winter feed would be short or plenty, how much milk was forcheese and how much for food--a stranger would know nothing of it all, and even so, a stranger was perhaps not to be had. 

Oh, but Axel had thought many a time of getting rid of Barbro andtaking another girl to help; she was a wicked thing at times, and hewas almost afraid of her. Even when he had the misfortune to get onwell with her he drew back at times in fear of her strange crueltyand brutal ways; but she was pretty to look at, and could be sweet attimes, and bury him deep in her arms. So it had been--but that wasover now. No, thank you--Barbro was not going to have all thatmiserable business over again. But it was not so easy to change. .. . "Let's get married at once, then, " said Axel, urging her. 

"At once?" said she. "Nay; I must go into town first about my teeth, they're all but gone as it is. "

So there was nothing to do but go on as before. And Barbro had no realwages now, but far beyond what her wages would have been; and everytime she asked for money and he gave it, she thanked him as fora gift. But for all that Axel could not make out where the moneywent--what could she want money for out in the wilds? Was she hoardingfor herself? But what on earth was there to save and save for, all theyear round?

There was much that Axel could not make out. Hadn't he given her aring--ay, a real gold ring? And they had got on well together, too, after that last gift; but it could not last for ever, far from it; andhe could not go on buying rings to give her. In a word--did she meanto throw him over? Women were strange creatures! Was there a manwith a good farm and a well-stocked place of his own waiting for hersomewhere else? Axel could at times go so far as to strike his fist onthe table in his impatience with women and their foolish humours. 

A strange thing, Barbro seemed to have nothing really in her head butthe thought of Bergen and town life. Well and good. But if so, why hadshe come back at all, confound her! A telegram from her father wouldnever have moved her a step in itself; she must have had some otherreason. And now here she was, eternally discontented from morning tonight, year after year. All these wooden buckets, instead of properiron pails; cooking-pots instead of saucepans; the everlasting milkinginstead of a little walk round to the dairy; heavy boots, yellow soap, a pillow stuffed with hay; no military bands, no people. Living likethis. .. . 

They had many little bouts after the one big quarrel. Ho, time andagain they were at it! "You say no more about it, if you're wise, "said Barbro. "And not to speak of what you've done about father andall. "

Said Axel: "Well, what have I done?"

"Oh, you know well enough, " said she. "But for all that you'll not beInspector, anyway. "

"Ho!"

"No, that you won't. I'll believe it when I see it. "

"Meaning I'm not good enough, perhaps?"

"Oh, good enough and good enough. .. . Anyway, you can't read nor write, and never so much as take a newspaper to look at. "

"As to that, " said he, "I can read and write all I've any need for. But as for you, with all your gabble and talk . .. I'm sick of it. "

"Well, then, here's that to begin with, " said she, and threw down thesilver ring on the table. 

"Ho!" said he, after a while. "And what about the other?"

"Oh, if you want your rings back that you gave me, you can have them, "said she, trying to pull off the gold one. 

"You can be as nasty as you please, " said he. "If you think Icare. .. . " And he went out. 

And naturally enough, soon after, Barbro was wearing both her ringsagain. 

In time, too, she ceased to care at all for what he said about thedeath of the child. She simply sniffed and tossed her head. Not thatshe ever confessed anything, but only said: "Well, and suppose I haddrowned it? You live here in the wilds and what do you know of thingselsewhere?" Once when they were talking of this, she seemed to betrying to get him to see he was taking it all too seriously; sheherself thought no more of getting rid of a child than the matter wasworth. She knew two girls in Bergen who had done it; but one of themhad got two months' imprisonment because she had been a fool andhadn't killed it, but only left it out to freeze to death; and theother had been acquitted. "No, " said Barbro, "the law's not so cruelhard now as it used to be. And besides, it's not always it gets foundout. " There was a girl in Bergen at the hotel who had killed twochildren; she was from Christiania, and wore a hat--a hat withfeathers in. They had given her three months for the second one, butthe first was never discovered, said Barbro. 

Axel listened to all this and grew more than ever afraid of her. Hetried to understand, to make out things a little in the darkness, butshe was right after all; he took these things too seriously in hisway. With all her vulgar depravity, Barbro was not worth a singleearnest thought. Infanticide meant nothing to her, there was nothingextraordinary in the killing of a child; she thought of it onlywith the looseness and moral nastiness that was to be expected of aservant-girl. It was plain, too, in the days that followed; never anhour did she give herself up to thought; she was easy and natural asever, unalterably shallow and foolish, unalterably a servant-girl. "Imust go and have my teeth seen to, " she said. "And I want one of thosenew cloaks. " There was a new kind of half-length coat that had beenfashionable for some years past, and Barbro must have one. 

And when she took it all so naturally, what could Axel do but giveway? And it was not always that he had any real suspicion of her; sheherself had never confessed, had indeed denied time and again, but without indignation, without insistence, as a trifle, as aservant-girl would have denied having broken a dish, whether she haddone so or not. But after a couple of weeks, Axel could stand it nolonger; he stopped dead one day in the middle of the room and saw itall as by a revelation. Great Heaven! every one must have seen howit was with her, heavy with child and plain to see--and now with herfigure as before--but where was the child? Suppose others came to lookfor it? They would be asking about it sooner or later. And if therehad been nothing wrong, it would have been far better to have had thechild buried decently in the churchyard. Not there in the bushes, there on his land. .. . 

"No. 'Twould only have made a fuss, " said Barbro. "They'd have cut itopen and had an inquest, and all that. I didn't want to be bothered. "

"If only it mayn't come to worse later on, " said he. 

Barbro asked easily: "What's there to worry about? Let it lie where itis. " Ay, she smiled, and asked: "Are you afraid it'll come after you?Leave all that nonsense, and say no more about it. "

"Ay, well. .. . "

"Did I drown the child? I've told you it drowned itself in the waterwhen I slipped in. I never heard such things as you get in your head. And, anyway, it would never be found out, " said she. 

"'Twas found out all the same with Inger at Sellanraa, " said Axel. 

Barbro thought for a moment. "Well, I don't care, " said she. "Thelaw's all different now, and if you read the papers you'd know. There's heaps that have done it, and don't get anything to speak of. "Barbro sets out to explain it, to teach him, as it were--getting himto take a broad view of things. It was not for nothing she herself hadbeen out in the world and seen and heard and learned so much; now shecould sit here and be more than a match for him. She had three mainarguments which she was continually advancing: In the first place, she had not done it. In the second, it was not such a terrible thing, after all, if she had done it. But in the third place, it would neverbe found out. 

"Everything gets found out, seems to me, " he objected. 

"Not by a long way, " she answered. And whether to astonish him or toencourage him, or perhaps from sheer vanity and as something to boastof, all of a sudden she threw a bombshell. Thus: "I've done somethingmyself that never got found out. "

"You?" said he, all unbelieving. "What have you done?"

"What have I done? Killed something. "

She had not meant, perhaps, to go so far, but she had to go on now;there he was, staring at her. Oh, and it was not grand, indomitableboldness even; it was mere bravado, vulgar showing off; she wanted tolook big herself, and silence him. "You don't believe me?" she cried. "D'you remember that in the paper about the body of a child found inthe harbour? 'Twas me that did it. "

"What?" said he. 

"Body of a child. You never remember anything. We read about it in thepaper you brought up. "

After a moment he burst out: "You must be out of your senses!"

But his confusion seemed to incite her more, to give her a sort ofartificial strength; she could even give the details. "I had it in mybox--it was dead then, of course--I did that as soon as it was born. And when we got out into the harbour, I threw it overboard. "

Axel sat dark and silent, but she went on. It was a long time backnow, many years, the time she had first come to Maaneland. So, there, he could see 'twas not everything was found out, not by a long way!What would things be like if everything folk did got out? What aboutall the married people in the towns and the things they did? Theykilled their children before they were born--there were doctors whomanaged that. They didn't want more than one, or at most two children, and so they'd get in a doctor to get rid of it before it come. Ho, Axel need not think that was such a great affair out in the world!

"Ho!" said Axel. "Then I suppose you did get rid of the last one too, that way?"

"No, I didn't, " she answered carelessly as could be, "for I droppedit, " she said. But even then she must go on again about it beingnothing so terrible if she had. She was plainly accustomed to think ofthe thing as natural and easy; it did not affect her now. The firsttime, perhaps, it might have been a little uncomfortable, something ofan awkward feeling about it, to kill the child; but the second? Shecould think of it now with a sort of historic sense: as a thing thathad been done, and could be done. 

Axel went out of the house heavy in mind. He was not so much concernedover the fact that Barbro had killed her first child--that was nothingto do with himself. That she had had a child at all before she cameto him was nothing much either; she was no innocent, and had neverpretended to be so, far from it. She had made no secret of herknowledge, and had taught him many things in the dark. Well and good. But this last child--he would not willingly have lost it; a tiny boy, a little white creature wrapped up in a rag. If she were guilty ofthat child's death, then she had injured him, Axel--broken a tie thathe prized, and that could not be replaced. But it might be thathe wronged her, after all: that she _had_ slipped in the water byaccident. But then the wrapping--the bit of shirt she had taken withher. .. . 

Meantime, the hours passed; dinner-time came, and evening. And whenAxel had gone to bed, and had lain staring into the dark long enough, he fell asleep at last, and slept till morning. And then came a newday, and after that day other days. .. . 

Barbro was the same as ever. She knew so much of the world, and couldtake lightly many little trifles that were terrible and serious thingsfor folk in the wilds. It was well in a way; she was clever enough forboth of them, careless enough for both. And she did not go about likea terrible creature herself. Barbro a monster? Not in the least. Shewas a pretty girl, with blue eyes, a slightly turned-up nose, andquick-handed at her work. She was utterly sick and tired of the farmand the wooden vessels, that took such a lot of cleaning; sick andtired, perhaps, of Axel and all, of the out-of-the-way life she led. But she never killed any of the cattle, and Axel never found herstanding over him with uplifted knife in the middle of the night. 

Only once it happened that they came to talk again of the body in thewood. Axel still insisted that it ought to have been buried in thechurchyard, in consecrated ground; but she maintained as before thather way was good enough. And then she said something which showed thatshe was reasoned after her fashion--ho, was sharp enough, could seebeyond the tip of her nose; could think, with the pitiful little brainof a savage. 

"If it gets found out I'll go and talk to the Lensmand; I've been inservice with him. And Fru Heyerdahl, she'll put in a word for me, Iknow. It's not every one that can get folk to help them like that, andthey get off all the same. And then, besides, there's father, thatknows all the great folks, and been assistant himself, and all therest. "

But Axel only shook his head. 

"Well, what's wrong with that?"

"D'you think your father'd ever be able to do anything?"

"A lot you know about it!" she cried angrily. "After you've ruined himand all, taking his farm and the bread out of his mouth. "

She seemed to have a sort of idea herself that her father's reputationhad suffered of late, and that she might lose by it. And what couldAxel say to that? Nothing. He was a man of peace, a worker. 

Chapter III

That winter, Axel was left to himself again at Maaneland. Barbro wasgone. Ay, that was the end of it. 

Her journey to town would not take long, she said; 'twas not likegoing to Bergen; but she wasn't going to stay on here losing one toothafter another, till she'd a mouth like a calf. "What'll it cost?" saidAxel. 

"How do I know?" said she. "But, anyway, it won't cost you anything. I'll earn the money myself. "

She had explained, too, why it was best for her to go just then; therewere but two cows to milk, and in the spring there would be two more, besides all the goats with kids, and the busy season, and work enoughright on till June. 

"Do as you please, " said Axel. 

It was not going to cost him anything, not at all. But she must havesome money to start with, just a little; there was the journey, andthe dentist to pay, and besides, she must have one of the new cloaksand some other little things. But, of course, if he didn't care to. .. . 

"You've had money enough up to now, " said he. 

"H'm, " said she. "Anyway, it's all gone. "

"Haven't you put by anything?"

"Put by anything? You can look in my box it you like. I never put byanything in Bergen, and. I got more wages then. "

"I've no money to give you, " said he. 

He had but little faith in her ever coming back at all, and she hadplagued him so much with her humours this way and that; he had grownindifferent at last. And though he gave her money in the end, it wasnothing to speak of; but he took no notice when she packed awayan enormous hoard of food to take with her, and he drove her downhimself, with her box, to the village to meet the steamer. 

And that was done. 

He could have managed alone on the place, he had learned to do sobefore, but it was awkward with the cattle; if ever he had to leavehome, there was none to look to them. The storekeeper in the villagehad urged him to get Oline to come for the winter, she had been atSellanraa for years before; she was old now, of course, but fit andable to work. And Axel did send for Oline, but she had not come, andsent no word. 

Meantime, he worked in the forest, threshed out his little crop ofcorn, and tended his cattle. It was a quiet and lonely life. Now andagain Sivert from Sellanraa would drive past on his way to and fromthe village, taking down loads of wood, or hides, or farm produce, butrarely bringing anything up home; there was little they needed to buynow at Sellanraa. 

Now and again, too, Brede Olsen would come trudging along, morefrequently of late--whatever he might be after. It looked as if hewere trying to make himself indispensable to the telegraph people inthe little time that remained, so as to keep his job. He never came into see Axel now that Barbro was gone, but went straight by--a piece ofhigh-and-mightiness ill fitted to his state, seeing that he was stillliving on at Breidablik and had not moved. One day, when he waspassing without so much as a word of greeting, Axel stopped him, andasked when he had thought of getting out of the place. 

"What about Barbro, and the way she left you?" asked Brede in return. And one word led to another: "You sent her off with neither help normeans, 'twas a near thing but she never got to Bergen at all. "

"Ho! So she's in Bergen, is she?"

"Ay, got there at last, so she writes, but little thanks to you. "

"I'll have you out of Breidablik, and that sharp, " said Axel. 

"Ay, if you'd be so kind, " said the other, with a sneer. "But we'll begoing of ourselves at the new year, " he said, and went on his way. 

So Barbro was gone to Bergen--ay, 'twas as Axel had thought. He didnot take it to heart. Take it to heart? No, indeed; he was well rid ofher. But for all that, he had hoped a little until then that she mightcome back. 'Twas all unreasonable, but somehow he had come to careovermuch for the girl--ay, for that devil of a girl. She had her sweetmoments, unforgettable moments, and it was on purpose to hinder herfrom running off to Bergen that he had given her so little moneyfor the journey. And now she had gone there after all. A few of herclothes still hung in the house, and there was a straw hat with birds'wings on, wrapped up in a paper, in the loft, but she did not come tofetch them. Eyah, maybe he took it to heart a little, only a little. And as if to jeer at him, as a mighty jest in his trouble, came thepaper he had ordered for her every week, and it would not stop nowtill the new year. 

Well, well, there were other things to think about. He must be a man. 

Next spring he would have to put up a shed against the north wall ofthe house; the timber would have to be felled that winter, and theplanks cut. Axel had no timber to speak of, not growing close, butthere were some heavy firs scattered about here and there on theoutskirts of his land, and he marked out those on the side towardSellanraa, to have the shortest way to cart his timber up to thesawmill. 

And so one morning he gives the beasts an extra feed, to last themtill the evening, shuts all doors behind him, and goes out fellingtrees. Besides his ax and a basket of food, he carried a rake to clearthe snow away. The weather was mild, there had been a heavy snowstormthe day before, but now it had stopped. He follows the telegraph lineall the way to the spot, then pulls off his jacket and falls to work. As the trees are felled, he strips off the branches, leaving the cleantrunks, and piles up the small wood in heaps. 

Brede Olsen comes by on his way up--trouble on the line, no doubt, after yesterday's storm. Or maybe Brede was out on no particularerrand, but simply from pure zeal--ho, he was mighty keen on his dutyof late, was Brede! The two men did not speak, did not so much as lifta hand in greeting. 

The weather is changing again, the wind is getting up. Axel marks it, but goes on with his work. It is long past noon, and he has not yeteaten. Then, felling a big fir, he manages to get in the way of itsfall, and is thrown to the ground. He hardly knew how it happened--butthere it was. A big fir swaying from the root: a man will have it fallone way, the storm says another--and the storm it is that wins. Hemight have got clear after all, but the lie of the ground was hiddenby snow. Axel made a false step, lost his footing, and came down in acleft of rock, astride of a boulder, pinned down by the weight of atree. 

Well, and what then? He might still have got clear, but, as itchanced, he had fallen awkwardly as could be--no bones broken, as faras he could tell, but twisted somehow, and unable to drag himself out. After a while he gets one hand free, supporting himself on the other, but the ax is beyond his reach. He looks round, takes thought, as anyother beast in a trap would do; looks round and takes thought andtries to work his way out from under the tree. Brede must be coming byon his way down before long, he thinks to himself, and gives himself abreathing-space. 

He does not let it trouble him much at first, it was only annoying tolose time at his work; there is no thought in his mind of being indanger, let alone in peril of his life. True, he can feel the handthat supports him growing numbed and dead, his foot in the cleftgrowing cold and helpless too; but no matter, Brede must be here soon. 

Brede did not come. 

The storm increased, Axel felt the snow driving full in his face. Ho, 'tis coming down in earnest now, says he to himself, still nevertroubling much about it all--ay, 'tis as if he blinks at himselfthrough the snow, to look out, for now things are beginning inearnest! After a long while he gives a single shout. The sound wouldhardly carry far in the gale, but it would be upward along the line, towards Brede. Axel lies there with all sorts of vain and uselessthoughts in his head: if only he could reach the ax, and perhaps cuthis way out! If he could only get his hand up--it was pressing againstsomething sharp, an edge of stone, and the stone was eating its wayquietly and politely into the back of his hand. Anyhow, if only thatinfernal stone itself had not been there--but no one has ever yetheard tell of such a touching act of kindness on the part of a stone. 

Getting late now, getting later, the snow drifting thick; Axelis getting snowed up himself. The snow packs all innocently, allunknowing, about his face, melting at first, till the flesh growscold, and then it melts no longer. Ay, now 'tis beginning in earnest!

He gives two great shouts, and listens. 

His ax is getting snowed up now; he can see but a bit of the haft. Over there is his basket of food, hung on a tree--if he could but havereached it, and had a feed--oh, huge big mouthfuls! And then he goesone step farther in his demands, and asks yet more: if he only had hiscoat on--it is getting cold. He gives another swinging shout. .. . 

And there is Brede. Stopped in his tracks, standing still, lookingtoward the man as he calls; he stands there but for a moment, glancingthat way, as if to see what is amiss. 

"Reach me the ax here, will you?" calls Axel, a trifle weakly. 

Brede looks away hurriedly, fully aware now of what is the matter; heglances up at the telegraph wires and seems to be whistling. What canhe mean by that?

"Here, reach me the ax, can't you?" cries Axel louder. "I'm pinnedhere under a tree. "

But Brede is strangely full of zeal in his duty now, he keeps onlooking at the telegraph wires, and whistling all the time. Note, also, that he seems to be whistling gaily, as it were vengefully. 

"Ho, so you're going to murder me--won't even reach me the ax?" criesAxel. And at that it seems as if there is trouble farther down theline, which Brede must see to without delay. He moves off, and is lostto sight in the driving snow. 

Ho--well and good! But after that, well, it would just serve thingsgenerally right if Axel were to manage by himself after all, and getat the ax without help from any one. He strains all the muscles of hischest to lift the huge weight that bears him down; the tree moves, hecan feel it shake, but all he gains by that is a shower of snow. Andafter a few more tries, he gives up. 

Growing dark now. Brede is gone--but how far can he have got? Axelshouts again, and lets off a few straightforward words into thebargain. "Leave me here to die, would you, like a murderer?" he cries. "Have ye no soul nor thought of what's to come? And the worth of acow, no less, to lend a helping hand. But 'tis a dog you are and everwere, Brede, and leaving a man to die. Ho, but there's more shall knowof this, never fear, and true as I'm lying here. And won't even comeand reach me that ax. .. . "

Silence. Axel strains away at the tree once more, lifts it a little, and brings down a new shower of snow. Gives it up again and sighs;he is worn out now, and getting sleepy. There's the cattle at home, they'll be standing in the hut and bellowing for food, not a bite nora drop since the morning; no Barbro to look to them now--no. Barbro'sgone, run off and gone, and taken both her rings, gold and silver, taken them with her. Getting dark now, ay, evening, night; well, well. .. . But there's the cold to reckon with too; his beard isfreezing, soon his eyes will freeze too as well; ay, if he had but hisjacket from the tree there . .. And now his leg--surely, it can't bethat--but all the same one leg feels dead now up to the hip. "All inGod's hands, " he says to himself--seems like he can talk all godly andpious when he will. Getting dark, ay; but a man can die without thelight of a lamp. He feels all soft and good now, and of sheer humilityhe smiles, foolishly and kindly, at the snowstorm round; 'tis God'sown snow, an innocent thing! Ay, he might even forgive Brede, andnever say a word. .. . 

He is very quiet now, and growing ever more sleepy, ay, as if somepoison were numbing him all over. And there is too much whiteness tolook at every way; woods and lands, great wings, white veils, whitesails; white, white . .. What can it be? Nonsense, man! And he knowswell enough it is but snow; he is lying out in the snow; 'tis no fancythat he is lying there, pinned down beneath a tree. 

He shouts again at hazard, throws out a roar; there in the snow aman's great hairy chest swelling to a roar, bellowing so it could beheard right down at the hut, again and again. "Ay, and a swine and amonster, " he cries after Brede again; "never a thought of how you'releaving me to lie and be perished. And couldn't even reach me theax, that was all I asked; and call yourself a man, or a beast of thefield? Ay, well then, go your way, and good luck to you if that's yourwill and thought to go. .. . "

He must have slept; he is all stiff and lifeless now, but his eyesare open; set in ice, but open, he cannot wing nor blink--has he beensleeping with open eyes? Dropped off for a second maybe, or for anhour, God knows, but here's Oline standing before him. He can hear herasking: "In Jesu name, say if there's life in you!" And asking him ifit is him lying there, and if he's lost his wits or no. 

Always something of a jackal about Oline; sniffing and scenting out, always on the spot where there was trouble; ay, she would nose it out. And how could she ever have managed through life at all if it hadn'tbeen that same way? Axel's word had reached her, and for all herseventy years she had crossed the field to come. Snowed up atSellanraa in the storm of the day before, and then on again toMaaneland; not a soul on the place; fed the cattle, stood in thedoorway listening, milked the cows at milking-time, listening again;what could it be?. .. 

And then a cry comes down, and she nods; Axel, maybe, or maybe thehill-folk, devils--anyway, something to sniff and scent and find--toworm out the meaning of it all, the wisdom of the Almighty with thedark and the forest in the hollow of His hand--and He would never harmOline, that was not worthy to unloose the latchet of His shoes. .. . 

And there she stands. 

The ax? Oline digs down and down in the snow, and finds no ax. Managewithout, then--and she strains at the tree to lift it where it lies, but with no more strength than a child; she can but shake the brancheshere and there. Tries for the ax again--it is all dark, but she digswith hands and feet. Axel cannot move a hand to point, only tell whereit lay before, but 'tis not there now. "If it hadn't been so far toSellanraa, " says Axel. 

Then Oline falls to searching her own ways, and Axel calls to her thatthere's no ax there. "Ay, well, " says Oline, "I was but looking a bit. And what's this, maybe?" says she. 

"You've found it?" says he. 

"Ay, by the grace of the Lord Almighty, " answers Oline, withhigh-sounding words. 

But there's little pride in Axel now, no more than he'll give in thathe was wrong after all, and maybe not all clear in his head. Andwhat's he to do with the ax now 'tis there? He cannot stir, and Olinehas to cut him free herself. Oh, Oline has wielded an ax before thatday; had axed off many a load of firing in her life. 

Axel cannot walk, one leg is dead to the hip, and something wrong withhis back; shooting pains that make him groan curiously--ay, he feelsbut a part of himself, as if something were left behind there underthe tree. "Don't know, " says he--"don't know what it can be. .. . " ButOline knows, and tells him now with solemn words; ay, for she hassaved a human creature from death, and she knows it; 'tis the Almightyhas seen fit to lay on her this charge, where He might have sentlegions of angels. Let Axel consider the grace and infinite wisdom ofthe Almighty even in this! And if so be as it had been His pleasure tosend a worm out of the earth instead, all things were possible to Him. 

"Ay, I know, " said Axel. "But I can't make out how 'tis with me--feelsstrange. .. . "

Feels strange, does it? Oh, but only wait, wait just a little. 'Twasbut to move and stretch the least bit at a time, till the life cameback. And get his jacket on and get warm again. But never in all herdays would she forget how the Angel of the Lord had called her out tothe doorway that last time, that she might hear a voice--the voice ofone crying in the forest. Ay, 'twas as in the days of Paradise, whentrumpets blew and compassed round the walls of Jericho. .. . 

Ay, strange. But while she talked, Axel was taking his time, learningthe use of his limbs again, getting to walk. 

They get along slowly towards home, Oline still playing saviour andsupporting him. They manage somehow. A little farther down they comeupon Brede. "What's here?" says Brede. "Hurt yourself? Let me help abit. "

Axel takes no heed. He had given a promise to God not to be vengeful, not to tell of what Brede had done, but beyond that he was free. Andwhat was Brede going up that way again for now? Had he seen that Olinewas at Maaneland, and guessed that she would hear?

"And it's you here, Oline, is it?" goes on Brede easily. "Where d'youfind him? Under a tree? Well, now, 'tis a curious thing, " says he. "Iwas up that way just now on duty, along the line, and seems likeI heard some one shouting. Turns round and listens quick as aflash--Brede's the man to lend a hand if there's need. And so 'twasAxel, was it, lying under a tree, d'you say?"

"Ay, " says Axel. "And well you knew that saw and heard as well. Butnever helping hand. .. . "

"Good Lord, deliver us!" cries Oline, aghast. "As I'm a sinner. .. . "

Brede explains. "Saw? Why, yes, I saw you right enough. But why didn'tyou call out? You might have called out if there was anything wrong. Isaw you right enough, ay, but never thought but you were lying down abit to rest. "

"You'd better say no more, " says Axel warningly. "You know well enoughyou left me there and hoping I'd never rise again. "

Oline sees her way now; Brede must not be allowed to interfere. Shemust be indispensable, nothing can come between her and Axel thatcould make him less completely indebted to herself. She had saved him, she alone. And she waves Brede aside; will not even let him carry theax or the basket of food. Oh, for the moment she is all on Axel'sside--but next time she comes to Brede and sits talking to him over acup of coffee, she will be on his. 

"Let me carry the ax and things, anyway, " says Brede. 

"Nay, " says Oline, speaking for Axel. "He'll take them himself. "

And Brede goes on again: "You might have called to me, anyway; we'renot so deadly enemies that you couldn't say a word to a man?--You didcall? Well, you might have shouted then, so a man could hear. Blowinga gale and all. .. . Leastways, you might have waved a hand. "

"I'd no hand to wave, " answers Axel. "You saw how 'twas with me, shutdown and locked in all ways. "

"Nay, that I'll swear I didn't. Well, I never heard. Here, let mecarry those things. "

Oline puts in: "Leave him alone. He's hurt and poorly. "

But Axel's mind is getting to work again now. He has heard of Olinebefore, and understands it will be a costly thing for him, and aplague besides, if she can claim to have saved his life all byherself. Better to share between them as far as may be. And he letsBrede take the basket and the tools; ay, he lets it be understood thatthis is a relief, that it eases him to get rid of it. But Oline willnot have it, she snatches away the basket, she and no other will carrywhat's to be carried there. Sly simplicity at war on every side. Axelis left for a moment without support, and Brede has to drop the basketand hold him, though Axel can stand by himself now, it seems. 

Then they go on a bit that way, Brede holding Axel's arm, and Olinecarrying the things. Carrying, carrying, full of bitterness andflashing fire; a miserable part indeed, to carry a basket insteadof leading a helpless man. What did Brede want coming that way atall--devil of a man!

"Brede, " says she, "what's it they're saying, you've sold your placeand all?"

"And who's it wants to know?" says Brede boldly. 

"Why, as to that, I'd never thought 'twas any secret not to be known. "

"Why didn't you come to the sale, then, and bid with the rest?"

"Me--ay, 'tis like you to make a jest of poor folk. "

"Well, and I thought 'twas you had grown rich and grand. Wasn't it youhad left you old Sivert's chest and all his money in? He he he!"

Oline was not pleased, not softened at being minded of that legacy. "Ay, old Sivert, he'd a kindly thought for me, and I'll not sayotherwise. But once he was dead and gone, 'twas little they left afterhim in worldly goods. And you know yourself how 'tis to be stripped ofall, and live under other man's roof; but old Sivert he's in palacesand mansions now, and the likes of you and me are left on earth to bespurned underfoot. "

"Ho, you and your talk!" says Brede scornfully, and turns to Axel:"Well, I'm glad I came in time--help you back home. Not going toofast, eh?"

"No. "

Talk to Oline, stand up and argue with Oline! Was never a man coulddo it but to his cost. Never in life would she give in, and never hermatch for turning and twisting heaven and earth to a medley of seemingkindness and malice, poison and senseless words. This to her face now:Brede making as if 'twas himself was bringing Axel home!

"What I was going to say, " she begins: "They gentlemen came up toSellanraa that time; did you ever get to show them all those sacks ofstone you'd got, eh, Brede?"

"Axel, " says Brede, "let me hoist you on my shoulders, and I'll carryyou down rest of the way. "

"Nay, " says Axel. "For all it's good of you to ask. "

So they go on; not far now to go. Oline must make the best of her timeon the way. "Better if you'd saved him at the point of death, " saysshe. "And how was it, Brede, you coming by and seeing him in deadlyperil and heard his cry and never stopped to help?"

"You hold your tongue, " says Brede. 

And it might have been easier for her if she had, wading deep in snowand out of breath, and a heavy burden and all, but 'twas not Oline'sway to hold her tongue. She'd a bit in reserve, a dainty morsel. Ho, 'twas a dangerous thing to talk of, but she dared it. 

"There's Barbro now, " says she. "And how's it with her? Not run offand away, perhaps?"

"Ay, she has, " answers Brede carelessly. "And left a place for you forthe winter by the same. "

But here was a first-rate opening for Oline again; she could let it beseen now what a personage she was; how none could manage long withoutOline--Oline, that, had to be sent for near or far. She mighthave been two places, ay, three, for that matter. There was theparsonage--they'd have been glad to have her there, too. And here wasanother thing--ay, let Axel hear it too, 'twould do no harm--they'doffered her so-and-so much for the winter, not to speak of a new pairof shoes and a sheepskin into the bargain. But she knew what she wasdoing, coming to Maaneland, coming to a man that was lordly to giveand would pay her over and above what other folk did--and so she'dcome. No, 'twas no need for Brede to trouble himself that gait--whenher Heavenly Father had watched over her all those years, and openedthis door and that before her feet, and bidden her in. Ay, and itseemed like God Himself had known what He was doing, sending her upto Maaneland that day, to save the life of one of His creatures onearth. .. . 

Axel was getting wearied again by now; his legs could hardly bear him, and seemed like giving up. Strange, he had been getting better bydegrees, able to walk, as the life and warmth came back into his body. But now--he must lean on Brede for support! It seemed to begin whenOline started talking about her wages; and then, when she was savinghis life again, it was worse than ever. Was he trying to lessen hertriumph once more? Heaven knows--but his mind seemed to be workingagain. As they neared the house, he stopped, and said: "Looks likeI'll never get there, after all. "

Brede hoists him up without a word, and carries him. So they go onlike that, Oline all venom, Axel up full length on Brede's back. 

"What I was going to say, " gets out Oline--"about Barbro--wasn't shefar gone with child?"

"Child?" groans Brede, under the weight. Oh, 'tis a strangeprocession; but Axel lets himself be carried all the way till he's setdown at his own door. 

Brede puffs and blows, mightily out of breath. 

"Ay, or how--was it ever born, after all?" asks Oline. 

Axel cuts in quickly with a word to Brede: "I don't know how I'd everhave got home this night but for you. " And he does not forget Oline:"And you, Oline, that was the first to find me. I've to thank you bothfor it all. "

That was how Axel was saved. .. . 

 * * * * *

The next few days Oline would talk of nothing but the great event;Axel was hard put to it to keep her within bounds. Oline can point outthe very spot where she was standing in the room when an angel of theLord called her out to the door to hear a cry for help--Axel goesback to his work in the woods, and when he has felled enough, beginscarting it up to the sawmill at Sellanraa. 

Good, regular winter work, as long as it lasts; carting up roughtimber and bringing back sawn planks. The great thing is to hurry andget through with it before the new year, when the frost sets inin earnest, and the saw cannot work. Things are going on nicely, everything as well as could be wished. If Sivert happens to come upfrom the village with an empty sledge, he stops and takes a stick oftimber on the way, to help his neighbour. And the pair of them talkover things together, and each is glad of a talk with the other. 

"What's the news down village?" asks Axel. 

"Why, nothing much, " says Sivert. "There's a new man coming to take upland, so they say. "

A new man--nothing in that; 'twas only Sivert's way of putting it. Newmen came now every year or so, to take up land; there were five newholdings now below Breidablik. Higher up, things went more slowly, for all that the soil was richer that way. The one who had venturedfarthest was Isak, when he settled down at Sellanraa; he was theboldest and the wisest of them all. Later, Axel Ström had come--andnow there was a new man besides. The new man was to have a big patchof arable land and forest down below Maaneland--there was land enough. 

"Heard what sort of a man it is?" asked Axel. 

"Nay, " said Sivert. "But he's bringing up houses all ready made, tofix up in no time. "

"Ho! A rich man, then?"

"Ay, seems like. And a wife and three children with him; and horse andcattle. "

"Why, then, 'twill be a rich man enough. Any more about him?"

"No. He's three-and-thirty. "

"And what's his name?"

"Aron, they say. Calls his place Storborg. "

"Storborg? H'm. 'Tis no little place, then. " [Footnote: "_Stor_" =great]

"He's come up from the coast. Had a fishery there, so they say. "

"H'm--fishery. Wonder if he knows much about farming?" says Axel. "That all you heard? Nothing more?"

"No. He paid all down in cash for the title-deeds. That's all I heard. Must have made a heap of money with his fishery, they say. And nowhe's going to start here with a store. "

"Ho! A store?"

"Ay, so they say. "

"H'm. So he's going to start a store?"

This was the one really important piece of news, and the twoneighbours talked it over every way as they drove up. It was a bigpiece of news--the greatest event, perhaps, in all the history of theplace; ay, there was much to say of that. Who was he going to tradewith, this new man? The eight of them that had settled on the commonlands? Or did he reckon on getting custom from the village as well?Anyway, the store would mean a lot to them; like as not, it wouldbring up more settlers again. The holdings might rise in value--whocould say?

They talked it over as if they would never tire. Ay, here were two menwith their own interests and aims, as great to them as other men's. The settlement was their world; work, seasons, crops were theadventures of their life. Was not that interest and excitement enough?Ho, enough indeed! Many a time they had need to sleep but lightly, towork on long past meal-times; but they stood it, they endured it andwere none the worse; a matter of seven hours lying pinned down beneatha tree was not a thing to spoil them for life as long as their limbswere whole. A narrow world, a life with no great prospects? Ho, indeed! What of this new Storborg, a shop and a store here in thewilds--was not that prospect enough?

They talked it over until Christmas came. .. . 

Axel had got a letter, a big envelope with a lion on it; it was fromthe State. He was to fetch supplies of wire, a telegraph apparatus, tools and implements, from Brede Olsen, and take over inspection ofthe line from New Year's Day. 

Chapter IV

Teams of horses driving up over the moors, carting up houses for thenew man come to settle in the wilds; load after load, for days on end. Dump the things down on a spot that is to be called Storborg; 'twillanswer to its name, no doubt, in time. There are four men already atwork up in the hills, getting out stone for a wall and two cellars. 

Carting loads, carting new loads. The sides of the house are built andready beforehand, 'tis only to fix them up when the spring comes; allreckoned out neatly and accurately in advance, each piece with itsnumber marked, not a door, not a window lacking, even to the colouredglass for the verandah. And one day a cart comes up with a whole loadof small stakes. What's them for? One of the settlers from lower downcan tell them; he's from the south, and has seen the life before. "'Tis for a garden fence, " says he. So the new man is going to have agarden laid out in the wilds--a big garden. 

All looked well; never before had there been such carting and trafficup over the moors, and there were many that earned good money lettingout their horses for the work. This, again, was matter for discussion. There was the prospect of making money in the future; the trader wouldbe getting his goods from different parts; inland or overseas, theywould have to be carted up from the sea with teams of horses. 

Ay, it looked as if things were going to be on a grander scale allround. Here was a young foreman or manager in charge of the cartingwork; a lordly young spark he was, and grumbled at not getting horsesenough, for all that there were not so many loads to come. 

"But there can't be so much more to come now, with the houses all up, "they said. 

"Ho, and what about the goods?" he answered. 

Sivert from Sellanraa came clattering up homeward, empty as usual, andthe foreman called to him: "Hi, what are you coming up empty for? Whydidn't you bring up a load for us here?"

"Why, I might have, " said Sivert. "But I'd no knowledge of it. "

"He's from Sellanraa; they've two horses there, " some one whispered. 

"What's that? You've got two horses?" says the foreman. "Bring themdown, then, the pair of them, to help with the cartage here. We'll payyou well. "

"Why, " says Sivert, "that's none so bad, dare say. But we're pressedjust now, and can't spare the time. "

"What? Can't spare the time to make money!" says the foreman. 

But they had not always time at Sellanraa, there was much to do on theplace. They had hired men to help--the first time such a thing hadever been done at Sellanraa--two stoneworkers from the Swedish side, to get out stone for a new cowshed. 

This had been Isak's great idea for years past, to build a propercowshed. The turf hut where the cattle were housed at present was toosmall, and out of repair; he would have a stone-built shed with doublewalls and a proper dung-pit under. It was to be done now. But therewere many other things to be done as well, one thing always leading toanother; the building work, at any rate, seemed never to be finished. He had a sawmill and a cornmill and a summer shed for the cattle; itwas but reasonable he should have a smithy. Only a little place, forodd jobs as need arose; it was a long way to send down to the villagewhen the sledge-hammer curled at the edges or a horseshoe or sowanted looking to. Just enough to manage with, that was all--and whyshouldn't he? Altogether, there were many outbuildings, little andbig, at Sellanraa. 

The place is growing, getting bigger and bigger, a mighty big place atlast. Impossible now to manage without a girl to help, and Jensine hasto stay on. Her father, the blacksmith, asks after her now and again, if she isn't coming home soon; but he does not make a point of it, being an easy-going man, and maybe with his own reasons for lettingher stay. And there is Sellanraa, farthest out of all the settlements, growing bigger and bigger all the time; the place, that is, the housesand the ground, only the folk are the same. The day is gone whenwandering Lapps could come to the house and get all they wanted forthe asking; they come but rarely now, seem rather to go a long wayround and keep out of sight; none are even seen inside the house, butwait without if they come at all. Lapps always keep to the outlyingspots, in dark places; light and air distress them, they cannotthrive; 'tis with them as with maggots and vermin. Now and againa calf or a lamb disappears without a trace from the outskirts ofSellanraa, from the farthest edge of the land--there is no helpingthat. And Sellanraa can bear the loss. And even if Sivert could shoot, he has no gun, but anyway, he cannot shoot; a good-tempered fellow, nothing warlike; a born jester: "And, anyway, I doubt but there's alaw against shooting Lapps, " says he. 

Ay, Sellanraa can bear the loss of a head or so of cattle here andthere; it stands there, great and strong. But not without its troublesfor all that. Inger is not altogether pleased with herself and withlife all the year round, no; once she made a journey to a place a longway off, and it seems to have left an ugly discontent behind. Itmay disappear for a time, but always it returns. She is clever andhard-working as in her best days, and a handsome, healthy wife for aman, for a barge of a man--but has she no memories of Trondhjem; doesshe never dream? Ay, and in winter most of all. Full of life andspirits at times, and wanting no end of things--but a woman cannotdance by herself, and so there was no dancing at Sellanraa. Heavythoughts and books of devotion? Ay, well. .. . But there's something, Heaven knows, in the other sort of life, something splendid andunequalled. She has learned to make do with little; the Swedishstoneworkers are something, at any rate; strange faces and new voicesabout the place, but they are quiet, elderly men, given to workrather than play. Still, better than nothing--and one of them singsbeautifully at his work; Inger stops now and again to listen. Hjalmaris his name. 

And that is not all the trouble at Sellanraa. There is Eleseus, forinstance--a disappointment there. He had written to say that his placein the engineer's office was no longer open, but he was going toget another all right--only wait. Then came another letter; he wasexpecting something to turn up very shortly, a first-rate post; butmeantime, he could not live on nothing at all, and when they sent hima hundred-_Krone_ note from home, he wrote back to say it was justenough to pay off some small debts he had. .. . "H'm, " said Isak. "Butwe've these stoneworker folk to pay, and a deal of things . .. Writeand ask if he wouldn't rather come back here and lend a hand. "

And Inger wrote, but Eleseus did not care about coming home again; no, no sense in making another journey all to no purpose; he would ratherstarve. 

Well, perhaps there was no first-rate post vacant just then in thecity, and Eleseus, perhaps, was not as sharp as a razor in pushing hisway. Heaven knows--perhaps he wasn't over clever at his work either. Write? ay, he could write well enough, and quick and hard-workingmaybe, but there might be something lacking for all that. And if so, what was to become of him?

When he arrived from home with his two hundred _Kroner_, the city waswaiting for him with old accounts outstanding, and when those werepaid, well, he had to get a proper walking-stick, and not the remainsof an umbrella. There were other little things as well that were butreasonable--a fur cap for the winter, like all his companions wore, a pair of skates to go on the ice with as others did, a silvertoothpick, which was a thing to clean one's teeth, and play withdaintily when chatting with friends over a glass of this or that. Andas long as he had money, he stood treat as far as he was able; at afestive evening held to celebrate his return to town, he ordered halfa dozen bottles of beer, and had them opened sparingly, one afteranother. "What--twenty _Ore_ for the waitress?" said his friends;"ten's quite enough. "

"Doesn't do to be stingy, " said Eleseus. 

Nothing stingy nor mean about Eleseus, no; he come from a good home, from a big place, where his father the Margrave owned endless tractsof timber, and four horses and thirty cows and three mowing-machines. Eleseus was no liar, and it was not he who had spread abroad all thefantastic stories about the Sellanraa estate; 'twas the districtsurveyor who had amused himself talking grandly about it a long whileback. But Eleseus was not displeased to find the stories taken more orless for truth. Being nothing in himself, it was just as well to bethe son of somebody that counted for something; it gave him credit, and was useful that way. But it could not last for ever; the day camewhen he could no longer put off paying, and what was he to do then?One of his friends came to his help, got him into his father'sbusiness, a general store where the peasants bought theirwares--better than nothing. It was a poor thing for a grown lad tostart at a beginner's wage in a little shop; no short cut to theposition of a Lensmand; still, it gave him enough to live on, helpedhim over the worst for the present--oh, 'twas not so bad, after all. Eleseus was willing and good-tempered here too, and people liked him;he wrote home to say he had gone into trade. 

This was his mother's greatest disappointment. Eleseus serving in ashop--'twas not a whit better than being assistant at the storedown in the village. Before, he had been something apart, somethingdifferent from the rest; none of their neighbours had gone off to livein a town and work in an office. Had he lost sight of his great aimand end? Inger was no fool; she knew well enough that there was adifference between the ordinary and the uncommon, though perhaps shedid not always think to reckon with it. Isak was simpler and slower ofthought; he reckoned less and less with Eleseus now, when he reckonedat all; his eldest son was gradually slipping out of range. Isak nolonger thought of Sellanraa divided between his two sons when hehimself should be gone. 

 * * * * *

Some way on in spring came engineers and workmen from Sweden; goingto build roads, put up hutments, work in various ways, blasting, levelling, getting up supplies of food, hiring teams of horses, makingarrangements with owners of land by the waterside; what--what was itall about? This is in the wilds, where folk never came but those wholived there? Well, they were going to start that copper mine, that wasall. 

So it had come to something after all; Geissler had not been merelyboasting. 

It was not the same big men that had come with him that time--no, thetwo of them had stayed behind, having business elsewhere, no doubt. But the same engineer was there, and the mining expert that had comeat first. They bought up all the sawn planks Isak could spare, boughtfood and drink and paid for it well, chatted in kindly fashion andwere pleased with Sellanraa. "Aerial railway, " they said. "Cablehaulage from the top of the fjeld down to the waterside, " they said. 

"What, down over all this moorland here?" said Isak, being slow tothink. But they laughed at that. 

"No, on the other side, man; not this way, 'twould be miles to go. No, on the other side of the fjeld, straight down to the sea; a good fall, and no distance to speak of. Run the ore down through the air in irontanks; oh, it'll work all right, you wait and see. But we'll have tocart it down at first; make a road, and have it hauled down in carts. We shall want fifty horses--you see, we'll get on finely. And we'vemore men on the works than these few here--that's nothing. There'smore coming up from the other side, gangs of men, with huts allready to put up, and stores of provisions and material and tools andthings--then we meet and make connection with them half-way, on thetop, you see? We'll make the thing go, never fear--and ship the ore toSouth America. There's millions to be made out of it. "

"What about the other gentlemen, " asked Isak, "that came up herebefore?"

"What? Oh, they've sold out. So you remember them? No, they've sold. And the people that bought them out have sold again. It's a bigcompany now that owns the mine--any amount of money behind it. "

"And Geissler, where'll he be now?" asks Isak. 

"Geissler? Never heard of him. Who's he?"

"Lensmand Geissler, that sold you the place first of all. "

"Oh, him! Geissler was his name? Heaven knows where he is now. So youremember him too?"

 * * * * *

Blasting and working up in the hills, gangs of men at work all throughthe summer--there was plenty doing about the place. Inger did abusy trade in milk and farm produce, and it amused her--going intobusiness, as it were, and seeing all the many folk coming and going. Isak tramped about with his lumbering tread, and worked on his land;nothing disturbed him. Sivert and the two stoneworkers got the newcowshed up. It was a fine building, but took a deal of time before itwas finished, with only three men to the work, and Sivert, moreover, often called away to help in the fields. The mowing-machine was usefulnow; and a good thing, too, to have three active women that could takea turn at the haymaking. 

All going well; there was life in the wilds now, and money growing, blossoming everywhere. 

And look at Storborg, the new trader's place--there was a business ona proper scale! This Aron must be a wizard, a devil of a fellow; hehad learned somehow beforehand of the mining operations to come, andwas on the spot all ready, with his shop and store, to make the mostof it. Business? He did business enough for a whole State--ay, enoughfor a king! To begin with, he sold all kinds of household utensils andworkmen's clothes; but miners earning good money are not afraid tospend it; not content with buying necessaries only; they would buyanything and everything. And most of all on Saturday evenings, thetrading station at Storborg was crowded with folk, and Aron rakingmoney in; his clerk and his wife were both called in to help behindthe counter, and Aron himself serving and selling as hard as he couldgo at it--and even then the place would not be empty till late atnight. And the owners of horse-flesh in the village, they were right;'twas a mighty carting and hauling of wares up to Storborg; more thanonce they had to cut off corners of the old road and make new shortcuts--a fine new road it was at last, very different from Isak'sfirst narrow path up through the wilds. Aron was a blessing and abenefactor, nothing less, with his store and his new road. His namewas not Aron really, that being only his Christian name; properly, hewas Aronsen, and so he called himself, and his wife called him thesame. They were a family not to be looked down upon, and kept twoservant-girls and a lad. 

As for the land at Storborg, it remained untouched for the present. Aronsen had no time for working on the soil--where was the sense ofdigging up a barren moor? But Aronsen had a garden, with a fence allround, and currant bushes and asters and rowans and planted trees--ay, a real garden. There was a broad path down it, where Aronsen couldwalk o' Sundays and smoke his pipe, and in the background was theverandah of the house, with panes of coloured glass, orange and redand blue. Storborg . .. And there were children--three pretty littlethings about the place. The girl was to learn to play her part asdaughter of a wealthy trader, and the boys were to learn the businessthemselves--ay, three children with a future before them!

Aronsen was a man to take thought for the future, or he would not havecome there at all. He might have stuck to his fishery, and like enoughbeen lucky at that and made good money, but 'twas not like going intobusiness; nothing so fine, a thing for common folk at best. Peopledidn't take off their hats to a fisherman. Aronsen had rowed his boatbefore, pulling at the oars; now he was going to sail instead. Therewas a word he was always using: "Cash down. " He used it all sorts ofways. When things went well, they were going "cash down. " His childrenwere to get on in the world, and live more "cash down" even thanhimself. That was how he put it, meaning that they should have aneasier life of it than he had had. 

And look you, things did go well; neighbours took notice of him, andof his wife--ay, even of the children. It was not the least remarkablething, that folk took notice of the children. The miners came downfrom their work in the hills, and had not seen a child's face for manydays; when they caught sight of Aronsen's little ones playing in theyard, they would talk kindly to them at once, as if they had met threepuppies at play. They would have given them money, but seeing theywere the trader's children, it would hardly do. So they played musicfor them on their mouth-organs instead. Young Gustaf came down, thewildest of them all, with his hat over one ear, and his lips everready with a merry word; ay, Gustaf it was that came and played withthem for long at a time. The children knew him every time, and ran tomeet them; he would pick them up and carry them on his back, all threeof them, and dance with them. "Ho!" said Gustaf, and danced with them. And then he would take out his mouth-organ and play tunes and musicfor them, till the two servant-girls would come out and look at him, and listen, with tears in their eyes. Ay, a madcap was Gustaf, but heknew what he was doing!

Then after a bit he would go into the shop and throw his money about, buying up a whole knapsack full of things. And when he went back upthe road again, it was with a whole little stock-in-trade of hisown--and he would stop at Sellanraa on the way and open his pack andshow them. Notepaper with a flower in the corner, and a new pipe anda new shirt, and a fringed neckerchief--sweets for the womenfolk, andshiny things, a watch-chain with a compass, a pocket-knife--oh, a hostof things. Ay, there were rockets he had bought to let off onSunday, for every one to see. Inger gave him milk, and he joked withLeopoldine, and picked up little Rebecca and swung her up in theair--"_Hoy huit_!"

"And how's the building getting on?" he asked the Swedes--Gustaf wasa Swede himself, and made friends with them too. The building wasgetting on as best it could, with but themselves to the work. Why, then, he'd come and give them a hand himself, would Gustaf, thoughthat was only said in jest. 

"Ay, if you only would, " said Inger. For the cowshed ought to be readyby the autumn, when the cattle were brought in. 

Gustaf let off a rocket, and having let off one, there was no sensein keeping the rest. As well let them off too--and so he did, half adozen of them, and the women and children stood round breathless atthe magic of the magician; and Inger had never seen a rocket before, but the wild fire of them somehow reminded her of the great world shehad once seen. What was a sewing-machine to this? And when Gustaffinished up by playing his mouth-organ, Inger would have gone offalong the road with him for sheer emotion. .. . 

The mine is working now, and the ore is carted down by teams of horsesto the sea; a steamer had loaded up one cargo and sailed away with itto South America, and another steamer waits already for the next load. Ay, 'tis a big concern. All the settlers have been up to look at thewonderful place, as many as can walk. Brede Olsen has been up, withhis samples of stone, and got nothing for his pains, seeing that themining expert was gone back to Sweden again. On Sundays, there was acrowd of people coming up all the way from the village; ay, even AxelStröm, who had no time to throw away, turned off from his proper roadalong the telegraph line to look at the place. Hardly a soul now buthas seen the mine and its wonders. And at last Inger herself, Ingerfrom Sellanraa, puts on her best, gold ring and all, and goes up tothe hills. What does she want there?

Nothing, does not even care to see how the work is done. Inger hascome to show herself, that is all. When she saw the other women goingup, she felt she must go too. A disfiguring scar on her upper lip, andgrown children of her own, has Inger, but she must go as the othersdid. It irks her to think of the others, young women, ay . .. But shewill try if she can't compete with them all the same. She has notbegun to grow stout as yet, but has still a good figure enough, talland natty enough; she can still look well. True, her colouring isnot what it used to be, and her skin is not comparable to a goldenpeach--but they should see for all that; ay, they should say, afterall, she was good enough!

They greet her kindly as she could wish; the workmen know her, she hasgiven them many a drink of milk, and they show her over the mine, thehuts, the stables and kitchens, the cellars and storesheds; the boldermen edge in close to her and take her lightly by the arm, but Ingerdoes not feel hurt at all, it does her good. And where there aresteps to go up or down, she lifts her skirts high, showing her legs atrifle; but she manages it quietly, as if without a thought. Ay, she'sgood enough, think the men to themselves. 

Oh, but there is something touching about her, this woman getting onin years; plain to see that a glance from one of these warm-bloodedmenfolk came all unexpectedly to her; she was grateful for it, andreturned it; she was a woman like other women, and it thrilled her tofeel so. An honest woman she had been, but like enough 'twas for lackof opportunity. 

Getting on in years. .. . 

Gustaf came up. Left two girls from the village, and a comrade, justto come. Gustaf knew what he was at, no doubt; he took Inger's handwith more warmth, more pressure than was needed, and thanked her forthe last pleasant evening at Sellanraa, but he was careful not toplague her with attention. 

"Well, Gustaf, and when are you coming to help us with the building?"says Inger, going red. And Gustaf says he will come sure enough beforelong. His comrades hear it, and put in a word that they'll all becoming down before long. 

"Ho!" says Inger. "Aren't you going to stay on the mine, then, comewinter?"

The men answer cautiously, that it doesn't look like it, but can't besure. But Gustaf is bolder, and laughs and says, looks like they'vescraped out the bit of copper there was. 

"You'll not say that in earnest surely?" says Inger. And the other menput in that Gustaf had better be careful not to say any such thing. 

But Gustaf was not going to be careful; he said a great deal more, andas for Inger, 'twas strange how he managed to win her for himself, forall that he never seemed to put himself forward that way. One ofthe other lads played a concertina, but 'twas not like Gustaf'smouth-organ; another lad again, and a smart fellow he was too, triedto draw attention to himself by singing a song off by heart to themusic, but that was nothing either, for all that he had a fine rollingvoice. And a little while after, there was Gustaf, and if he hadn'tgot Inger's gold ring on his little finger! And how had it come about, when he never plagued nor pushed himself forward? Oh, he was forwardenough in his way, but quiet with it all, as Inger herself; they didnot talk of things, and she let him play with her hand as if withoutnoticing. Later on, when she sat in one of the huts drinking coffee, there was a noise outside, high words between the men, and she knew itwas about herself, and it warmed her. A pleasant thing to hear, forone no longer young, for a woman getting on in years. 

And how did she come home from the hills that Sunday evening? Ho, wellenough, virtuous as she had come, no more and no less. There was acrowd of men to see her home, the crowd of them that would not turnback as long as Gustaf was there; would not leave her alone with him, not if they knew it! Inger had never had such a gay time, not even inthe days when she had been out in the world. 

"Hadn't Inger lost something?" they asked at last. 

"Lost something? No. "

"A gold ring, for instance?"

And at that Gustaf had to bring it out; he was one against all, awhole army. 

"Oh, 'twas a good thing you found it, " said Inger, and made haste tosay good-bye to her escort. She drew nearer Sellanraa, saw the manyroofs of the buildings; it was her home that lay there. And she awokeonce more, came back to herself, like the clever wife she was, andtook a short cut through to the summer shed to look to the cattle. Onthe way she passes by a place she knows; a little child had once lainburied there; she had patted down the earth with her hands, set up atiny cross--oh, but it was long ago. Now, she was wondering if thosegirls had finished their milking in good time. .. . 

The work at the mine goes on, but there are whisperings of somethingwrong, the yield is not as good as it had promised. The mining expert, who had gone back home, came out again with another expert to helphim; they went about blasting and boring and examining all the ground. What was wrong? The copper is fine enough, nothing wrong with that, but thin, and no real depth in it; getting thicker to the southward, lying deep and fine just where the company's holding reached itslimit--and beyond that was _Almenning_, the property of the State. Well, the first purchasers had perhaps not thought so much of thething, anyway. It was a family affair, some relatives who had boughtthe place as a speculation; they had not troubled to secure the wholerange, all the miles to the next valley, no; they had but taken overa patch of ground from Isak Sellanraa and Geissler, and then sold itagain. 

And what was to be done now? The leading men, with the experts and theforemen, know well enough; they must start negotiations with the Stateat once. So they send a messenger off at full speed to Sweden, withletters and plans and charts, and ride away themselves down to theLensmand below, to get the rights of the fjeld south of the water. Andhere their difficulties begin; the law stands in their way; they areforeigners, and cannot be purchasers in their own right. They knew allabout that, and had made arrangements. But the southern side of thefjeld was sold already--and that they did not know. "Sold?"

"Ay, long ago, years back. "

"Who bought it then?"

"Geissler. "

"What Geissler?--oh, that fellow--h'm. "

"And the title-deeds approved and registered, " says the Lensmand. "'Twas bare rock, no more, and he got it for next to nothing. "

"Who is this fellow Geissler that keeps cropping up? Where is he?"

"Heaven knows where he is now!"

And a new messenger is sent off to Sweden. They must find out allabout this Geissler. Meanwhile, they could not keep on all the men;they must wait and see. 

So Gustaf came down to Sellanraa, with all his worldly goods on hisback, and here he was, he said. Ay, Gustaf had given up his work atthe mine--that is to say, he had been a trifle too outspoken theSunday before, about the mine and the copper in the mine; the foremanhad heard of it, and the engineer, and Gustaf was given his discharge. Well, good-bye then, and maybe 'twas the very thing he wanted; therecould be nothing suspicious now about his coming to Sellanraa. Theyset him to work at once on the cowshed. 

They worked and worked at the stone walls, and when a few days lateranother man came down from the mine, he was taken on too; now therewere two spells, and the work went apace. Ay, they would have it readyby the autumn, never fear. 

But now one after another of the miners came down, dismissed, and tookthe road to Sweden; the trial working was stopped for the present. There was something like a sigh from the folk in the village at thenews; foolish folk, they did not understand what a trial working was, that it was only working on trial, but so it was. There were darkforebodings and discouragement among the village folk; money wasscarcer, wages were reduced, things were very quiet at the tradingstation at Storborg. What did it all mean? Just when everything wasgoing on finely, and Aronsen had got a flagstaff and a flag, and hadbought a fine white bearskin for a rug to have in the sledge for thewinter, and fine clothes for all the family . .. Little matters these, but there were greater things happening as well. Here were two newmen had bought up land for clearing in the wilds; high up betweenMaaneland and Sellanraa, and that was no small event for the whole ofthat little outlying community. The two new settlers had builttheir turf huts and started clearing ground and digging. They werehard-working folk, and had done much in a little time. All that summerthey had bought their provisions at Storborg, but when they camedown now, last time, there was hardly anything to be had. Nothing instock--and what did Aron want with heavy stocks of this and that nowthe work at the mine had stopped? He had hardly anything of any sorton the place now--only money. Of all the folk in the neighbourhood, Aronsen was perhaps the most dejected; his reckoning was all upset. When some one urged him to cultivate his land and live on that tillbetter times, he answered: "Cultivate the land? 'Twas not that I cameand set up house here for. "

At last Aronsen could stand it no longer; he must go up to the mineand see for himself how things were. It was a Sunday. When he got toSellanraa, he wanted Isak to go with him, but Isak had never yet setfoot on the mine since they had started; he was more at home on thehillside below. Inger had to put in a word. "You might as well go withAronsen, when he asks you, " she said. And maybe Inger was not sorry tohave him go; 'twas Sunday, and like as not she wanted to be rid of himfor an hour or so. And so Isak went along. 

There were strange things to be seen up there in the hills; Isak didnot recognize the place at all now, with its huts and sheds, a wholetown of them, and carts and waggons and great gaping holes in theground. The engineer himself showed them round. Maybe he was not inthe best of humour just now, that same engineer, but he had triedall along to keep away the feeling of gloom that had fallen upon thevillage folk and the settlers round--and here was his chance, with noless persons than the Margrave of Sellanraa and the great trader fromStorborg on the spot. 

He explained the nature of the ore and the rocks in which it wasfound. Copper, iron, and sulphur, all were there together. Ay, theyknew exactly what there was in the rocks up there--even gold andsilver was there, though not so much of it. A mining engineer, heknows a deal of things. 

"And it's all going to shut down now?" asked Aronsen. 

"Shut down?" repeated the engineer in astonishment. "A nice thingthat'd be for South America if we did!" No, they were discontinuingtheir preliminary operations for a while, only for a short time; theyhad seen what the place was like, what it could produce; then theycould build their aerial railway and get to work on the southern sideof the fjeld. He turned to Isak: "You don't happen to know where thisGeissler's got to?"

"No. "

Well, no matter--they'd get hold of him all right. And then they'dstart to work again. Shut down? The idea!

Isak is suddenly lost in wonder and delight over a little machinethat works with a treadle--simply move your foot and it works. Heunderstands it at once--'tis a little smithy to carry about on a cartand take down and set up anywhere you please. 

"What's a thing like that cost, now?" he asks. 

"That? Portable forge? Oh, nothing much. " They had several of the samesort, it appeared, but nothing to what they had down at the sea; allsorts of machines and apparatus, huge big things. Isak was given tounderstand that mining, the making of valleys and enormous chasmsin the rock, was not a business that could be done with yourfingernails--ha ha!

They stroll about the place, and the engineer mentions that he himselfwill be going across to Sweden in a few days' time. 

"But you'll be coming back again?" says Aronsen. 

Why, of course. Knew of no reason why the Government or the policeshould try to keep him. 

Isak managed to lead round to the portable forge once more andstopped, looking at it again. "And what might a bit of a machine likethat cost?" he asked. 

Cost? Couldn't say off-hand--a deal of money, no doubt, but nothing tospeak of in mining operations. Oh, a grand fellow was the engineer;not in the best of humour himself just then, perhaps, but he kept upappearances and played up rich and fine to the last. Did Isak want aforge? Well, he might take that one--the company would never troubleabout a little thing like that--the company would make him a presentof a portable forge!

An hour after, Aronsen and Isak were on their way down again. Aronsensomething calmer in mind--there was hope after all. Isak trundles downthe hillside with his precious forge on his back. Ay, a barge of aman, he could bear a load! The engineer had offered to send a coupleof men down with it to Sellanraa next morning, but Isak thankedhim--'twas more than worth his while. He was thinking of his own folk;'twould be a fine surprise for them to see him come walking down witha smithy on his back. 

But 'twas Isak was surprised after all. 

A horse and cart turned into the courtyard just as he reached home. And a highly remarkable load it brought. The driver was a man fromthe village, but beside him walked a gentleman at whom Isak stared inastonishment--it was Geissler. 

Chapter V

There were other things that might have given Isak matter forsurprise, but he was no great hand at thinking of more than one thingat a time. "Where's Inger?" was all he said as he passed by thekitchen door. He was only anxious to see that Geissler was wellreceived. 

Inger? Inger was out plucking berries; had been out plucking berriesever since Isak started--she and Gustaf the Swede. Ay, getting on inyears, and all in love again and wild with it; autumn and winter near, but she felt the warmth in herself again, flowers and blossomingagain. "Come and show where there's cloudberries, " said Gustaf;"cranberries, " said he. And how could a woman say no? Inger raninto her little room and was both earnest and religious for severalminutes; but there was Gustaf standing waiting outside, the world wasat her heels, and all she did was to tidy her hair, look at herselfcarefully in the glass, and out again. And what if she did? Who wouldnot have done the same? Oh, a woman cannot tell one man from another;not always--not often. 

And they two go out plucking berries, plucking cloudberries on themoorland, stepping from tuft to tuft, and she lifts her skirts high, and has her neat legs to show. All quiet everywhere; the white grousehave their young ones grown already and do not fly up hissing anymore; they are sheltered spots where bushes grow on the moors. Lessthan an hour since they started, and already they are sitting down torest. Says Inger: "Oh, I didn't think you were like that?" Oh, sheis all weakness towards him, and smiles piteously, being so deep inlove--ay, a sweet and cruel thing to be in love, 'tis both! Right andproper to be on her guard--ay, but only to give in at last. Ingeris so deep in love--desperately, mercilessly; her heart is full ofkindliness towards him, she only cares to be close and precious tohim. 

Ay, a woman getting on in years. .. . 

"When the work's finished, you'll be going off again, " says she. 

No, he wasn't going. Well, of course, some time, but not yet, not fora week or so. 

"Hadn't we better be getting home?" says she. 

"No. "

They pluck more berries, and in a little while they find a shelteredplace among the bushes, and Inger says: "Gustaf, you're mad to do it. "And hours pass--they'll be sleeping now, belike, among the bushes. Sleeping? Wonderful--far out in the wilderness, in the Garden of Eden. Then suddenly Inger sits upright and listens: "Seems like I heard someone down on the road away off?"

The sun is setting, the tufts of heather darkening in shadow as theywalk home. They pass by many sheltered spots, and Gustaf sees them, and Inger, she sees them too no doubt, but all the time she feels asif some one were driving ahead of them. Oh, but who could walk all theway home with a wild handsome lad, and be on her guard all the time?Inger is too weak, she can only smile and say: "I never knew such aone. "

She comes home alone. And well that she came just then, a fortunatething. A minute later had not been well at all. Isak had just comeinto the courtyard with his forge, and Aronsen--and there is a horseand cart just pulled up. 

"_Goddag_, " says Geissler, greeting Inger as well. And there theystand, all looking one at another--couldn't be better. .. . 

Geissler back again. Years now since he was there, but he is backagain, aged a little, greyer a little, but bright and cheerful asever. And finely dressed this time, with a white waistcoat and goldchain across. A man beyond understanding!

Had he an inkling, maybe, that something was going on up at the mine, and wanted to see for himself? Well, here he was. Very wide awake tolook at, glancing round at the place, at the land, turning his headand using his eyes every way. There are great changes to note; theMargrave had extended his domains. And Geissler nods. 

"What's that you're carrying?" he asks Isak. "'Tis a load for onehorse in itself, " says he. 

"'Tis for a forge, " explains Isak. "And a mighty useful thing to haveon a bit of a farm, " says he--ay, calling Sellanraa a bit of a farm, no more!

"Where did you get hold of it?"

"Up at the mine. Engineer, he gave me the thing for a present, hesaid. "

"The company's engineer?" says Geissler, as if he had not understood. 

And Geissler, was he to be outdone by an engineer on a copper mine?"I've heard you'd got a mowing-machine, " says he, "and I've broughtalong a patent raker thing that's handy to have. " And he points to theload on the cart. There it stood, red and blue, a huge comb, a hayraketo be driven with horses. They lifted it out of the cart and looked atit; Isak harnessed himself to the thing and tried it over the ground. No wonder his mouth opened wide! Marvel on marvel coming to Sellanraa!

They spoke of the mine, of the work up in the hills. "They were askingabout you, quite a lot, " said Isak. 

"Who?"

"The engineer, and all the other gentlemen. 'Have to get hold of yousomehow, ' they said. "

Oh, but here Isak was saying overmuch, it seemed. Geissler wasoffended, no doubt; he turned sharp and curt, and said: "Well, I'mhere, if they want me. "

Next day came the two messengers back from Sweden, and with them acouple of the mine-owners; on horseback they were, fine gentlemen andportly; mighty rich folk, by the look of them. They hardly stoppedat Sellanraa at all, simply asked a question or so about the road, without dismounting, and rode on up the hill. Geissler they pretendednot to see, though he stood quite close. The messengers with theirloaded packhorses rested for an hour, talked to the men at work on thebuilding, learned that the old gentleman in the white waistcoat andgold chain was Geissler, and then they too went on again. But thatsame evening one of them came riding down to the place with a messageby word of mouth for Geissler to come up to the gentlemen at themines. "I'm here if they want me, " was the answer Geissler sent back. 

Geissler was grown an important personage, it seemed; thought himselfa man of power, of all the power in the world; considered it, perhaps, beneath his dignity to be sent for by word of mouth. But how was it hehad come to Sellanraa at all just then--just when he was most wanted?A great one he must be for knowing things, all manner of things. Anyway, when the gentlemen up at the mine had Geissler's answer, therewas nothing for it but they must bestir themselves and come all theway down to Sellanraa again. The engineer and the two mining expertscame with them. 

So many crooked ways and turnings were there before that meetingwas brought about. It looked ill to start with; ay, Geissler wasover-lordly by far. 

The gentlemen were polite enough this time; begged him to excuse theirhaving sent a verbal message the day before, being tired out aftertheir journey. Geissler was polite in return, and said he too wastired out after his journey, or he would have come. Well, and then, toget to business; Would Geissler sell the land south of the water?

"Do you wish to purchase on your own account, may I ask, " saidGeissler, "or are you acting as agents?"

Now this could be nothing but sheer contrariness on Geissler's part;he could surely see for himself that rich and portly gentlemen oftheir stamp would not be acting as agents. They went on to discussterms. "What about the price?" said they. 

"The price?--yes, " said Geissler, and sat thinking it over. "A coupleof million, " said he. 

"Indeed?" said the gentlemen, and smiled. But Geissler did not smile. 

The engineer and the two experts had made a rough investigation of theground, made a few borings and blastings, and here was their report:the occurrence of ore was due to eruption; it was irregular, andfrom their preliminary examination appeared to be deepest in theneighbourhood of the boundary between the company's land andGeissler's decreasing from there onwards. For the last mile or sothere was no ore to be found worth working. 

Geissler listened to all this with the greatest nonchalance. He tooksome papers from his pocket, and looked at them carefully; but thepapers were not charts nor maps--like as not they were things no wayconnected with the mine at all. 

"You haven't gone deep enough, " said he, as if it were something hehad read in his papers. The gentlemen admitted that at once, butthe engineer asked: How did he know that--"You haven't made boringsyourself, I suppose?"

And Geissler smiled, as if he had bored hundreds of miles down throughthe globe, and covered up the holes again after. 

They kept at it till noon, talking it over this way and that, and atlast began to look at their watches. They had brought Geissler down tohalf a million now, but not a hair's breadth farther. No; they musthave put him out sorely some way or other. They seemed to think he wasanxious to sell, obliged to sell, but he was not--ho, not a bit; therehe sat, as easy and careless as themselves, and no mistaking it. 

"Fifteen, say twenty thousand would be a decent price anyway, " saidthey. 

Geissler agreed that might be a decent price enough for any one sorelyin need of the money, but five-and-twenty thousand would be better. And then one of the gentlemen put in--saying it perhaps by way ofkeeping Geissler from soaring too far: "By the way, I've seen yourwife's people in Sweden--they sent their kind regards. "

"Thank you, " said Geissler. 

"Well, " said the other gentleman, seeing Geissler was not to be wonover that way, "a quarter of a million . .. It's not gold we're buying, but copper ore. "

"Exactly, " said Geissler. "It's copper ore. "

And at that they lost patience, all of them, and five watch-cases wereopened and snapped to again; no more time to fool away now; it wastime for dinner. They did not ask for food at Sellanraa, but rode backto the mine to get their own. 

And that was the end of the meeting. 

Geissler was left alone. 

What would be in his mind all this time--what was he pondering andspeculating about? Nothing at all, maybe, but only idle and careless?No, indeed, he was thinking of something, but calm enough for allthat. After dinner, he turned to Isak, and said: "I'm going for a longwalk over my land up there; and I'd have liked to have Sivert with me, same as last time. "

"Ay, so you shall, " said Isak at once. 

"No; he's other things to do, just now. "

"He shall go with you at once, " said Isak, and called to Sivert toleave his work. But Geissler held up his hand, and said shortly: "No. "

He walked round the yard several times, came back and talked to themen at their work, chatting easily with them and going off and comingback again. And all the time with this weighty matter on his mind, yettalking as if it were nothing at all. Geissler had long been so longaccustomed to changes of fortune, maybe he was past feeling there wasanything at stake now, whatever might be in the air. 

Here he was, the man he was, by the merest chance. He had sold thefirst little patch of land to his wife's relations, and what then?Gone off and bought up the whole tract south of the water--what for?Was it to annoy them by making himself their neighbour? At first, nodoubt, he had only thought of taking over a little strip of the landthere, just where the new village would have to be built if theworkings came to anything, but in the end he had come to be owner ofthe whole fjeld. The land was to be had for next to nothing, and hedid not want a lot of trouble with boundaries. So, from sheer idlenesshe had become a mining king, a lord of the mountains; he had thoughtof a site for huts and machine sheds, and it had become a kingdom, stretching right down to the sea. 

In Sweden, the first little patch of land had passed from hand tohand, and Geissler had taken care to keep himself informed as to itsfate. The first purchasers, of course, had bought foolishly, boughtwithout sense or forethought; the family council were not miningexperts, they had not secured enough land at first, thinking only ofbuying out a certain Geissler, and getting rid of him. But the newowners were no less to be laughed at; mighty men, no doubt, who couldafford to indulge in a jest, and take up land for amusement's sake, for a drunken wager, or Heaven knows what. But when it came to trialworkings, and exploiting the land in earnest, then suddenly they foundthemselves butting up against a wall--Geissler. 

Children! thought Geissler, maybe, in his lofty mind; he felt hispower now, felt strong enough to be short and abrupt with folk. Theothers had certainly done their best to take him down a peg; theyimagined they were dealing with a man in need of money, and threw outhints of some fifteen or twenty thousand--ay, children. They did notknow Geissler. And now here he stood. 

They came down no more that day from the fjeld, thinking best, nodoubt, not to show themselves over-anxious. Next morning they camedown, packhorses and all, on their way home. And lo--Geissler was notthere. 

Not there?

That put an end to any ideas they might have had of settling themanner in lordly wise, from the saddle; they had to dismount and wait. And where was Geissler, if you please? Nobody could tell them; he wentabout everywhere, did Geissler, took an interest in Sellanraa and allabout it; the last they had seen of him was up at the sawmill. Themessengers were sent out to look for him, but Geissler must have gonesome distance, it seemed, for he gave no answer when they shouted. Thegentlemen looked at their watches, and were plainly annoyed at first, and said: "We're not going to fool about here waiting like this. IfGeissler wants to sell, he must be on the spot. " Oh, but they changedtheir tone in a little while; showed no annoyance after a while, buteven began to find something amusing in it all, to jest about it. Herewere they in a desperate case; they would have to lie out there inthe desolate hills all night. And get lost and starve to death in thewilds, and leave their bones to bleach undiscovered by their mourningkin--ay, they made a great jest of it all. 

At last Geissler came. Had been looking round a bit--just come fromthe cattle enclosure. "Looks as if that'll be too small for you soon, "said he to Isak. "How many head have you got up there now altogether?"Ay, he could talk like that, with those fine gentlemen standing therewatch in hand. Curiously red in the face was Geissler, as if he hadbeen drinking. "Puh!" said he. "I'm all hot, walking. "

"We half expected you would be here when we came, " said one of thegentlemen. 

"I had no word of your wanting to see me at all, " answered Geissler, "otherwise I might have been here on the spot. "

Well, and what about the business now? Was Geissler prepared to accepta reasonable offer today? It wasn't every day he had a chance offifteen or twenty thousand--what? Unless, of course. .. . If the moneywere nothing to him, why, then. .. . 

This last suggestion was not to Geissler's taste at all; he wasoffended. A nice way to talk! Well, they would not have said it, perhaps, if they had not been annoyed at first; and Geissler, nodoubt, would hardly have turned suddenly pale at their words if he hadnot been out somewhere by himself and got red. As it was, he paled, and answered coldly:

"I don't wish to make any suggestion as to what you, gentlemen, may bein a position to pay--but I know what I am willing to accept and whatnot. I've no use for more child's prattle about the mine. My price isthe same as yesterday. "

"A quarter of a million _Kroner_?"

"Yes. "

The gentlemen mounted their horses. " Look here, " said one, "we'll gothis far, and say twenty-five thousand. "

"You're still inclined to joke, I see, " said Geissler. "But I'll make_you_ an offer in sober earnest: would you care to sell your bit of amine up there?"

"Why, " said they, somewhat taken aback--"why, we might do that, perhaps. "

"I'm ready to buy it, " said Geissler. 

Oh, that Geissler! With the courtyard full of people now, listeningto every word; all the Sellanraa folk, and the stoneworkers and themessengers. Like as not, he could never have raised the money, noranything near it, for such a deal; but, again, who could say? A manbeyond understanding was Geissler. Anyhow, his last words ratherdisconcerted those gentlemen on horseback. Was it a trick? Did hereckon to make his own land seem worth more by this manoeuvre?

The gentlemen thought it over; ay, they even began to talk softlytogether about it; they got down from their horses again. Then theengineer put in a word; he thought, no doubt, it was getting beyondall bearing. And he seemed to have some power, some kind of authorityhere. And the yard was full of folk all listening to what was goingon. "We'll not sell, " said he. 

"Not?" asked his companions. 

"No. "

They whispered together again, and they mounted their horses oncemore--in earnest this time. "Twenty-five thousand!" called out one ofthem. Geissler did not answer, but turned away, and went over to talkto the stoneworkers again. 

And that was the end of their last meeting. 

Geissler appeared to care nothing for what might come of it. He walkedabout talking of this, that, and the other; for the moment he seemedchiefly interested in the laying of some heavy beams across the shellof the new cowhouse. They were to get the work finished that week, with a temporary roof--a new fodder loft was to be built up over lateron. 

Isak kept Sivert away from the building work now, and left himidle--and this he did with a purpose, that Geissler might find the ladready at any time if he wanted to go exploring with him in the hills. But Isak might have saved himself the trouble; Geissler had given upthe idea, or perhaps forgotten all about it. What he did was to getInger to pack him up some food, and set off down the road. He stayedaway till evening. 

He passed the two new clearings that had been started below Sellanraa, and talked to the men there; went right down to Maaneland to see whatAxel Ström had got done that year. Nothing very great, it seemed; notas much as he might have wished, but he had put in some good work onthe land. Geissler took an interest in this place, too, and asked him:"Got a horse?"

"Ay. "

"Well, I've a mowing-machine and a harrow down south, both new; I'llsend them up, if you like. "

"How?" asked Axel, unable to conceive such magnificence, and thinkingvaguely of payment by instalments. 

"I mean I'll make you a present of them, " said Geissler. 

"'Tis hard to believe, " said Axel. 

"But you'll have to help those two neighbours of yours up above, breaking new land. "

"Ay, never fear for that, " said Axel; he could still hardly make outwhat Geissler meant by it all. "So you've machines and things downsouth?"

"I've a deal of things to look after, " said Geissler. Now, as a matterof fact, Geissler had no great deal of things to look after, but heliked to make it appear so. As for a mowing-machine and a harrow, hecould buy them in any of the towns, and send up from there. 

He stayed talking a long while with Axel Ström about the othersettlers near; of Storborg, the trading station; of Axel's brother, newly married, who had come to Breidablik, and had started drainingthe moors and getting the water out. Axel complained that it wasimpossible to get a woman anywhere to help; he had none but an oldcreature, by name Oline; not much good at the best of times, but hemight be thankful to have her as long as she stayed. Axel had beenworking day and night part of that summer. He might, perhaps, have gota woman from his own parts, from Helgeland, but that would have meantpaying for her journey, besides wages. A costly business all round. Axel further told how he had taken over the inspection of thetelegraph line, but rather wished he had left it alone. 

"That sort of thing's only fit for Brede and his like, " said Geissler. 

"Ay, that's a true word, " Axel admitted. "But there was the money tothink of. "

"How many cows have you got?"

"Four. And a young bull. 'Twas too far to go up to Sellanraa totheirs. "

But there was a far weightier matter Axel badly wanted to talk overwith Geissler; Barbro's affair had come to light, somehow, and aninvestigation was in progress. Come to light? Of course it had. Barbrohad been going about, evidently with child and plain to see, and shehad left the place by herself all unencumbered and no child at all. How had it come about?

When Geissler understood what the matter was, he said quite shortly:"Come along with me. " And he led Axel with him away from the house. Geissler put on an important air, as one in authority. They sat downat the edge of the wood, and Geissler said: "Now, then, tell me allabout it. "

Come to light? Of course it had; how could it be helped? The place wasno longer a desert, with never a soul for miles; and, moreover, Olinewas there. What had Oline to do with it? Ho! and, to make thingsworse, Brede Olsen had made an enemy of her himself. No means ofgetting round Oline now; here she was on the spot, and could wormthings out of Axel a bit at a time. 'Twas just such underhand work shelived for; ay, lived by, in some degree. And here was the very thingfor her--trust Oline for scenting it out! Truth to tell, Oline wasgrown too old now to keep house and tend cattle at Maaneland; sheought to have given it up. But how could she? How could she leave aplace where a fine, deep mystery lay simply waiting to be brought tolight? She managed the winter's work; ay, she got through the summer, too, and it was a marvel of strength she gained from the mere thoughtof being able one day to show up a daughter of Brede himself. The snowwas not gone from the fields that spring before Oline began pokingabout. She found the little green mound by the stream, and saw at oncethat the turf had been laid down in squares. She had even had the luckto come upon Axel one day standing by the little grave, and treadingit down. So Axel knew all about it! And Oline nodded her greyhead--ay, it was her turn now!

Not but Axel was a kindly man enough to live with, but miserly;counted his cheeses, and kept good note of every tuft of wool; Olinecould not do as she liked with things, not by a long way. And thenthat matter of the accident last year, when she had saved him--if Axelhad been the right sort, he would have given her the credit for itall, and acknowledged his debt to her alone. But not a bit of it--Axelstill held to the division he had made on the spot. Ay, he would say, if Oline hadn't happened to come along, he would have had to lie outthere in the cold all night; but Brede, he'd been a good help too, onthe way home. And that was all the thanks she got! Oline was full ofindignation--surely the Lord Almighty must turn away His face from Hiscreatures! How easy it would have been for Axel to lead out a cow fromits stall, and bring it to her and say: "Here's a cow for you, Oline. "But no. Not a word of it. 

Well, let him wait--wait and see if it might not come to cost him morethan the worth of a cow in the end!

All through that summer, Oline kept a look-out for every passer-by, and whispered to them and nodded and confided things to them insecret. "But never a word I've said, " so she charged them every time. Oline went down to the village, too, more than once. And now therewere rumours and talk of things about the place, ay, drifting like afog, settling on faces and getting into ears; even the children goingto school at Breidablik began nodding secrets among themselves. And atlast the Lensmand had to take it up; had to bestir himself and reportit, and ask for instructions. Then he came up with a book to writein and an assistant to help him; came up to Maaneland one day andinvestigated things and wrote things down, and went back again. Butthree weeks after, he came up once more, investigating and writingdown again, and this time, he opened a little green mound by thestream, and took out the body of a child. Oline was an invaluable helpto him; and in return he had to answer a host of questions she put. Among other things, he said yes, it might perhaps come to having Axelarrested too. At that, Oline clasped her hands in dismay at all thewickedness she had got mixed up with here, and only wished she wereout of the place, far away from it all. "But the girl, " she whispered, "what about Barbro herself?"

"The girl Barbro, " said the Lensmand, "she's under arrest now inBergen. The law must take its course, " said he. And he took the littlebody and went back again to the village. .. . 

Little wonder, then, that Axel Ström was anxious. He had spoken out tothe Lensmand and denied nothing; he was in part responsible for thecoming of the child at all, and in addition, he had dug a grave forit. And now he was asking Geissler what he had better do next. Wouldhe have to go in to the town, to a new and worse examination, and betortured there?

Geissler was not the man he had been--no; and the long story hadwearied him, he seemed duller now, whatever might be the cause. He wasnot the bright and confident soul he had been that morning. He lookedat his watch, got up, and said:

"This'll want thinking over. I'll go into it thoroughly and let youknow before I leave. "

And Geissler went off. 

He came back to Sellanraa that evening, had a little supper, and wentto bed. Slept till late next morning, slept, rested thoroughly; he wastired, no doubt, after his meeting with the Swedish mine-owners. Nottill two days after did he make ready to leave. He was his lordly selfagain by then, paid liberally for his keep, and gave little Rebecca ashining _Krone_. 

He made a speech to Isak, and said: "It doesn't matter in the least ifnothing came of the deal this time, it'll come all right later on. Forthe present, I'm going to stop the working up there and leave it abit. As for those fellows--children! Thought they would teach me, didthey? Did you hear what they offered me? Twenty-five thousand!"

"Ay, " said Isak. 

"Well, " said Geissler, and waved his hand as if dismissing allimpertinent offers of insignificant sums from his mind, "well, itwon't do any harm to the district if I do stop the working there abit--on the contrary, it'll teach folk to stick to their land. Butthey'll feel it in the village. They made a pile of money there lastsummer; fine clothes and fine living for all--but there's an end ofthat now. Ay, it might have been worth their while, the good folksdown there, to have kept in with me; things might have been differentthen. Now, it'll be as I please. "

But for all that, he did not look much of a man to control the fate ofvillages, as he went away. He carried a parcel of food in his hand, and his white waistcoat was no longer altogether clean. His good wifemight have equipped him for the journey up this time out of the restof the forty thousand she had once got--who could say, perhaps shehad. Anyhow, he was going back poor enough. 

He did not forget to look in at Axel Ström on the way down, and givethe results of his thinking over. "I've been looking at it every way, "said he. "The matter's in abeyance for the present, so there's nothingto be done just yet. You'll be called up for a further examination, and you'll have to say how things are. .. . "

Words, nothing more. Geissler had probably never given the matter athought at all. And Axel agreed dejectedly to all he said. But at lastGeissler flickered up into a mighty man again, puckered his brows, andsaid thoughtfully: "Unless, perhaps, I could manage to come to townmyself and watch the proceedings. "

"Ay, if you'd be so good, " said Axel. 

Geissler decided in a moment. "I'll see if I can manage it, if I canget the time. But I've a heap of things to look after down south. I'llcome if I can. Good-bye for now. I'll send you those machines allright. "

And Geissler went. 

Would he ever come again?

Chapter VI

The rest of the workmen came down from the mine. Work is stopped. Thefjeld lies dead again. 

The building at Sellanraa, too, is finished now. There is a makeshiftroof of turf put on for the winter; the great space beneath is dividedinto rooms, bright apartments, a great salon in the middle and largerooms at either end, as if it were for human beings. Here Isak oncelived in a turf hut together with a few goats--there is no turf hut tobe seen now at Sellanraa. 

Loose boxes, mangers, and bins are fitted up. The two stoneworkersare still busy, kept on to get the whole thing finished as soon aspossible, but Gustaf is no hand at woodwork, so he says, and he isleaving. Gustaf has been a splendid lad at the stonework, heaving andlifting like a bear; and in the evenings, a joy and delight to all, playing his mouth-organ, not to speak of helping the womenfolk, carrying heavy pails to and from the river. But he is going now. No, Gustaf is no hand at woodwork, so he says. It looks almost as if hewere in a hurry to get away. 

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?" says Inger. 

No, it can't wait, he's no more work to do here, and besides, goingnow, he will have company across the hills, going over with the last;gang from the mines. 

"And who's to help me with my buckets now?" says Inger, smiling sadly. 

But Gustaf is never at a loss, he has his answer ready, and says"Hjalmar. " Now Hjalmar was the younger of the two stoneworkers, butneither of them was young as Gustaf himself, none like him in any way. 

"Hjalmar--huh!" says Inger contemptuously. Then suddenly she changesher tone, and turns to Gustaf, thinking to make him jealous. "Though, after all, he's nice to have on the place, is Hjalmar, " says she, "andso prettily he sings and all. "

"Don't think much of him, anyway, " says Gustaf. He does not seemjealous in the least. 

"But you might stay one more night at least?"

No, Gustaf couldn't stay one more night--he was going across with theothers. 

Ay, maybe Gustaf was getting tired of the game by now. 'Twas a finething to snap her up in front of all the rest, and have her for hisown the few weeks he was there--but he was going elsewhere now, likeas not to a sweetheart at home--he had other things in view. Was he tostay on loafing about here for the sake of her? He had reason enoughfor bringing the thing to an end, as she herself must know; but shewas grown so bold, so thoughtless of any consequence, she seemed tocare for nothing. No, things had not held for so very long betweenthem--but long enough to last out the spell of his work there. 

Inger is sad and down-hearted enough; ay, so erringly faithful thatshe mourns for him. 'Tis hard for her; she is honestly in love, without any thought of vanity or conquest. And not ashamed, no; sheis a strong woman full of weakness; she is but following the law ofnature all about her; it is the glow of autumn in her as in all thingselse. Her breast heaves with feeling as she packs up food for Gustafto take with him. No thought of whether she has the right, of whethershe dare risk this or that; she gives herself up to it entirely, hungry to taste, to enjoy. Isak might lift her up to the roof andthrust her to the floor again--ay, what of that! It would not make herfeel the less. 

She goes out with the parcel to Gustaf. 

Now she had set the bucket by the steps on purpose, in case he shouldcare to go with her to the river just once more. Maybe she would liketo say something, to give him some little thing--her gold ring; Heavenknows, she was in a state to do anything. But there must be an end ofit some time; Gustaf thanks her, says good-bye, and goes. 

And there she stands. 

"Hjalmar!" she calls out aloud--oh, so much louder than she need. Asif she were determined to be gay in spite of all--or crying out indistress. 

Gustaf goes on his way. .. . 

 * * * * *

All through that autumn there was the usual work in the fields allround, right away down to the village: potatoes to be taken up, cornto be got in, the horned cattle let loose over the ground. Eightfarms there are now and all are busy; but at the trading station, atStorborg, there are no cattle, and no green lands, only a garden. Andthere is no trade there now, and nothing for any to be busy aboutthere. 

They have a new root crop at Sellanraa called turnips, sending up acolossal growth of green waving leaves out of the earth, and nothingcan keep the cows away from them--the beasts break down all hedgework, and storm in, bellowing. Nothing for it but to set Leopoldine andlittle Rebecca to keep guard over the turnip fields, and littleRebecca walks about with a big stick in her hand and is a wonder atdriving cows away. Her father is at work close by; now and againhe comes up to feel her hands and feet, and ask if she is cold. Leopoldine is big and grown up now; she can knit stockings and mittensfor the winter while she is watching the herds. Born in Trondhjem, wasLeopoldine, and came to Sellanraa five years old. But the memory ofa great town with many people and of a long voyage on a steamer isslipping away from her now, growing more and more distant; she is achild of the wilds and knows nothing now of the great world beyond thevillage down below where she has been to church once or twice, andwhere she was confirmed the year before. .. . 

And the little casual work of every day goes on, with this thing andthat to be done beside; as, for instance, the road down below, that isgetting bad one or two places. The ground is still workable, and Isakgoes down one day with Sivert, ditching and draining the road. Thereare two patches of bog to be drained. 

Axel Ström has promised to take part in the work, seeing that he has ahorse and uses the road himself--but Axel had pressing business in thetown just then. Heaven knows what it could be, but very pressing, hesaid it was. But he had asked his brother from Breidablik to work withthem in his stead. 

Fredrik was this brother's name. A young man, newly married, alight-hearted fellow who could make a jest, but none the worse forthat; Sivert and he are something alike. Now Fredrik had looked in atStorborg on his way up that morning, Aronsen of Storborg being hisnearest neighbour, and he is full of all the trader has been tellinghim. It began this way; Fredrik wanted a roll of tobacco. "I'll giveyou a roll of tobacco when I have one, " said Aronsen. 

"What, you've no tobacco in the place?"

"No, nor won't order any. There's nobody to buy it. What d'you think Imake out of one roll of tobacco?"

Ay, Aronsen had been in a nasty humour that morning, sure enough; felthe had been cheated somehow by that Swedish mining concern. Here hadhe set up a store out in the wilds, and then they go and shut down thework altogether!

Fredrik smiles slyly at Aronsen, and makes fun of him now. "He's notso much as touched that land of his, " says he, "and hasn't even feedfor his beasts, but must go and buy it. Asked me if I'd any hay tosell. No, I'd no hay to sell. 'Ho, d'you mean you don't want to makemoney?' said Aronsen. Thinks money's everything in the world, seemslike. Puts down a hundred-_Krone_ note on the counter, and says'Money!' 'Ay, money's well enough, ' says I. 'Cash down, ' says he. Ay, he's just a little bit touched that way, so to speak, and his wife shegoes about with a watch and chain and all on weekdays--Lord He knowswhat can be she's so set on remembering to the minute. "

Says Sivert: "Did Aronsen say anything about a man named Geissler?"

"Ay. Said something about he'd be wanting to sell some land he'dgot. And Aronsen was wild about it, he was--'fellow that used to beLensmand and got turned out, ' he said, and 'like as not without somuch as a five _Krone_ in his books, and ought to be shot!' 'Ay, butwait a bit, ' says I, 'and maybe he'll sell after all. ' 'Nay, ' saysAronsen, 'don't you believe it. I'm a business man, ' says he, 'andI know--when one party puts up a price of two hundred and fiftythousand, and the other offers twenty-five thousand, there's too big adifference; there'll be no deal ever come out of that. Well, let 'emgo their own way, and see what comes of it, ' says he. 'I only wish I'dnever set my foot in this hole, and a poor thing it's been for me andmine. ' Then I asked him if he didn't think of selling out himself. 'Ay, ' says he, 'that's just what I'm thinking of. This bit ofbogland, ' says he, 'a hole and a desert--I'm not making a single_Krone_ the whole day now, ' says he. "

They laughed at Aronsen, and had no pity for him at all. 

"Think he'll sell out?" asks Isak. 

"Well, he did speak of it. And he's got rid of the lad he had already. Ay, a curious man, a queer sort of man, that Aronsen, 'tis sure. Sendsaway his lad could be working on the place getting in winter fuel andcarting hay with that horse of his, but keeps on his storeman--chiefclerk, he calls him. 'Tis true enough, as he says, not selling so muchas a _Krone_ all day, for he's no stock in the place at all. And whatdoes he want with a chief clerk, then? I doubt it'll be just by way oflooking grand and making a show, must have a man there to stand at adesk and write up things in books. Ha ha ha! ay, looks like he's justa little bit touched that way, is Aronsen. "

The three men worked till noon, ate food from their baskets, andtalked a while. They had matters of their own to talk over, matters ofgood and ill to folk on the land; no trifles, to them, but things tobe discussed warily; they are clear-minded folk, their nerves unworn, and not flying out where they should not. It is the autumn season now, a silence in the woods all round; the hills are there, the sun isthere, and at evening the moon and the stars will come; all regularand certain, full of kindliness, an embrace. Men have time to resthere, to lie in the heather, with an arm for a pillow. 

Fredrik talks of Breidablik, how 'tis but little he's got done thereyet awhile. 

"Nay, " says Isak, "'tis none so little already, I saw when I was downthat way. "

This was praise from the oldest among them, the giant himself, andFredrik might well be pleased. He asks frankly enough: "Did you thinkso, now? Well, it'll be better before long. I've had a deal of thingsto hinder this year; the house to do up, being leaky and like to fallto pieces; hayloft to take down and put up again, and no sort of roomin the turf hut for beasts, seeing I'd cow and heifer more than Bredehe'd ever had in his time, " says Fredrik proudly. 

"And you're thriving like, up here?" asks Isak. 

"Ay, I'll not say no. And wife, she's thriving too, why shouldn't we?There's good room and outlook all about; we can see up and down theroad both ways. And a neat little copse by the house all pretty tolook at, birch and willow--I'll plant a bit more other side of thehouse when I've time. And it's fine to see how the bogland's driedonly since last year's ditching--'tis all a question now what'll growon her this year. Ay, thrive? When we've house and home and land andall--'tis enough for the two of us surely. "

"Ho, " says Sivert slyly, "and the two of you--is that all there's everto be?"

"Why, as to that, " says Fredrik bravely, "'tis like enough there'llbe more to come. And as to thriving--well, the wife's not falling offanyway, by the looks of her. "

They work on until evening, drawing up now and again to straightentheir backs, and exchange a word or so. 

"And so you didn't get the tobacco?" says Sivert. 

"No, that's true. But 'twas no loss, for I've no use for it, anyway, "says Fredrik. 

"No use for tobacco?"

"Nay. 'Twas but for to drop in at Aronsen's like, and hear what he'dgot to say. " And the two jesters laughed together at that. 

On the way home, father and son talk little, as was their way; butIsak must have been thinking out something for himself; he says:

"Sivert?"

"Ay?" says Sivert again. 

"Nay, 'twas nothing. "

They walk on a good ways, and Isak begins again:

"How's he get on, then, with his trading, Aronsen, when he's nothingto trade with?"

"Nay, " says Sivert. "But there's not folk enough here now for him tobuy for. "

"Ho, you think so? Why, I suppose 'tis so, ay, well. .. . "

Sivert wondered a little at this. After a while his father went onagain:

"There's but eight places now in all, but there might be more beforelong. More . .. Well, I don't know. .. . "

Sivert wondering more than ever--what can his father be getting at?The pair of them walk on a long way in silence; they are nearly homenow. 

"H'm, " says Isak. "What you think Aronsen he'd ask for that place ofhis now?"

"Ho, that's it!" says Sivert. "Want to buy it, do you?" he asksjestingly. But suddenly he understands what it all means: 'tis Eleseusthe old man has in mind. Oh, he's not forgotten him after all, butkept him faithfully in mind, just as his mother, only in his own way, nearer earth, and nearer to Sellanraa. 

"'Twill be going for a reasonable price, I doubt, " says Sivert. Andwhen Sivert says so much, his father knows the lad has read histhought. And as if in fear of having spoken out too clearly, he fallsto talking of their road-mending; a good thing they had got it done atlast. 

For a couple of days after that, Sivert and his mother were puttingtheir heads together and holding councils and whispering--ay, theyeven wrote a letter. And when Saturday came round Sivert suddenlywanted to go down to the village. 

"What you want to go down village again for now?" said his father indispleasure. "Wearing boots to rags. .. . " Oh, Isak was more bitter thanneed be; he knew well enough that Sivert was going to the post. 

"Going to church, " says Sivert. 

'Twas all he could find by way of excuse, and his father muttered:"Well, what you want to go for . .. ?"

But if Sivert was going to church, why, he might harness up and takelittle Rebecca with him. Little Rebecca, ay, surely she might havethat bit of a treat for once in her life, after being so cleverguarding turnips and being all ways the pearl and blessing of themall, ay, that she was. And they harnessed up, and Rebecca had the maidJensine to look after her on the way, and Sivert said never a wordagainst that either. 

While they are away, it so happens that Aronsen's man, his chiefclerk, from Storborg, comes up the road. What does this mean? Why, nothing very much, 'tis only Andresen, the chief clerk from Storborg, come up for a bit of a walk this way--his master having sent him. Nothing more. And no great excitement among the folk at Sellanraa overthat--'twas not as in the old days, when a stranger was a rare sighton their new land, and Inger made a great to-do. No, Inger's grownquieter now, and keeps to herself these days. 

A strange thing that book of devotion, a guide upon the way, an armround one's neck, no less. When Inger had lost hold of herself alittle, lost her way a little out plucking berries, she found her wayhome again by the thought of her little chamber and the holy book; ay, she was humble now and a Godfearing soul. She can remember longyears ago when she would say an evil word if she pricked her fingersewing--so she had learned to do from her fellow-workers round the bigtable in the Institute. But now she pricks her finger, and it bleeds, and she sucks the blood away in silence. 'Tis no little victory gainedto change one's nature so. And Inger did more than that. When all theworkmen were gone, and the stone building was finished, and Sellanraawas all forsaken and still, then came a critical time for Inger; shecried a deal, and suffered much. She blamed none but herself for itall, and she was deeply humbled. If only she could have spoken out toIsak, and relieved her mind, but that was not their way at Sellanraa;there was none of them would talk their feelings and confess things. All she could do was to be extra careful in the way she asked herhusband to come in to meals, going right up to him to say it nicely, instead of shouting from the door. And in the evenings, she lookedover his clothes, and sewed buttons on. Ay, and even more she did. Onenight she lifted up on her elbow and said:

"Isak?"

"What is it?" says Isak. 

"Are you awake?"

"Ay. "

"Nay, 'twas nothing, " says Inger. "But I've not been all as I ought. "

"What?" says Isak. Ay, so much he said, and rose up on his elbow inturn. 

They lay there, and went on talking. Inger is a matchless woman, afterall; and with a full heart, "I've not been as I ought towards you, "she says, "and I'm that sorry about it. "

The simple words move him; this barge of a man is touched, ay, hewants to comfort her, knowing nothing of what is the matter, but onlythat there is none like her. "Naught to cry about, my dear, " saysIsak. "There's none of us can be as we ought. "

"Nay, 'tis true, " she answers gratefully. Oh, Isak had a strong, soundway of taking things; straightened them out, he did, when they turnedcrooked. "None of us can be as we ought. " Ay, he was right. The god ofthe heart--for all that he is a god, he goes a deal of crooked ways, goes out adventuring, the wild thing that he is, and we can see it inhis looks. One day rolling in a bed of roses and licking his lips andremembering things; next day with a thorn in his foot, desperatelytrying to get it out. Die of it? Never a bit, he's as well as ever. Anice look-out it would be if he were to die!

And Inger's trouble passed off too; she got over it, but she keepson with her hours of devotion, and finds a merciful refuge there. Hard-working and patient and good she is now every day, knowing Isakdifferent from all other men, and wanting none but him. No gay youngspark of a singer, true, in his looks and ways, but good enough, ay, good enough indeed! And once more it is seen that the fear of the Lordand contentment therewith are a precious gain. 

And now it was that the little chief clerk from Storborg, Andresen, came up to Sellanraa one Sunday, and Inger was not in the leastaffected, far from it; she did not so much as go in herself to givehim a mug of milk, but sent Leopoldine in with it, by reason thatJensine the maid was out. And Leopoldine could carry a mug of milk aswell as need be, and she gave it him and said, "Here you are, " andblushed, for all she was wearing her Sunday clothes and had nothing tobe ashamed of, anyway. 

"Thanks, 'tis overkind of you, " says Andresen. "Is your father athome?" says he. 

"Ay; he'll be about the place somewhere. "

Andresen drank and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and looked atthe time. "Is it far up to the mines?" he asked. 

"No, 'tis an hour's walk, or hardly that. "

"I'm going up to look over them, d'you see, for him, Aronsen--I'm hischief clerk. "

"Ho!"

"You'll know me yourself, no doubt; I'm Aronsen's chief clerk. You'vebeen down buying things at our place before. "

"Ay. "

"And I remember you well enough, " says Andresen. "You've been downtwice buying things. "

"'Tis more than could be thought, you'd remember that, " saysLeopoldine, and had no more strength after that, but stood holding bya chair. 

But Andresen had strength enough, he went on, and said: "Remember you?Well, of course I should. " And he said more:

"You wouldn't like to walk up to the mine with me?" said he. 

And a little after something went wrong with Leopoldine's eyes;everything turned red and strange about her, and the floor wasslipping away from under, and Chief Clerk Andresen was talking fromsomewhere ever so far off. Saying: "Couldn't you spare the time?"

"No, " says she. 

And Heaven knows how she managed to get out of the kitchen again. Hermother looked at her and asked what was the matter. "Nothing, " saidLeopoldine. 

Nothing, no, of course. But now, look you, 'twas Leopoldine's turn tobe affected, to begin the same eternal round. She was well fittedfor the same, overgrown and pretty and newly confirmed; an excellentsacrifice she would make. A bird is fluttering in her young breast, her long hands are like her mother's, full of tenderness, full of sex. Could she dance?--ay, indeed she could. A marvel where she had managedto learn it, but learn it they did at Sellanraa as well as elsewhere. Sivert could dance, and Leopoldine too; a kind of dancing peculiarto the spot, growth of the new-cleared soil; a dance with energy andswing: schottische, mazurka, waltz and polka in one. And could notLeopoldine deck herself out and fall in love and dream by daylight allawake? Ay, as well as any other! The day she stood in church she wasallowed to borrow her mother's gold ring to wear; no sin in that, 'twas only neat and nice; and the day after, going to her communion, she did not get the ring on till it was over. Ay, she might well showherself in church with a gold ring on her finger, being the daughterof a great man on the place--the Margrave. 

When Andresen came down from the mine, he found Isak at Sellanraa, andthey asked him in, gave him dinner and a cup of coffee. All thefolk on the place were in there together now, and took part in theconversation. Andresen explained that his master, Aronsen, had senthim up to see how things were at the mines, if there was any sign ofbeginning work there again soon. Heaven knows, maybe Andresen satthere lying all the time, about being sent by his master; he mightjust as well have hit on it for his own account--and anyway, hecouldn't have been at the mines at all in the little time he'd beenaway. 

"'Tis none so easy to see from outside if they're going to start workagain, " said Isak. 

No, Andresen admitted that was so; but Aronsen had sent him, and afterall, two pair of eyes could see better than one. 

But here Inger seemingly could contain herself no longer; she asked:"Is it true what they're saying, Aronsen is going to sell his placeagain?"

Andresen answers: "He's thinking of it. And a man like him can surelydo as he likes, seeing all the means and riches he's got. "

"Ho, is he so rich, then?"

"Ay, " says Andresen, nodding his head; "rich enough, and that's a trueword. "

Again Inger cannot keep silence, but asks right out:

"I wonder, now, what he'd be asking for the place?"

Isak puts in a word here; like as not he's more curious to know thanInger herself, but it must not seem that the idea of buying Storborgis any thought of his; he makes himself a stranger to it, and saysnow:

"Why, what you want to know for, Inger?"

"I was but asking, " says she. And both of them look at Andresen, waiting. And he answers:

Answers cautiously enough that as to the price, he can say nothing ofthat, but he knows what Aronsen says the place has cost him. 

"And how much is that?" asks Inger, having no strength to keep herpeace and be silent. 

"'Tis sixteen hundred _Kroner_" says Andresen. 

Ho, and Inger claps her hands at once to hear it, for if there is onething womenfolk have no sense nor thought of, 'tis the price of landand properties. But, anyway, sixteen hundred _Kroner_ is no small sumfor folk in the wilds, and Inger has but one fear, that Isak may befrightened off the deal. But Isak, he sits there just exactly like afjeld, and says only: "Ay, it's the big houses he's put up. "

"Ay, " says Andresen again, "'tis just that. 'Tis the fine big housesand all. "

Just when Andresen is making ready to go, Leopoldine slips out by thedoor. A strange thing, but somehow she cannot bring herself to thinkof shaking hands with him. So she has found a good place, standing inthe new cowshed, looking out of a window. And with a blue silk ribbonround her neck, that she hadn't been wearing before, and a wonder sheever found time to put it on now. There he goes, a trifle short andstout, spry on his feet, with a light, full beard, eight or ten yearsolder than herself. Ay, none so bad-looking to her mind!

And then the party came back from church late on Sunday night. All hadgone well, little Rebecca had slept the last few hours of the wayup, and was lifted from the cart and carried indoors without waking. Sivert has heard a deal of news, but when his mother asks, "Well, whatyou've got to tell?" he only says: "Nay, nothing much. Axel he's got amowing-machine and a harrow. "

"What's that?" says his father, all interested. "Did you see them?"

"Ay, I saw them right enough. Down on the quay. "

"Ho! So that was what he must go in to town for, " says his father. And Sivert sits there swelling with pride at knowing better, but saysnever a word. 

His father might just as well believe that Axel's pressing business inthe town had been to buy machines; his mother too might think sofor all that. Ho, but there was neither of them thought so in theirhearts; they had heard whispers enough of what was the matter; of anew child-murder case in the wilds. 

"Time for bed, " says his father at last. 

Sivert goes off to bed, swelling with knowledge. Axel had beensummoned for examination; 'twas a big affair--the Lensmand had gonewith him--so big indeed that the Lensmand's lady, who had just hadanother child, had left the baby and was gone in to town with herhusband. She had promised to put in a word to the jury herself. 

Gossip and scandal all abroad in the village now, and Sivert saw wellenough that a certain earlier crime of the same sort was being calledto mind again. Outside the church, the groups would stop talking as hecame up, and had he not been the man he was, perhaps some would haveturned away from him. Good to be Sivert those days, a man from a bigplace to begin with, son of a wealthy landowner--and then beside, tobe known as a clever fellow, a good worker; he ranked before others, and was looked up to for himself. Sivert had always been well likedamong folk. If only Jensine did not learn too much before they gothome that day! And Sivert had his own affairs to think of--ay, folk inthe wilds can blush and pale as well as other. He had seen Jensine asshe left the church with little Rebecca; she had seen him too, butwent by. He waited a bit, and then drove over to the smith's to fetchthem. 

They were sitting at table, all the family at dinner. Sivert is askedto join them, but has had his dinner, thanks. They knew he would becoming, they might have waited that bit of a while for him--so theywould have done at Sellanraa, but not here, it seemed. 

"Nay, 'tis not what you're used to, I dare say, " says the smith'swife. And, "What news from church?" says the smith, for all he hadbeen at church himself. 

When Jensine and little Rebecca were seated up in the cart again, saysthe smith's wife to her daughter: "Well, good-bye, Jensine; we'llbe wanting you home again soon. " And that could be taken two ways, thought Sivert, but he said nothing. If the speech had been moredirect, more plain and outspoken, he might perhaps . .. He waits, withpuckered brows, but no more is said. 

They drive up homeward, and little Rebecca is the only one with a wordto say; she is full of the wonder of going to church, the priest inhis dress with a silver cross, and the lights and the organ music. After a long while Jensine says: "'Tis a shameful thing about Barbroand all. "

"What did your mother mean about you coming home soon?" asked Sivert. 

"What she meant?"

"Ay. You thinking of leaving us, then?"

"Why, they'll be wanting me home some time, I doubt, " says she. 

"_Ptro_!" says Sivert, stopping his horse. "Like me to drive back withyou now, perhaps?"

Jensine looks at him; he is pale as death. 

"No, " says she. And a little after she begins to cry. 

Rebecca looks in surprise from one to the other. Oh, but littleRebecca was a good one to have on a journey like that; she tookJensine's part and patted her and made her smile again. And whenlittle Rebecca looked threateningly at her brother and said she wasgoing to jump down and find a big stick to beat him, Sivert had tosmile too. 

"But what did _you_ mean, now, I'd like to know?" says Jensine. 

Sivert answered straight out at once: "I meant, if you don't care tostay with us, why, we must manage without. "

And a long while after, said Jensine: "Well, there's Leopoldine, she'sbig now, and fit and all to do my work, seems. "

Ay, 'twas a sorrowful journey. 

Chapter VII

A man walks up the way through the hills. Wind and rain; the autumndownpour has begun, but the man cares little for that, he looks gladat heart, and glad he is. 'Tis Axel Ström, coming back from thetown and the court and all--they have let him go free. Ay, a happyman--first of all, there's a mowing-machine and a harrow for him downat the quay, and more than that, he's free, and not guilty. Had takenno part in the killing of a child. Ay, so things can turn out!

But the times he had been through! Standing there as a witness, thistoiler in the fields had known the hardest days of his life. 'Twas nogain to him to make Barbro's guilt seem greater, and for that reasonhe was careful not to say too much, he did not even say all he knew;every word had to be dragged out of him, and he answered mostly withbut "Yes" and "No. " Was it not enough? Was he to make more of it thanthere was already? Oh, but there were times when it looked seriousindeed; there were the men of Law, black-robed and dangerous, easyenough for them, it seemed, just with a word or so, to turn the wholething as they pleased, and have him sentenced. But they were kindlyfolk after all, and did not try to bring him to destruction. Also, asit happened, there were powerful influences at work trying to saveBarbro, and it was all to his advantage as well. 

Then what on earth was there for him to trouble about?

Barbro herself would hardly try to make things look worse than need befor her former master and lover; he knew terrible things about thisand an earlier affair of the same sort; she could not be such a fool. No, Barbro was clever enough; she said a good word for Axel, anddeclared that he had known nothing of her having borne a child tillafter it was all over. He was different in some ways, perhaps, fromother men, and they did not always get on well together, but a quietman, and a good man in every way. No, it was true he had dug a newgrave and buried the body away there, but that was long after, andby reason he had thought the first place was not dry enough, thoughindeed it was, and 'twas only Axel's odd way of thinking. 

What need, then, for Axel to fear at all when Barbro took all theblame on herself that way? And as for Barbro herself, there weremighty influences at work. 

Fru Lensmand Heyerdahl had taken up the case. She went about to highand low, never sparing herself, demanded to be called as a witness, and made a speech in court. When her turn came, she stood there beforethem all and was a great lady indeed; she took up the question ofinfanticide in all its aspects, and gave the court a long harangueon the subject--it almost seemed as if she had obtained permissionbeforehand to say what she pleased. Ay, folk might say what they wouldof Fru Lensmand Heyerdahl, but make a speech, that she could, and waslearned in politics and social questions, no doubt about that. 'Twasa marvel where she found all her words. Now and again the presidingjustice seemed wishful to keep her to the point, but maybe he had notthe heart to interrupt, and let her run on. And at the end of it all, she volunteered one or two useful items of information, and made astartling offer to the court. 

Leaving out all legal technicalities, what took place was this:

"We women, " said Fru Heyerdahl, "we are an unfortunate and oppressedmoiety of humanity. It is the men who make the laws, and we women havenot a word to say in the matter. But can any man put himself in theposition of a woman in childbirth? Has he ever felt the dread of it, ever known the terrible pangs, ever cried aloud in the anguish of thathour?

"In the present instance, it is a servant-girl who has borne thechild. A girl, unmarried, and consequently trying all through thecritical time to hide her condition. And why must she seek to hide it?Because of society. Society despises the unmarried woman who bearsa child. Not only does society offer her no protection, but itpersecutes her, pursues her with contempt and disgrace. Atrocious! Nohuman creature with any heart at all could help feeling indignant atsuch a state of things. Not only is the girl to bring a child into theworld, a thing in itself surely hard enough, but she is to be treatedas a criminal for that very fact. I will venture to say that it waswell for the unfortunate girl now accused before the court that herchild was born by accident when she fell into the water, and drowned. Well for herself and for the child. As long as society maintains itspresent attitude, an unmarried mother should be counted guiltless evenif she does kill her child. "

Here a slight murmur was heard from the presiding justice. 

"Or at any rate, her punishment should be merely nominal, " said FruHeyerdahl. "We are all agreed, of course, " she went on, "that infantlife should be preserved, but is that to mean that no law of simplehumanity is to apply to the unfortunate mother? Think, considerwhat she has been through during all the period of pregnancy, whatsuffering she has endured in striving to hide her condition, and allthe time never knowing where to turn for herself and the child when itcomes. No man can imagine it, " said she. "The child is at least killedin kindness. The mother tries to save herself and the child she lovesfrom the misery of its life. The shame is more than she can bear, andso the plan gradually forms itself in her mind, to put the child outof the way. The birth takes place in secret, and the mother is forfour-and-twenty hours in such a delirious state that at the momentof killing the child she is simply not responsible for her actions. Practically speaking, she has not herself committed the act at all, being out of her senses at the time. With every bone in her bodyaching still after her delivery, she has to take the little creature'slife and hide away the body--think what an effort of will is demandedhere! Naturally, we all wish all children to live; we are distressedat the thought that any should be exterminated in such a way. Butit is the fault of society that it is so; the fault of a hopeless, merciless, scandalmongering, mischievous, and evil-minded society, ever on the watch to crush an unmarried mother by every means in itspower!

"But--even after such treatment at the hands of society, thepersecuted mother can rise up again. It often happens that thesegirls, after one false step of the sort, are led by that very fact todevelop their best and noblest qualities. Let the court inquire of thesuperintendents at refuge homes, where unmarried mothers and theirchildren are received, if this is not the case. And experience hasshown that it is just such girls who have--whom society has forced tokill their own children, that make the best nurses. Surely that was amatter for any and all to think seriously about?

"Then there is another side of the question. Why is the man to gofree? The mother found guilty of infanticide is thrust into prison andtortured, but the father, the seducer, he is never touched. Yet beingas he is the cause of the child's existence, he is a party to thecrime; his share in it, indeed, is greater than the mother's; had itnot been for him, there would have been no crime. Then why should hebe acquitted? Because the laws are made by men. There is the answer. The enormity of such man-made laws cries of itself to Heaven forintervention. And there can be no help for us women till we areallowed a say in the elections, and in the making of laws, ourselves. 

"But, " said Fru Heyerdahl, "if this is the terrible fate that is metedout to the guilty--or, let us say, the more clearly guilty--unmarriedmother who has killed her child, what of the innocent one who ismerely suspected of the crime, and has not committed it? Whatreparation does society offer to her? None at all! I can testify thatI know the girl here accused; have known her since she was a child;she has been in my service, and her father is my husband's assistant. We women venture to think and feel directly in opposition to men'saccusations and persecution; we dare to have our own opinion. The girlthere has been arrested, deprived of her liberty, on suspicion ofhaving in the first place concealed the birth of a child, and furtherof having killed the child so born. I have no doubt in my own mindthat she is not guilty of either--the court will itself arrive at thisself-evident conclusion. Concealment of birth--the child was born inthe middle of the day. True, the mother is alone at the time--but whocould have been with her in any case? The place is far away in thewilds, the only living soul within reach is a man--how could shesend for a man at such a moment? Any woman will tell you it isimpossible--not to be thought of. And then--it is alleged that shemust have killed the child after. But the child was born in thewater--the mother falls down in an icy stream, and the child is born. What was she doing by the water? She is a servant-girl, a slave, thatis to say, and has her daily work to do; she is going to fetch junipertwigs for cleaning. And crossing the stream, she slips and falls in. And there she lies; the child is born, and is drowned in the water. "

Fru Heyerdahl stopped. She could see from the look of the court andthe spectators that she had spoken wonderfully well; there was a greatsilence in the place, only Barbro sat dabbing her eyes now and againfor sheer emotion. And Fru Heyerdahl closed with these words: "Wewomen have some heart, some feeling. I have left my own children inthe care of strangers to travel all this way and appear as a witnesson behalf of the unfortunate girl sitting there. Men's laws cannotprevent women from thinking; and I think this, that the girl there hasbeen punished sufficiently for no crime. Acquit her, let her go free, and I will take charge of her myself. She will make the best nurse Ihave ever had. "

And Fru Heyerdahl stepped down. 

Says the justice then: "But I think you said a moment ago that thebest nurses were those who _had_ killed their children?"

Oh, but the justice was not of a mind to go against Fru Heyerdahl, notin the least--he was as humane as could be himself, a man as gentle asa priest. When the advocate for the Crown put a few questions to thewitness afterwards, the justice sat for the most part making notes onsome papers. 

The proceedings lasted only till a little over noon; there were fewwitnesses, and the case was clear enough. Axel Ström sat hoping forthe best, then suddenly it seemed as if the advocate for the Crownand Fru Heyerdahl were joining forces to make things awkward for him, because he had buried the body instead of notifying the death. He wascross-examined somewhat sharply on this point, and would likely enoughhave come out badly if he had not all at once caught sight of Geisslersitting in the court. Ay, 'twas right enough, Geissler was there. Thisgave Axel courage, he no longer felt himself alone against the Lawthat was determined to beat him down. And Geissler nodded to him. 

Ay, Geissler was come to town. He had not asked to be called as awitness, but he was there. He had also spent a couple of days beforethe case came on in going into the matter himself, and noting downwhat he remembered of Axel's own account given him at Maaneland. Mostof the documents seemed to Geissler somewhat unsatisfactory; thisLensmand Heyerdahl was evidently a narrow-minded person, who hadthroughout endeavoured to prove complicity on Axel's part. Fool, idiotof a man--what did he know of life in the wilds, when he could seethat the child was just what Axel had counted on to keep the woman, his helpmeet, on the place!

Geissler spoke to the advocate for the Crown, but it seemed there waslittle need of intervention there; he wanted to help Axel back to hisfarm and his land, but Axel was in no need of help, from the looksof things. For the case was going well as far as Barbro herself wasconcerned, and if she were acquitted, then there could be no questionof any complicity at all. It would depend on the testimony of thewitnesses. 

When the few witnesses had been heard--Oline had not been summoned, but only the Lensmand, Axel himself, the experts, a couple of girlsfrom the village--when they had been heard, it was time to adjourn forthe midday break, and Geissler went up to the advocate for the Crownonce more. The advocate was of opinion that all was going well for thegirl Barbro, and so much the better. Fru Lensmand Heyerdahl's wordshad carried great weight. All depended now upon the finding of thecourt. 

"Are you at all interested in the girl?" asked the advocate. 

"Why, to a certain extent, " answered Geissler--"or rather, perhaps, inthe man. "

"Has she been in your service too?"

"No, he's never been in my service. "

"I was speaking of the girl. It's she that has the sympathy of thecourt. "

"No, she's never been in my service at all. "

"The man--h'm, he doesn't seem to come out of it so well, " saidthe advocate. "Goes off and buries the body all by himself in thewood--looks bad, very bad. "

"He wanted to have it buried properly, I suppose, " said Geissler. "Ithadn't been really buried at all at first. "

"Well, of course a woman hadn't the strength of a man to go digging. And in her state--she must have been done up already. Altogether, "said the advocate, "I think we've come to take a more humane view ofthese infanticide cases generally, of late. If I were to judge, Ishould never venture to condemn the girl at all; and from what hasappeared in this case, I shall not venture to demand a conviction. "

"Very pleased to hear it, " said Geissler, with a bow. 

The advocate went on: "As a man, as a private person, I will even gofurther, and say: I would never condemn a single unmarried mother forkilling her child. "

"Most interesting, " said Geissler, "to find the advocate for the Crownso entirely in agreement with what Fru Heyerdahl said before thecourt. "

"Oh, Fru Heyerdahl!. .. Still, to my mind, there was a great deal inwhat she said. After all, what is the good of all these convictions?Unmarried mothers have suffered enough beforehand, and been brought solow in every human regard by the brutal and callous attitude of theworld--the punishment ought to suffice. "

Geissler rose, and said at last: "No doubt. But what about thechildren?"

"True, " said the advocate, "it's a sad business about the children. Still, all things considered, perhaps it's just as well. Illegitimatechildren have a hard time, and turn out badly as often as not. "

Geissler felt perhaps some touch of malice at the portly complacencyof the man of law; he said:

"Erasmus was born out of wedlock. "

"Erasmus . .. ?"

"Erasmus of Rotterdam. "

"H'm. "

"And Leonardo the same. "

"Leonardo da Vinci? Really? Well, of course, there are exceptions, otherwise there would be no rule. But on the whole. .. . "

"We pass protective measures for beast and bird, " said Geissler;"seems rather strange, doesn't it, not to trouble about our ownyoung?"

The advocate for the Crown reached out slowly and with dignity aftersome papers on the table, as a hint that he had not time to continuethe discussion. "Yes. .. . " said he absently. "Yes, yes, no doubt. .. . "

Geissler expressed his thanks for a most instructive conversation, andtook his leave. 

He sat down in the court-house again, to be there in good time. Hewas not ill-pleased, maybe, to feel his power; he had knowledge of acertain piece of wrapping, a man's shirt cut across, to carry--let ussay twigs for a broom; of the body of a child floating in the harbourat Bergen--ay, he could make matters awkward for the court if hechose; a word from him would be as effective as a thousand swords. ButGeissler had doubtless no intention of uttering that word now unlessit were needed. Things were going splendidly without; even theadvocate for the Crown had declared himself on the side of theaccused. 

The room fills, and the court is sitting again. 

An interesting comedy to watch in a little town. The warning gravityof the advocate for the Crown, the emotional eloquence of the advocatefor the defence. The court sat listening to what appeared to be itsduty in regard to the case of a girl named Barbro, and the death ofher child. 

For all that, it was no light matter after all to decide. The advocatefor the Crown was a presentable man to look at, and doubtless also aman of heart, but something appeared to have annoyed him recently orpossibly he had suddenly remembered that he held a certain officein the State and was bound to act from that point of view. Anincomprehensible thing, but he was plainly less disposed to be lenientnow than he had been during the morning; if the crime had beencommitted, he said, it was a serious matter, and things would lookblack indeed if they could with certainty be declared so black aswould appear from the testimony of the witnesses already heard. Thatwas a matter for the court to decide. He wished to draw attention tothree points: firstly, whether they had before them a concealment ofbirth; whether this was clear to the court. He made some personalremarks on this head. The second point was the wrapping, the piece ofa shirt--why had the accused taken this with her? Was it in order tomake use of it for a certain purpose preconceived? He developed thissuggestion further. His third point was the hurried and suspiciousburial, without any notification of the death to either priest orLensmand. Here, the man was the person chiefly responsible, and itwas of the utmost importance that the court should come to the rightconclusion in that respect. For it was obvious that if the man were anaccomplice, and had therefore undertaken the burial himself, thenhis servant-girl must have committed a crime before he could be anaccomplice in it. 

"H'm, " from some one in court. 

Axel Ström felt himself again in danger. He looked up without meetinga single glance; all eyes were fixed on the advocate speaking. But fardown in the court sat Geissler again, looking highly supercilious, asif bursting with his own superiority, his under-lip thrust forward, his face turned towards the ceiling. This enormous indifference to thesolemnity of the court, and that "H'm, " uttered loudly and withoutconcealment, cheered Axel mightily; he felt himself no longer aloneagainst the world. 

And now things took a turn again for the better. This advocate for theCrown seemed at last to think he had done enough, had achieved allthat was possible in the way of directing suspicion and ill-feelingtowards the man; and now he stopped. He did more; he almost, as itwere, faced round, and made no demand for a conviction. He ended bysaying, in so many words, that after the testimony of the witnesses inthe case, he on his part did not call upon the court to convict theaccused. 

This was well enough, thought Axel--the business was practically over. 

Then came the turn of the advocate for the defence, a young manwho had studied the law, and had now been entrusted with this mostsatisfactory case. His tone itself showed the view he took of it;never had a man been more certain of defending an innocent person thanhe. Truth to tell, this Fru Heyerdahl had taken the wind out of hissails beforehand, and used several of his own intended arguments thatmorning; he was annoyed at her having already exploited the "society"theme--oh, but he could have said some first-rate things about societyhimself. He was incensed at the mistaken leniency of the presidingjustice in not stopping her speech; it was a defence in itself, abrief prepared beforehand--and what was there left for him?

He began at the beginning of the life-story of the girl Barbro. Herpeople were not well off, albeit industrious and respectable; she hadgone out to service at an early age, first of all to the Lensmand's. The court had heard that morning what her mistress, Fru Heyerdahl, thought of her--no one could wish for a finer recommendation. Barbrohad then gone to Bergen. Here the advocate laid great stress on a mostfeelingly written testimonial from two young business men in whoseemploy Barbro had been while at Bergen--evidently in a position oftrust. Barbro had come back to act as housekeeper for this unmarriedman in an outlying district. And here her trouble began. 

She found herself with child by this man. The learned counsel for theprosecution had already referred--in the most delicate and consideratemanner, be it said--to the question of concealment of birth. HadBarbro attempted to conceal her condition; had she denied being withchild? The two witnesses, girls from her own village, had been ofopinion that she was in that condition; but when they had asked her, she had not denied it at all, she had merely passed the matter off. What would a young girl naturally do in such a case but pass it off?No one else had asked her about it at all. Go to her mistress andconfess? She had no mistress; she was mistress on the place herself. She had a master, certainly, but a girl could not be expected toconfide in a man upon such a matter; she bears her cross herself; doesnot sing, does not whisper, but is silent as a Trappist. Concealment?No, but she kept herself to herself. 

The child is born--a sound and healthy boy; had lived and breathedafter birth, but had been suffocated. The court had been made awareof the circumstances attending this birth: it had taken place in thewater; the mother falls into the stream, and the child is born, butshe is incapable of saving the child. She lies there, unable even torise herself till some time after. No marks of violence were to beseen upon the body; there was nothing to indicate that it had beenintentionally killed; it had been drowned by misadventure at birth, that was all. The most natural explanation in the world. 

His learned colleague had made some mention of a cloth or wrapping, considering it something of a mystery why she should have taken half ashirt with her that day. The mystery was clear enough; she had takenthe shirt to carry stripped juniper in. She might have taken--let ussay, a pillow-case; as it was, she had taken this piece of a. Shirt. Something she must have, in any case; she could not carry the stuffback in her hands. No, there was surely no ground for making a mysteryof this. 

One point, however, was not quite so clear: had the accused beentreated with the care and consideration which her condition at thetime demanded? Had her master dealt kindly with her? It would beas well for him if it were found so. The girl herself had, undercross-examination, referred to the man in satisfactory terms; and thisagain was evidence in itself of her own nobility of character. The man, on his part, Axel Ström, had likewise in his depositionsrefrained from any attempt to add to the burden of the girl, or toblame her in any way. In this he had acted rightly--not to say wisely, seeing that his own case depended very largely upon how matters wentwith her. By laying the blame on her he would, if she were convicted, bring about his own downfall. 

It was impossible to consider the documents and depositions in thepresent case without feeling the deepest sympathy for this young girlin her forsaken situation. And yet there was no need to appeal tomercy on her behalf, only to justice and human understanding. She andher master were in a way betrothed, but a certain dissimilarity oftemperament and interests prevented them from marrying. The girl couldnot entrust her future to such a man. It was not a pleasant subject, but it might be well to return for a moment to the question of thewrapping that had been spoken of before; it should here be noted thatthe girl had taken, not one of her own undergarments, but one of hermaster's shirts. The question at once arose: had the man himselfoffered the material for the purpose? Here, one was at first inclinedto see a possibility, at any rate, that the man, Axel, had had somepart in the affair. 

"H'm, " from some one in court. Loud and hard--so much so, indeed, that the speaker paused, and all looked round to see who might beresponsible for the interruption. The presiding justice frowned. 

But, went on the advocate for the defence, collecting himself again, in this respect, also, we can set our minds at rest, thanks to theaccused herself. It might seem well to her advantage to divide theblame here, but she had not attempted to do so. She had entirely andwithout reserve absolved Axel Ström from any complicity whatever inthe fact of her having taken his shirt instead of something of her ownon her way to the water--that is, on her way to the woods to gatherjuniper. There was not the slightest reason for doubting theasseveration of the accused on this point; her depositions hadthroughout been found in accordance with the facts, and the same wasevidently the case in this. Had the shirt been given her by the man, this would have been to presuppose a killing of the child alreadyplanned--the accused, truthful as she was, had not attempted tocharge even this man with a crime that had never been committed. Herdemeanour throughout had been commendably frank and open; she hadmade no endeavour to throw the blame on others. There were frequentinstances before the court of this delicacy of feeling on the part ofthe accused, as, for instance, the fact that she had wrapped up thebody of the child as well as she could, and put it away decently, asthe Lensmand had found it. 

Here the presiding justice interposed, merely as a matter of form, observing that it was grave No. 2 which the Lensmand had found--thegrave in which Axel had buried the body after its removal from thefirst. 

"True, that is true. I stand corrected, " said the advocate, withall proper respect for the president of the court. Perfectly true. But--Axel had himself stated that he had only carried the body fromone grave and laid it in the other. And there could be no doubt butthat a woman was better able to wrap up a child than was a man--andwho best of all? Surely a mother's tender hand?

The presiding justice nods. 

In any case--could not this girl--if she had been of anothersort--have buried the child naked? One might even go so far as to saythat she might have thrown it into a dustbin. She might have left itout under a tree in the open, to freeze to death--that is to say, ofcourse, if it had not been dead already. She might have put it in theoven when left alone, and burnt it up. She might have taken it up tothe river at Sellanraa and thrown it in there. But this mother didnone of these things; she wrapped the dead child neatly in a clothand buried it. And if the body had been found wrapped neatly when thegrave was opened, it must be a woman and not a man who had so wrappedit. 

And now, the advocate for the defence went on, it lay with the courtto determine what measure of guilt could properly be attributed to thegirl Barbro in the matter. There was but little remaining for whichshe could be blamed at all--indeed, in his, counsel's, opinion, therewas nothing. Unless the court found reason to convict on the chargeof having failed to notify the death. But here, again--the child wasdead, and nothing could alter that; the place was far out in thewilds, many miles from either priest or Lensmand; natural enough, surely, to let it sleep the eternal sleep in a neat grave in thewoods. And if it were a crime to have buried it thus, then the accusedwas not more guilty than the father of the child--as it was, themisdemeanour was surely slight enough to be overlooked. Modernpractice was growing more and more disposed to lay more stresson reforming the criminal than on punishing the crime. It was anantiquated system which sought to inflict punishment for every mortalthing--it was the _lex talionis_ of the Old Testament, an eye for aneye and a tooth for a tooth. There was no longer the spirit of the lawin modern times. The law of the present day was more humane, seekingto adjust itself according to the degree of criminal intent andpurpose displayed in each case. 

No! The court could never convict this girl. It was not the object ofa trial to secure an addition to the number of criminals, but ratherto restore to society a good and useful member. It should be notedthat the accused had now the prospect of a new position where shewould be under the best possible supervision. Fru Lensmand Heyerdahlhad, from her intimate knowledge of the girl, and from her ownvaluable experience as a mother, thrown wide the doors of her own hometo the girl; the court would bear in mind the weight of responsibilityattaching to its decision here, and would then convict or acquit theaccused. Finally, he wished to express his thanks to the learnedcounsel for the prosecution, who had generously refrained fromdemanding a conviction--a pleasing evidence of deep and humaneunderstanding. 

The advocate for the defence sat down. 

The remainder of the proceedings did not take long. The summing up wasbut a repetition of the same points, as viewed from opposite sides, abrief synopsis of the action of the play, dry, dull, and dignified. Ithad all been managed very satisfactorily all round; both the advocateshad pointed out what the court should consider, and the presidingjustice found his task easy enough. 

Lights were lit, a couple of lamps hanging from the ceiling--amiserable light it was, the justice could hardly see to read hisnotes. He mentioned with some severity the point that the child'sdeath had not been duly notified to the proper authorities--but that, under the circumstances, should be considered rather the duty of thefather than of the mother, owing to her weakness at the time. Thecourt had then to determine whether any case had been proved withregard to concealment of birth and infanticide. Here the evidencewas again recapitulated from beginning to end. Then came the usualinjunction as to being duly conscious of responsibility, which thecourt had heard before, and finally, the not uncommon reminder that incases of doubt, the scale should be allowed to turn in favour of theaccused. 

And now all was clear and ready. 

The judges left the room and went into another apartment. They were toconsider a paper with certain questions, which one of them had withhim. They were away five minutes, and returned with a "No" to all thequestions. 

No, the girl Barbro had not killed her child. 

Then the presiding judge said a few more words, and declared that thegirl Barbro was now free. 

The court-house emptied, the comedy was over. .. . 

Someone takes Axel Ström by the arm: it is Geissler. "H'm, " said he, "so you're done with that now!"

"Ay, " said Axel. 

"But they've wasted a lot of your time to no purpose. "

"Ay, " said Axel again. But he was coming to himself again gradually, and after a moment he added: "None the less, I'm glad it was noworse. "

"No worse?" said Geissler. "I'd have liked to see them try!" He spokewith emphasis, and Axel fancied Geissler must have had something to dowith the case himself; that he had intervened. Heaven knows if, after all, it had not been Geissler himself that had led the wholeproceedings and gained the result he wished. It was a mystery, anyway. 

So much at least Axel understood, that Geissler had been on his sideall through. 

"I've a deal to thank you for, " said he, offering his hand. 

"What for?" asked Geissler. 

"Why, for--for all this. "

Geissler turned it off shortly. "I've done nothing at all. Didn'ttrouble to do, anything--'twasn't worth while. " But for all that, Geissler was not displeased, maybe, at being thanked; it was as if hehad been waiting for it, and now it had come. "I've no time to standtalking now, " he said. "Going back tomorrow, are you? Good. Good-bye, then, and good luck to you. " And Geissler strolled off across thestreet. 

 * * * * *

On the boat going home, Axel encountered the Lensmand and his wife, Barbro and the two girls called as witnesses. 

"Well, " said Fru Heyerdahl, "aren't you glad it turned out so well?"

Axel said, "Yes"; he was glad it had come out all right in the end. 

The Lensmand himself put in a word, and said: "This is the secondof these cases I've had while I've been here--first with Inger fromSellanraa, and now this. No, it's no good trying to countenance thatsort of thing--justice must take its course. "

But Fru Heyerdahl guessed, no doubt, that Axel was not over pleasedwith her speech of the day before, and tried to smooth it over, tomake up for it somehow now. "You understood, of course, why I had tosay all that about you yesterday?"

"H'm--ye--es, " said Axel. 

"You understood, of course, I know. You didn't think I wanted to makethings harder for you in any way. I've always thought well of you, andI don't mind saying so. "

"Ay, " said Axel, no more. But he was pleased and touched at her words. 

"Yes, I mean it, " said Fru Heyerdahl. "But I was obliged to try andshift the blame a little your way, otherwise Barbro would have beenconvicted, and you too. It was all for the best, indeed it was. "

"I thank you kindly, " said Axel. 

"And it was I and no other that went about from one to another throughthe place, trying to do what I could for you both. And you saw, ofcourse, that we all had to do the same thing--make out that you werepartly to blame, so as to get you both off in the end. "

"Ay, " said Axel. 

"Surely you didn't imagine for a moment that I meant any harm to you?When I've always thought so well of you!"

Ay, this was good to hear after all the disgrace of it. Axel, at anyrate, was so touched that he felt he must do something, give FruHeyerdahl something or other, whatever he could find--a piece of meatperhaps, now autumn was come. He had a young bull. .. . 

Fru Lensmand Heyerdahl kept her word; she took Barbro to live withher. On board the steamer, too, she looked after the girl, and sawthat she was not cold, nor hungry; took care, also, that she did notget up to any nonsense with the mate from Bergen. The first time itoccurred, she said nothing, but simply called Barbro to her. But alittle while after there was Barbro with him again, her head on oneside, talking Bergen dialect and smiling. Then her mistress called herup and said: "Really, Barbro, you ought not to be going on like thatamong the men now. Remember what you've just been through, and whatyou've come from. "

"I was only talking to him a minute, " said Barbro. "I could hear hewas from Bergen. "

Axel did not speak to her. He noticed that she was pale andclear-skinned now, and her teeth were better. She did not wear eitherof his rings. .. . 

And now here is Axel tramping up to his own place once more. Wind andrain, but he is glad at heart; a mowing-machine and a harrow down atthe quay; he had seen them. Oh, that Geissler! Never a word had hesaid in town about what he had sent. Ay, an unfathomable man wasGeissler. 

Chapter VIII

Axel had no long time to rest at home, as it turned out; the autumngales led to fresh trouble and bothersome work that he had broughtupon himself: the telegraph apparatus on his wall announced that theline was out of order. 

Oh, but he had been thinking overmuch of the money, surely, when hetook on that post. It had been a nuisance from the start. Brede Olsenhad fairly threatened him when he went down to fetch the apparatusand tools; ay, had said to him in as many words: "You don't seem likeremembering how I saved your life last winter!"

"'Twas Oline saved my life, " answered Axel. 

"Ho, indeed! And didn't I carry you down myself on my own poorshoulders? Anyway, you were clever enough to buy up my place insummer-time and leave me homeless in the winter. " Ay, Brede was deeplyoffended; he went on:

"But you can take the telegraph for me, ay, all the rubble of it forme. I and mine we'll go down to the village and start on somethingthere--you don't know what it'll be, but wait and see. What about ahotel place where folk can get coffee? You see but we'll manage allright. There's my wife can sell things to eat and drink as well asanother, and I can go out on business and make a heap more than youever did. But I don't mind telling you, Axel, I could make thingsawkward for you in many odd ways, seeing all I know about thetelegraph and things; ay, 'twould be easy enough both to pull downpoles and cut the line and all. And then you to go running out afterit midway in the busy time. That's all I'll say to you, Axel, and youbear it in mind. .. . "

Now Axel should have been down and brought up the machines from thequay--all over gilt and colouring they were, like pictures to see. Andhe might have had them to look at all that day, and learn the mannerof using them--but now they must wait. 'Twas none so pleasant to haveto put aside all manner of necessary work to run and see after atelegraph line. But 'twas the money. .. . 

Up on the top of the hill he meets Aronsen. Ay, Aronsen the traderstanding there looking and gazing out into the storm, like a visionhimself. What did he want there? No peace in his mind now, it seems, but he must go up the fjeld himself and look at the mine with his owneyes. And this, look you, Trader Aronsen had done from sheer earnestthought of his own and his family's future. Here he is, face to facewith bare desolation on the forsaken hills, machines lying there torust, carts and material of all sorts left out in the open--'twasdismal to see. Here and there on the walls of the huts were placards, notices written by hand, forbidding any one to damage or remove thecompany's property--tools, carts, or buildings. 

Axel stops for a few words with the mad trader, and asks if he hascome out shooting. 

"Shooting? Ay, if I could only get within reach of him!"

"Him? Who, then?"

"Why, him that's ruining me and all the rest of us hereabout. Him thatwon't sell his bit of fjeld and let things get to work again, andtrade and money passing same as before. "

"D'you mean him Geissler, then?"

"Ay, 'tis him I mean. Ought to be shot!"

Axel laughs at this, and says: "Geissler he was in town but a few daysback; you should have talked to him there. But if I might be so boldas to say, I doubt you'd better leave him alone, after all. "

"And why?" asks Aron angrily. 

"Why? I've a mind he'd be overwise and mysterious for you in the end. "

They argued over this for a while, and Aronsen grew more excited thanever. At last Axel asked jestingly: "Well, anyway, you'll not be sohard on us all to run away and leave us to ourselves in the wilds?"

"Huh! Think I'm going to stay fooling about here in your bogs andnever so much as making the price of a pipe?" cried Aron indignantly. "Find me a buyer and I'll sell out. "

"Sell out?" says Axel. "The land's good ordinary land if she's handledas should be--and what you've got's enough to keep a man. "

"Haven't I just said I'll not touch it?" cried Aronsen again in thegale. "I can do better than that!"

Axel thought if that was so, 'twould be easy to find a buyer; butAronsen laughed scornfully at the idea--there was nobody there in thewilds had money to buy him out. 

"Not here in the wilds, maybe, but elsewhere. "

"Here's naught but filth and poverty, " said Aron bitterly. 

"Why, that's as it may be, " said Axel in some offence. "But Isak up atSellanraa he could buy you out any day. "

"Don't believe it, " said Aronsen. 

"'Tis all one to me what you believe, " said Axel, and turned to go. 

Aronsen called after him: "Hi, wait a bit! What's that you say--Isakmight take the place, was that what you said?"

"Ay, " said Axel, "if 'twas only the money. He's means enough to buy upfive of your Storborg and all!"

Aronsen had gone round keeping wide of Sellanraa on his way up, takingcare not to be seen; but, going back, he called in and had a talk withIsak. But Isak only shook his head and said nay, 'twas a matter he'dnever thought of, and didn't care to. 

But when Eleseus came back home that Christmas, Isak was easier todeal with. True, he maintained that it was a mad idea to think ofbuying Storborg, 'twas nothing had ever been in his mind; still, ifEleseus thought he could do anything with the place, why, they mightthink it over. 

Eleseus himself was midways between, as it were; not exactly eagerfor it, yet not altogether indifferent. If he did settle down here athome, then his career in one way was at an end. 'Twas not like beingin a town. That autumn, when a lot of people from his parts had beenup for cross-examination in a certain place, he had taken care not toshow himself; he had no desire to meet any that knew him from thatquarter; they belonged to another world. And was he now to go back tothat same world himself?

His mother was all for buying the place; Sivert, too, said it would bebest. They stuck to Eleseus both of them, and one day the three drovedown to Storborg to see the wonder with their own eyes. 

But once there was a prospect of selling, Aronsen became a differentman; he wasn't pressed to get rid of it, not at all. If he did goaway, the place could stand as it was; 'twas a first-rate holding, a"cash down" place, there'd be no difficulty in selling it any time. "You'd not give my price, " said Aronsen. 

They went over the house and stores, the warehouse and sheds, inspected the miserable remains of the stock, consisting of a fewmouth-organs, watch-chains, boxes of coloured papers, lamps withhanging ornaments, all utterly unsaleable to sensible folks that livedon their land. There were a few cases of nails and some cotton print, and that was all. 

Eleseus was constrained to show off a bit, and looked over things witha knowing air. "I've no use for that sort of truck, " said he. 

"Why, then, you've no call to buy it, " said Aronsen. 

"Anyhow, I'll offer you fifteen hundred _Kroner_ for the place as itstands, with goods, live stock, and the rest, " said Eleseus. Oh, hewas careless, enough; his offer was but a show, for something to say. 

And they drove back home. No, there was no deal; Eleseus had made aridiculous offer, that Aronsen regarded as an insult. "I don't thinkmuch of you, young man, " said Aronsen; ay, calling him young man, considering him but a slip of a lad that had grown conceited in thetown, and thought to teach him, Aronsen, the value of goods. 

"I'll not be called 'young man' by you, if you please, " said Eleseus, offended in his turn. They must be mortal enemies after that. 

But how could it be that Aronsen had all along been so independentand so sure of not being forced to sell? There was a reason for it:Aronsen had a little hope at the back of his mind, after all. 

A meeting had been held in the village to consider the position whichhad arisen owing to Geissler's refusal to sell his part of the miningtract. 'Twas not only the outlying settlers who stood to lose by this, it would be fatal to the whole district. 

Why could not folk go on living as well or as poorly now as beforethere had been any mine at all? Well, they could not, and that wasall about it. They had grown accustomed to better food, finer bread, store-bought clothes and higher wages, general extravagance--ay, folkhad learned to reckon with money more, that was the matter. And nowthe money was gone again, had slipped away like a shoal of herring outto sea--'twas dire distress for them all, and what was to be done?

There was no doubt about it: ex-Lensmand Geissler was taking hisrevenge upon the village because they had helped his superior to gethim dismissed; equally clear was it that they had underestimated himat the time. He had not simply disappeared and left. By the simplestmeans, merely by demanding an unreasonable price for a mine, he hadsucceeded in checking the entire development of the district. Ay, astrong man! Axel Ström from Maaneland could bear them out in this; hewas the one who had last met Geissler. Brede's girl Barbro had had alawsuit in the town, and come home acquitted; but Geissler, he hadbeen there in court all the time. And if any one suggested thatGeissler was dejected, and a broken man, why, he had only to look atthe costly machines that same Geissler had sent up as a present toAxel Ström. 

This man it was then, who held the fate of the district in his hand;they would have to come to some agreement with him. What price wouldGeissler ultimately be disposed to accept for his mine? They mustascertain in any case. The Swedes had offered him twenty-fivethousand--Geissler had refused. But suppose the village here, thecommune, were to make up the remainder, simply to get things goingagain? If it were not an altogether unheard-of amount, it might beworth while. Both the trader at the shore station and Aronsen up atStorborg would be willing to contribute privately and secretly; fundsdevoted to such a purpose now would be repaid in the long run. 

The end of it was that two men were deputed to call on Geissler andtake up the matter with him. And they were expected back shortly. 

So it was, then, that Aronsen cherished a flicker of hope, and thoughthe could afford to stand on his dignity with any who offered to buy upStorborg. But it was not to last. 

A week later the deputation returned home with a flat refusal. Oh, they had done the worst thing possible at the outset, in choosingBrede Olsen as one of the men they sent--they had taken him as beingone who best could spare the time. They had found Geissler, but he hadonly shaken his head and laughed. "Go back home again, " he had said. But Geissler had paid for their journey back. 

Then the district was to be left to its fate?

After Aronsen had raged for a while, and grown more and moredesperate, he went up one day to Sellanraa and closed the deal. Ay, Aronsen did. Eleseus got it for the price he had offered; land andhouse and sheds, live stock and goods, for fifteen hundred _Kroner_. True, on going through the inventory after, it was found thatAronsen's wife had converted most of the cotton print to her own use;but trifles of that sort were nothing to a man like Eleseus. It didn'tdo to be mean, he said. 

Nevertheless, Eleseus was not exactly delighted with things as theyhad turned out--his future was settled now, he was to bury himself inthe wilds. He must give up his great plans; he was no longer a younggentleman in an office, he would never be a Lensmand, not even live ina town at all. To his father and those at home he made it appear thathe was proud at having secured Storborg at the very price he hadfixed--it would show them he knew what he was about. But that smalltriumph did not go very far. He had also the satisfaction of takingover Andresen, the chief clerk, who was thus, as it were, included inthe bargain. Aronsen had no longer any use for him, until he had a newplace going. It was a pleasant sensation to be Eleseus, when Andresencame up begging to be allowed to stay; here it was Eleseus who wasmaster and head of the business--for the first time in his life. 

"You can stay, yes, " he said. "I shall be wanting an assistant to lookafter the place when I'm away on business--opening up connections inBergen and Trondhjem, " said he. 

And Andresen was no bad man to have, as it soon proved; he was a goodworker, and looked after things well when Eleseus was away. 'Twasonly at first he had been somewhat inclined to show and play thefine gentleman, and that was the fault of his master Aronsen. It wasdifferent now. In the spring, when the bogs were thawed some depth, Sivert came down from Sellanraa to Storborg, to start a bit ofditching for his brother, and lo, Andresen himself went out on theland digging too. Heaven knows what possessed him to do it, for 'twasno work of his, but that was the sort of man he was. It was not thaweddeep enough yet, and they could not get as far as they wanted by along way, but it was something done, at any rate. It was Isak's oldidea to drain the bogs at Storborg and till the land there properly;the bit of a store was only to be an extra, a convenience, to savefolk going all the way down to the village for a reel of thread. 

So Sivert and Andresen stood there digging, and talking now and againwhen they stopped for a rest. Andresen had also somehow or othermanaged to get hold of a gold piece, a twenty-_Krone_ piece, andSivert would gladly have had the bright thing himself; but Andresenwould not part with it--kept it wrapped up in tissue paper in hischest. Sivert proposed a wrestling match for the money--see who couldthrow the other; but Andresen would not risk it. Sivert offered tostake twenty _Kroner_ in notes against the gold piece, and do all thedigging himself into the bargain if he won; but Andresen took offenceat that. "Ho, " said he, "and you'd like to go back home, no doubt, andsay I'm no good at working on the land!" At last they agreed to settwenty-five _Kroner_ in notes against the gold twenty-_Krone_ piece, and Sivert slipped home to Sellanraa that night to ask his father forthe money. 

A young man's trick, the pretty play of youth! A night's sleep thrownaway, to walk miles up and miles down again, and work next day asusual--'twas nothing to a young man in his strength, and a bright goldpiece was worth it all. Andresen was a little inclined to make fun ofhim over the deal, but Sivert was not at a loss; he had only to letfall a word of Leopoldine. "There! I was nearly forgetting. Leopoldineshe asked after you. .. . " And Andresen stopped his work of a sudden andwent very red. 

Pleasant days for them both, draining and ditching, getting up longarguments for fun, and working, and arguing again. Now and thenEleseus would come out and lend a hand, but he soon tired. Eleseus wasnot strong either of body or will, but a thorough good fellow for allthat. .. . 

"Here's that Oline coming along, " Sivert the jester would say. "Nowyou'll have to go in and sell her a paper of coffee. " And Eleseus wasglad enough to go. Selling Oline some trifle or other meant so manyminutes' rest from throwing heavy clods. 

And Oline, poor creature, she might well be needing a pinch of coffeenow and again, whether by chance she managed to get the money fromAxel to pay for it, or bartered a goats' milk cheese in exchange. Oline was not altogether what she had been; the work at Maaneland wastoo hard for her; she was an old woman now, and it was leaving itsmark. Not that she ever confessed to any weakness or ageing herself;ho! she would have found plenty to say if she had been dismissed. Tough and irrepressible was Oline; did her work, and found time towander over to neighbours here or there for a real good gossip. 'Twasher plain right, and there was little gossiping at Maaneland. Axelhimself was not given that way. 

As for that Barbro case, Oline was displeased, ay, disappointed wasOline. Both of them acquitted! That Brede's girl Barbro should be letoff when Inger Sellanraa had got eight years was not to Oline's tasteat all; she felt an unchristian annoyance at such favouritism. But theAlmighty would look to things, no doubt, in His own good time! AndOline nodded, as if prophesying divine retribution at a later date. Naturally, also, Oline made no secret of her dissatisfaction with thefinding of the court, more especially when she happened to fall outwith her master, Axel, over any little trifle. Then she would deliverherself, in the old soft-spoken way, of much deep and bitter sarcasm. "Ay, 'tis strange how the law's changed these days, for all thewickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah; but the word of the Lord's my guide, as ever was, and a blessed refuge for the meek. "

Oh, Axel was sick and tired of his housekeeper now, and wished heranywhere. And now with spring coming again, and all the season's workto do alone; haymaking to come, and what was he to do? 'Twas a poorlook-out. His brother's wife, at Breidablik had written home toHelgeland trying to find a decent woman to help him, but nothing hadcome of it as yet. And in any case, it would mean his having to payfor the journey. 

Nay, 'twas a mean and wicked trick of Barbro to make away with the bitof a child and then run off herself. A summer and two winters now hehad been forced to make do with Oline, and no saying how much longerit might be yet. And Barbro, the creature, did she care? He had had afew words with her down in the village one day that winter, but nevera tear had trickled slowly from her eyes to freeze on her cheek. 

"What you've done with rings I gave you?" asks he. 

"Rings?"

"Ay, the rings. "

"I haven't got them now. "

"Ho, so you haven't got them now?"

"'Twas all over between us, " said she. "And I couldn't wear them afterthat. 'Tis not the way to go on wearing rings when it's all overbetween you. "

"Well, I'd just like to know what you've done with them, that's all. "

"Wanted me to give them back, maybe, " said she. "Well, I never thoughtyou'd have had me put you to that shame. "

Axel thought for a moment, and said: "I could have made it up to youother ways. That you shouldn't lose by it, I mean. "

But no, Barbro had got rid of the rings, and never so much as gavehim the chance of buying back a gold ring and a silver ring at areasonable price. 

For all that, Barbro was not so thoroughly harsh and unlovable, that she was not. She had a long apron thing that fastened over theshoulders and with tucks at the edge, and a strip of white stuff upround her neck--ay, she looked well. There were some said she'd founda lad already down in the village to go sweethearting with, thoughmaybe 'twas but their talk, after all. Fru Heyerdahl kept a watchfuleye on her at any rate, and took care not to let her go to theChristmas dances. 

Ay, Fru Heyerdahl was careful enough, that she was; here was Axelstanding talking to his former servant-girl about a matter of tworings, and suddenly Fru Heyerdahl comes right between them and says:"Barbro, I thought you were going to the store?" Off goes Barbro. Andher mistress turns to Axel and says: "Have you come down with somemeat, or something?"

"H'm, " said Axel, just that, and touched his cap. 

Now it was Fru Heyerdahl that had praised him up so that last autumn, saying he was a splendid fellow and she had always thought well ofhim; and one good turn was worth another, no doubt. Axel knew the wayof doing things; 'twas an old story, when simple folk had dealing withtheir betters, with authority. And he had thought at once of a pieceof butcher's meat, a bull he had, that might be useful there. But timewent on, and month and month passed by and autumn was gone, and thebull was never killed. And what harm could it do, after all, if hekept it for himself?--give it away, and he would be so much poorer. And 'twas a fine beast, anyway. 

"H'm, _Goddag_. Nay, " said Axel, shaking his head; he'd no meat withhim today. 

But Fru Heyerdahl seemed to be guessing his thoughts, for she said:"I've heard you've an ox, or what?"

"Ay, so I have, " said Axel. 

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Ay, I'll be keeping him yet. "

"I see. You've no sheep to be killed?"

"Not now I haven't. 'Tis this way, I've never had but what's to bekept on the place. "

"Oh, I see, " said Fru Heyerdahl; "well, that was all. " And she went onher way. 

Axel drove up homeward, but he could not help thinking somewhat ofwhat had passed; he rather feared he had made a false step somehow. The Lensmand's lady had been an important witness once; for andagainst him, but important anyway. He had been through an unpleasanttime on that occasion, but, after all, he had got out of it in theend--got out of a very awkward business in connection with the body ofa child found buried on his land. Perhaps, after all, he had betterkill that sheep. 

And, strangely enough, this thought was somehow connected with Barbro. If he came down bringing sheep for her mistress it could hardly failto make a certain impression on Barbro herself. 

But again the days went on, and nothing evil happened for their goingon. Next time he drove; down to the village he had no sheep on hiscart, no, still no sheep. But at the last moment he had taken a lamb. A big lamb, though; not a miserable little one by any means, and hedelivered it with these words:

"'Tis rare tough meat on a wether, and no sort of a gift to bring. Butthis is none so bad. "

But Fru Heyerdahl would not hear of taking it as a gift. "Say what youwant for it, " she said. Oh, a fine lady, 'twas not her way to takegifts from folk! And the end of it was that Axel got a good price forhis lamb. 

He saw nothing of Barbro at all. Lensmand's lady had seen him coming, and got her out of the way. And good luck go with her--Barbro that hadcheated him out of his help for a year and a half!

Chapter IX

That spring something unexpected happened--something of importanceindeed; work at the mine was started again; Geissler had sold hisland. Inconceivable! Oh, but Geissler was an unfathomable mind; hecould make a bargain or refuse, shake his head for a "No, " or nod thesame for "Yes. " Could make the whole village smile again. 

Conscience had pricked him, maybe; he had no longer the heart to seethe district where he had been Lensmand famishing on home-made grueland short of money. Or had he got his quarter of a million? Possibly, again, Geissler himself had at last begun to feel the need of money, and had been forced to sell for what he could get. Twenty-five orfifty thousand was not to be despised, after all. As a matter of fact, there were rumours that it was his eldest son who had settled thebusiness on his father's account. 

Be that as it might, work was recommenced; the same engineer cameagain with his gangs of men, and the work went on anew. The same work, ay, but in a different fashion now, going backwards, as it were. 

All seemed in regular order: the Swedish mine-owners had brought theirmen, and dynamite and money--what could be wrong, anyway? Even Aronsencame back again, Aronsen the trader, who had set his mind on buyingback Storborg from Eleseus. 

"No, " said Eleseus. "It's not for sale. "

"You'll sell, I suppose, if you're offered enough?"

"No. "

No, Eleseus was not going to sell Storborg. The truth was, he hadchanged his mind somewhat as to the position; it was none so bad, after all, to be owner of a trading station in the hills; he had afine verandah with coloured glass windows, and a chief clerk to doall the work, while he himself went about the country travelling. Ay, travelling first class, with fine folks. One day, perhaps, he mightbe able to go as far as America--he often thought of that. Even theselittle journeys on business to the towns down in the south weresomething to live on for a long time after. Not that he let himself goaltogether, and chartered a steamer of his own and held wild orgies onthe way--orgies were not in his line. A strange fellow, was Eleseus;he no longer cared about girls, had given up such things altogether, lost all interest in them. No, but after all, he was the Margrave'sson, and travelled first class and bought up loads of goods. And eachtime he came back a little finer than before, a greater man; the lasttime, he even wore galoshes to keep his feet dry. "What's that--youtaken to wearing two pairs of shoes?" they said. 

"I've been suffering from chilblains lately, " says Eleseus. 

And every one sympathized with Eleseus and his chilblains. 

Glorious days--a grand life, with no end of leisure. No, he was notgoing to sell Storborg. What, go back to a little town and standbehind the counter in a little shop, and no chief clerk of his own atall? Moreover, he had made up his mind now to develop the businesson a grand scale. The Swedes had come back again and would flood theplace with money; he would be a fool to sell out now. Aronsen wasforced to go back each time with a flat refusal, more and moredisgusted at his own lack of foresight in ever having given up theplace. 

Oh, but Aronsen might have saved himself a deal of self-reproach, andlikewise Eleseus with his plans and intentions, that he might havekept in moderation. And more than all, the village would have donewell to be less confident, instead of going about smiling and rubbingits hands like angels sure of being blessed--no call for them to do soif they had but known. For now came disappointment, and no little oneat that. Who would ever have thought it; work at the mine commencedagain, true enough--but at the other end of the fjeld, eight milesaway, on the southern boundary of Geissler's holding, far off inanother district altogether, a district with which they were in noway concerned. And from there the work was to make its way graduallynorthward to the original mine, Isak's mine, to be a blessing to folkin the wilds and in the village. At best, it would take years, anynumber of years, a generation. 

The news came like a dynamite charge of the heaviest sort, with shockand stopping of ears. The village folk were overcome with grief. Someblamed Geissler; 'twas Geissler, that devil of a man, who had trickedthem once more. Others huddled together at a meeting and sent out anew deputation of trusty men, this time to the mining company, to theengineer. But nothing came of it; the engineer explained that he wasobliged to start work from the south because that was nearest the sea, and saved the need of an aerial railway, reduced the transport almostto nil. No, the work must begin that way; no more to be said. 

Then it was that Aronsen at once rose up and set out for the newworkings, the new promised land. He even tried to get Andresen to gowith him: "What's the sense of you staying on here in the wilds?"said he. "Much better come with me. " But Andresen would not leave;incomprehensible, but so it was, there was something which held himto the spot; he seemed to thrive there, had taken root. It must beAndresen who had changed, for the place was the same as ever. Folkand things were unaltered; the mining work had turned away to othertracts, but folk in the wilds had not lost their heads over that; theyhad their land to till, their crops, their cattle. No great wealth inmoney, true, but in all the necessaries of life, ay, absolutely all. 

Even Eleseus was not reduced to misery because the stream of gold wasflowing elsewhere; the worst of it was that in his first exaltation hehad bought great stocks of goods that were now unsaleable. Well, theycould stay there for the time being; it looked well, at any rate, tohave plenty of wares in a store. 

No, a man of the wilds did not lose his head. The air was not lesshealthy now than before; there were folk enough to admire new clothes;there was no need of diamonds. Wine was a thing he knew from the feastat Cana. A man of the wild was not put out by the thought of greatthings he could not get; art, newspapers, luxuries, politics, andsuch-like were worth just what folk were willing to pay for them, no more. Growth of the soil was something different, a thing to beprocured at any cost; the only source, the origin of all. A dull anddesolate existence? Nay, least of all. A man had everything; hispowers above, his dreams, his loves, his wealth of superstition. Sivert, walking one evening by the river, stops on a sudden; there onthe water are a pair of ducks, male and female. They have sighted him;they are aware of man, and afraid; one of them says something, uttersa little sound, a melody in three tones, and the other answerswith the same. Then they rise, whirl off like two little wheels astone's-throw up the river, and settle again. Then, as before, onespeaks and the other answers; the same speech as at first, but mark anew delight: _it is set two octaves higher_! Sivert stands looking atthe birds, looking past them, far into a dream. 

A sound had floated through him, a sweetness, and left him standingthere with a delicate; thin recollection of something wild andsplendid, something he had known before, and forgotten again. He walkshome in silence, says no word of it, makes no boast of it, 'twas notfor worldly speech. And it was but Sivert from Sellanraa, went out oneevening, young and ordinary as he was, and met with this. 

It was not the only thing he met with--there were more adventuresbeside. Another thing which happened was that Jensine left Sellanraa. And that made Sivert not a little perturbed in his mind. 

Ay, it came to that: Jensine would leave, if you please; she wished itso. Oh, Jensine was not one of your common sort, none could say that. Sivert had once offered to drive her back home at once, and on thatoccasion she had cried, which was a pity; but afterwards she repentedof that, and made it clear that she repented, and gave notice andwould leave. Ay, a proper way to do. 

Nothing could have suited Inger at Sellanraa better than this; Ingerwas beginning to grow dissatisfied with her maid. Strange; she hadnothing to say against her, but the sight of the girl annoyed her, she could hardly endure to have her about the place. It all arose, nodoubt, from Inger's state of mind; she had been heavy and religiousall that winter, and it would not pass off. "Want to leave, doyou? Why, then, well and good, " said Inger. It was a blessing, thefulfilment of nightly prayers. Two grown women they were already, whatdid they want with this Jensine, fresh as could be and marriageableand all? Inger thought with a certain displeasure of that samemarriageableness, thinking, maybe, how she had once been the sameherself. 

Her deep religiousness did not pass off. She was not full of vice; shehad tasted, sipped, let us say, but 'twas not her intent to perseverein that way all through her old age, not by any means; Inger turnedaside with horror from the thought. The mine and all its workmen wereno longer there--and Heaven be praised. Virtue was not only tolerable, but inevitable, it was a necessary thing; ay, a necessary good, aspecial grace. 

But the world was all awry. Look now, here was Leopoldine, littleLeopoldine, a seedling, a slip of a child, going about burstingwith sinful health; but an arm round her waist and she would fallhelpless--oh, fie! There were spots on her face now, too--a sign initself of wild blood; ay, her mother remembered well enough, 'twas thewild blood would out. Inger did not condemn her child for a matter ofspots 'on her face; but it must stop, she would have an end of it. Andwhat did that fellow Andresen want coming up to Sellanraa of Sundays, to talk fieldwork with Isak? Did the two menfolk imagine the child wasblind? Ay, young folk were young folk as they had ever been, thirty, forty years ago, but worse than ever now. 

"Why, that's as it may be, " said Isak, when they spoke of the matter. "But here's the spring come, and Jensine gone, and who's to manage thesummer work?"

"Leopoldine and I can do the haymaking, " said Inger. "Ay, I'd rathergo raking night and day myself, " said she bitterly, and on the pointof crying. 

Isak could not understand what there was to make such a fuss about;but he had his own ideas, no doubt, and off he went to the edge ofthe wood, with crowbar and pick, and fell to working at a stone. Nay, indeed, Isak could not see why Jensine should have left them; a goodgirl, and a worker. To tell the truth, Isak was often at a loss in allsave the simplest things--his work, his lawful and natural doings. Abroad-shouldered man, well filled out, nothing astral about him atall; he ate like a man and throve on it, and 'twas rarely he wasthrown off his balance in any way. 

Well, here was this stone. There were stones more in plenty, but herewas one to begin with. Isak is looking ahead, to the time when hewill need to build a little house here, a little home for himself andInger, and as well to get to work a bit on the site, and clear it, while Sivert is down at Storborg. Otherwise the boy would be askingquestions, and that was not to Isak's mind. The day must come, of course, when Sivert would need all there was of the place forhimself--the old folks would be wanting a house apart. Ay, there wasnever an end of building at Sellanraa; that fodder loft above thecowshed was not done yet, though the beams and planks for it werethere all ready. 

Well, then, here was this stone. Nothing so big to look at aboveground, but not to be moved at a touch for all that; it must be aheavy fellow. Isak dug round about it, and tried his crowbar, but itwould not move. He dug again and tried once more, but no. Back to thehouse for a spade then, and clear the earth away, then diggingagain, trying again--no. A mighty heavy beast to shift, thought Isakpatiently enough. He dug away now for a steady while, but the stoneseemed reaching ever deeper and deeper down, there was no getting apurchase on it. A nuisance it would be if he had to blast it, afterall. The boring would make such a noise, and call up every one on theplace. He dug. Off again to fetch a levering pole and tried that--no. He dug again. Isak was beginning to be annoyed with this stone; hefrowned, and looked at the thing, as if he had just come along to makea general inspection of the stones in that neighbourhood, andfound this one particularly stupid. He criticized it; ay, it was around-faced, idiotic stone, no getting hold of it any way--he wasalmost inclined to say it was deformed. Blasting? The thing wasn'tworth a charge of powder. And was he to give it up, was he to considerthe possibility of being beaten by a stone?

He dug. Hard work, that it was, but as to giving up . .. At last hegot the nose of his lever down and tried it; the stone did not move. Technically speaking, there was nothing wrong with his method, but itdid not work. What was the matter, then? He had got out stones beforein his life. Was he getting old? Funny thing, he he he! Ridiculous, indeed. True, he had noticed lately that he was not so strong as hehad been--that is to say, he had noticed nothing of the sort, neverheeded it; 'twas only imagination. And he goes at the stone once more, with the best will in the world. 

Oh, 'twas no little matter when Isak bore down on a levering polewith all his weight. There he is now, hoisting and hoisting again, aCyclop, enormous, with a torso that seems built in one to the knees. Acertain pomp and splendour about him; his equator was astounding. 

But the stone did not move. 

No help for it; he must dig again. Try blasting? Not a word! No, digagain. He was intent on his work now. The stone should come up! Itwould be wrong to say there was anything at all perverse in this onIsak's part; it was the ingrown love of a worker on the soil, but altogether without tenderness. It was a foolish sight; firstgathering, as it were, about the stone from all sides, then makinga dash at it, then digging all round its sides and fumbling at it, throwing up the earth with his bare hands, ay, so he did. Yet therewas nothing of a caress in it all. Warmth, yes, but the warmth of zealalone. 

Try the lever again? He thrust it down where there was best hold--no. An altogether remarkable instance of obstinacy and defiance on thepart of the stone. But it seemed to be giving. Isak tries again, witha touch of hope; the earth-breaker has a feeling now that the stoneis no longer invincible. Then the lever slipped, throwing him to theground. "Devil!" said he. Ay, he said that. His cap had got thrustdown over one ear as he fell, making him look like a robber, like aSpaniard. He spat. 

Here comes Inger. "Isak, come in and have your food now, " says she, kindly and pleasant as can be. 

"Ay, " says he, but will have her no nearer, and wants no questions. 

Oh, but Inger, never dreaming, she comes nearer. 

"What's in your mind now?" she asks, to soften him with a hint of theway he thinks out some new grand thing almost every day. 

But Isak is sullen, terribly sullen and stern; he says: "Nay, I don'tknow. "

And Inger again, foolish that she is--ugh, keeps on talking and askingand will not go. 

"Seeing as you've seen it yourself, " says he at last, "I'm getting upthis stone here. "

"Ho, going to get him up?"

"Ay. "

"And couldn't I help a bit at all?" she asks. 

Isak shakes his head. But it was a kindly thought, anyway, that shewould have helped him, and he can hardly be harsh in return. 

"If you just wait the least bit of a while, " says he, and runs homefor the hammers. 

If he could only get the stone rough a bit, knocking off a flake or soin the right spot, it would give the lever a better hold. Inger holdsthe setting-hammer, and Isak strikes. Strikes, strikes. Ay, sureenough, off goes a flake. "'Twas a good help, " says Isak, "and thanks. But don't trouble about food for me this bit of a while, I must getthis stone up first. "

But Inger does not go. And to tell the truth, Isak is pleased enoughto have her there watching him at his work; 'tis a thing has alwayspleased him, since their young days. And lo, he gets a fine purchasenow on the lever, and puts his weight into it--the stone moves! "He'smoving, " says Inger. 

"'Tis but your nonsense, " says Isak. 

"Nonsense, indeed! But it is!"

Got so far, then--and that was something. The stone was, so to speak, converted now, was on his side; they were working together. Isakhoists and heaves with his lever, and the stone moves, but no more. Hekeeps at it a while, nothing more. All at once he understands that itis not merely a question of weight, the dead pull of his body; no, thefact is that he has no longer his old strength, he has lost the toughagility that makes all the difference. Weight? An easy matter enoughto hang on with his weight and break an iron-shod pole. No, he wasweakening, that was it. And the patient man is filled with bitternessat the thought--at least he might have been spared the shame of havingInger here to see it!

Suddenly he drops the lever and grasps the sledge. A fury takes him, he is minded to go at it violently now. And see, his cap still hangson one ear, robber-fashion, and now he steps mightily, threateningly, round the stone, trying, as it were, to set himself in the properlight; ho, he will leave that stone a ruin and a wreck of what it hadbeen. Why not? When a man is filled with mortal hatred of a stone, it is a mere formality to crush it. And suppose the stone resists, suppose it declines to be crushed? Why, let it try--and see which ofthe two survives!

But then it is that Inger speaks up, a little timidly, again; seeing, no doubt, what is troubling him: "What if we both hang on the stickthere?" And the thing she calls a stick is the lever, nothing else. 

"No!" cries Isak furiously. But after a moment's thought he says:"Well, well, since you're here--though you might as well have gonehome. Let's try. "

And they get the stone up on edge. Ay, they manage that. And "Puh!"says Isak. 

But now comes a revelation, a strange thing to see. The underside ofthe stone is flat, mightily broad, finely cut, smooth and even asa floor. The stone is but the half of a stone, the other half issomewhere close by, no doubt. Isak knows well enough that two halvesof the same stone may lie in different places; the frost, no doubt, that in course of time had shifted them apart. But he is all wonderand delight at the find; 'tis a useful stone of the best, a door-slab. A round sum of money would not have filled this fieldworker's mindwith such content. "A fine door-slab, " says he proudly. 

And Inger, simple creature: "Why! Now how on earth could you tell thatbeforehand?"

"H'm, " says Isak. "Think I'd go here digging about for nothing?"

They walk home together, Isak enjoying new admiration on falsepretences; 'twas something he had not deserved, but it tasted butlittle different from the real thing. He lets it be understood that hehas been looking out for a suitable door-slab for a long time, and hadfound it at last. After that, of course, there could be nothing in theleast suspicious about his working there again; he could root about asmuch as he pleased on pretext of looking for the other half. And whenSivert came home, he could get him to help. 

But if it had come to this, that he could no longer go out alone andheave up a stone, why, things were sorely changed; ay, 'twas a badlook-out, and the more need to get that site cleared quick as mightbe. Age was upon him, he was ripening for the chimney-corner. Thetriumph he had stolen in the matter of the door-slab faded away in afew days; 'twas a false thing, and not made to last. Isak stooped alittle now in his walk. 

Had he not once been so much of a man that he grew wakeful andattentive in a moment if one but said a word of stone, a word ofdigging? And 'twas no long time since, but a few years, no more. Ay, and in those days, folk that were shy of a bit of draining work keptout of his way. Now he was beginning, little by little, to take suchmatters more calmly; eyah, _Herregud_! All things were changed, theland itself was different now, with broad telegraph roads up throughthe woods, that had not been there before, and rocks blasted andsundered up by the water, as they had not been before. And folk, too, were changed. They did not greet coming and going as in the old days, but nodded only, or maybe not even that. 

But then--in the old days there had been no Sellanraa, but only a turfhut, while now. .. . There had been no Margrave in the old days. 

Ay, but Margrave, what was he now? A pitiful thing, nothingsuperhuman, but old and fading, going the way of all flesh. Whatthough he had good bowels, and could eat well, when it gave him nostrength? 'Twas Sivert had the strength now, and a mercy it wasso--but think, if Isak had had it too! A sorry thing, to find hisworks running down. He had toiled like a man, carrying loads enoughfor any beast of burden; now, he could exercise his patience inresting. 

Isak is ill-pleased, heavy at heart. 

Here lies an old hat, an old sou'wester, rotting on the ground. Carried there by the gale, maybe, or maybe the lads had brought itthere to the edge of the wood years ago, when they were little ones. It lies there year after year, rotting and rotting away; but once ithad been a new sou'wester, all yellow and new. Isak remembers the dayhe came home with it from the store, and Inger had said it was a finehat. A year or so after, he had taken it to a painter down in thevillage, and had it blacked and polished, and the brim done in green. And when he came home, Inger thought it a finer hat than before. Ingeralways thought everything was fine; ay, 'twas a good life those days, cutting faggots, with Inger to look on--his best days. And when Marchand April came, Inger and he would be wild after each other, just likethe birds and beasts in the woods; and when May was come, he would sowhis corn and plant potatoes, living and thriving from day to dawn. Work and sleep, loving and dreaming, he was like the first big ox, andthat was a wonder to see, big and bright as a king. But there was nosuch May to the years now. No such thing. 

Isak was sorely despondent for some days. Dark days they were. He feltneither wish nor strength to start work on the fodder loft--that couldbe left for Sivert to do some day. The thing to be done now was thehouse for himself--the last house to build. He could not long hidefrom Sivert what he was doing; he was clearing the ground, and plainto see what for. And one day he told. 

"There's a good bit of stone if we'd any use for stonework, " said he. "And there's another. "

Sivert showed no surprise, and only said: "Ay, first-rate stones. "

"What you might think, " said his father. 

"We've been digging round here now to find that other door-slab piece;might almost do to build here. I don't know. .. . "

"Ay, 'tis no bad place to build, " said Sivert, looking round. 

"Think so? 'Twas none so bad, maybe, to have a bit of a place to housefolk if any should come along. "

"Ay. "

"A couple of rooms'd be as well. You saw how 'twas when they Swedishgentlemen came, and no proper place to house them. But what you think:a bit of a kitchen as well, maybe, if 'twas any cooking to be done?"

"Ay, 'twould be a shame to built with never a bit of kitchen, " saysSivert. 

"You think so?"

Isak said no more. But Sivert, he was a fine lad to grasp things, andget into his head all at once just what was needed in a place to putup Swedish gentlemen that chanced to come along; never so much asasked a single question, but only said: "Doing it my way, now, you'dput up a bit of a shed on the north wall. Folks coming along, 'd beuseful to have a shed place to hang up wet clothes and things. "

And his father agrees at once: "Ay, the very thing. "

They work at their stones again in silence. Then asks Isak: "Eleseus, he's not come home, I suppose?"

And Sivert answers evasively: "He'll be coming home soon. "

'Twas that way with Eleseus: he was all for staying away, living awayon journeys. Couldn't he have written for the goods? But he must goround and buy them on the spot. Got them so much cheaper. Ay, maybe, but what about cost of the journey? He had his own way of thinking, itseemed. And then, what did he want, anyway, with more cotton stuff, and coloured ribbons for christening caps, and black and white strawhats, and long tobacco pipes? No one ever bought such things up in thehills; and the village folk, they only came up to Storborg when they'dno money. Eleseus was clever enough in his way--only to see him writeon a paper, or do sums with a bit of chalk! "Ay, with a head likeyours, " said folk, admiring him. And that was true enough; but he wasspending overmuch. They village folk never paid their owings, and yeteven a fellow like Brede Olsen could come up to Storborg that winterand get cotton print and coffee and molasses and paraffin on credit. 

Isak has laid out a deal of money already for Eleseus, and his storeand his long journeyings about; there's not overmuch left now out ofthe riches from the mine--and what then?

"How d'you think he's getting on, Eleseus?" asks Isak suddenly. 

"Getting on?" says Sivert, to gain time. 

"Doesn't seem to be doing so well. "

"H'm. He says it'll go all right. "

"You spoken to him about it?"

"Nay; but Andresen he says so. "

Isak thought over this, and shook his head. "Nay, I doubt it's goingill, " says he. "Tis a pity for the lad. "

And Isak gloomier than ever now, for all he'd been none too brightbefore. 

But then Sivert flashes out a bit of news: "There's more folk comingto live now. "

"How d'you say?"

"Two new holdings. They've bought up close by us. "

Isak stands still with his crowbar in hand; this was news, and goodnews, the best that could be. "That makes ten of us here, " says he. And Isak learns exactly where the new men have bought, he knows thecountry all round in his head, and nods. "Ay, they've done well there;wood for firing in plenty, and some big timber here and there. Groundslopes down sou'west. Ay. .. . "

Settlers--nothing could beat them, anyway--here were new folk comingto live. The mine had come to nothing, but so much the better for theland. A desert, a dying place? Far from it, all about was swarmingwith life; two new men, four new hands to work, fields and meadowsand homes. Oh, the little green tracts in a forest, a hut and water, children and cattle about. Corn waving on the moorlands where naughtbut horsetail grew before, bluebells nodding on the fells, and yellowsunlight blazing in the ladyslipper flowers outside a house. And humanbeings living there, move and talk and think and are there with heavenand earth. 

Here stands the first of them all, the first man in the wilds. He camethat way, kneedeep in marsh-growth and heather, found a sunny slopeand settled there. Others came after him, they trod a path across thewaste _Almenning_; others again, and the path became a road; cartsdrove there now. Isak may be content, may start with a little thrillof pride; he was the founder of a district, the pioneer. 

"Look here, we can't go wasting time on this bit of a house place ifwe're to get that fodder loft done this year, " says he. 

With a new brightness, new spirit; as it were, new courage and life. 

Chapter X

A woman tramping up along the road. A steady summer rain falls, wetting her, but she does not heed it; other things are in hermind--anxiety. Barbro it is, and no other--Brede's girl, Barbro. Anxious, ay; not knowing how the venture will end; she has gone fromservice at the Lensmand's, and left the village. That is the matter. 

She keeps away from all the farms on the road up, unwilling to meetwith folk; easy to see where she was going, with a bundle of clothingon her back. Ay, going to Maaneland, to take service there again. 

Ten months she has been at the Lensmand's now, and 'tis no littletime, reckoned out in days and nights, but an eternity reckoned inlonging and oppression. It had been bearable at first, Fru Heyerdahllooking after her kindly, giving her aprons and neat things to wear;'twas a joy to be sent on errands to the store with such fine clothesto wear. Barbro had been in the village as a child; she knew all thevillage folk from the days when she had played there, gone to schoolthere, kissed the lads there, and joined in many games with stones andshells. Bearable enough for a month or so. But then Fru Heyerdahlhad begun to be even more careful about her, and when the Christmasfestivities began, she was strict. And what good could ever come ofthat? It was bound to spoil things. Barbro could never have endured itbut that she had certain hours of the night to herself; from two tosix in the morning she was more or less safe, and had stolen pleasuresnot a few. What about Cook, then, for not reporting her? A nice sortof woman she must be! Oh, an ordinary woman enough, as the world findsthem; Cook went out without leave herself. They took it in turns. Andit was quite a long time before they were found out. Barbro was by nomeans so depraved that it showed in her face, impossible to accuseher of immorality. Immorality? She made all the resistance one couldexpect. When young men asked her to go to a Christmas dance, she said"No" once, said "No" twice, but the third time she would say: "I'lltry and come from two to six. " Just as a decent woman should, nottrying to make herself out worse than she is, and making a displayof daring. She was a servant-girl, serving all her time, and knew noother recreation than fooling with men. It was all she asked for. FruHeyerdahl came and lectured her, lent her books--and a fool for herpains. Barbro had lived in Bergen and read the papers and been to thetheatre! She was no innocent lamb from the countryside . .. 

But Fru Heyerdahl must have grown suspicious at last. One day shecomes up at three in the morning to the maids' room and calls:"Barbro!"

"Yes, " answers Cook. 

"It's Barbro I want. Isn't she there? Open the door. "

Cook opens the door and explains as agreed upon, that Barbro had hadto run home for a minute about something. Home for a minute at thistime of night? Fru Heyerdahl has a good deal to say about that. Andin the morning there is a scene. Brede is sent for, and Fru Heyerdahlasks: "Was Barbro at home with you last night--at three o'clock?"

Brede is unprepared, but answers: "Three o'clock? Yes, yes, quiteright. We sat up late, there was something we had to talk about, " saysBrede. 

The Lensmand's lady then solemnly declares that Barbro shall go out nomore at nights. 

"No, no, " says Brede. 

"Not as long as she's in this house. "

"No, no; there, you can see, Barbro, I told you so, " says her father. 

"You can go and see your parents now and then during the day, " saysher mistress. 

But Fru Heyerdahl was wide awake enough, and her suspicion was notgone; she waited a week, and tried at four in the morning. "Barbro!"she called. Oh, but this time 'twas Cook's turn out, and Barbro was athome; the maids' room was a nest of innocence. Her mistress had to hiton something in a hurry. 

"Did you take in the washing last night?"

"Yes. "

"That's a good thing, it's blowing so hard. .. . Good-night. "

But it was not so pleasant for Fru Heyerdahl to get her husband towake her in the middle of the night and go padding across herself tothe servants' room to see if they were at home. They could do as theypleased, she would trouble herself no more. 

And if it had not been for sheer ill-luck, Barbro might have stayedthe year out in her place that way. But a few days ago the trouble hadcome. 

It was in the kitchen, early one morning. Barbro had been having somewords with Cook, and no light words either; they raised their voices, forgetting all about their mistress. Cook was a mean thing and acheat, she had sneaked off last night out of her turn because it wasSunday. And what excuse had she to give? Going to say good-bye to herfavourite sister that was off to America? Not a bit of it; Cook hadmade no excuse at all, but simply said that Sunday night was one hadbeen owing to her for a long time. 

"Oh, you've not an atom of truth nor decency in your body!" saidBarbro. 

And there was the mistress in the doorway. 

She had come out, perhaps, with no more thought than that the girlswere making too much noise, but now she stood looking, very closelyat Barbro, at Barbro's apron over her breast; ay, leaning forward andlooking very closely indeed. It was a painful moment. And suddenly FruHeyerdahl screams and draws back to the door. What on earth can it be?thinks Barbro, and looks down at herself. _Herregud_! a flea, nothingmore. Barbro cannot help smiling, and being not unused to acting undercritical circumstances, she flicks off the flea at once. 

"On the floor!" cried Fru Heyerdahl. "Are you mad, girl? Pick it upat once!" Barbro begins looking about for it, and once more acts withpresence of mind: she makes as if she had caught the creature, anddrops it realistically into the fire. 

"Where did you get it?" asks her mistress angrily. 

"Where I got it?"

"Yes, that's what I want to know. "

But here Barbro makes a bad mistake. "At the store, " she ought to havesaid, of course--that would have been quite enough. As it was--she didnot know where she had got the creature, but had an idea it must havebeen from Cook. 

Cook at the height of passion at once: "From me! You'll please to keepyour fleas to yourself, so there!"

"Anyway, 'twas you was out last night. "

Another mistake--she should have said nothing about it. Cook has nolonger any reason for keeping silence, and now she let out thewhole thing, and told all about the nights Barbro had been out. FruHeyerdahl mightily indignant; she cares nothing about Cook, 'tisBarbro she is after, the girl whose character she has answered for. And even then all might have been well if Barbro had bowed her headlike a reed, and been cast down with shame, and promised all manner ofthings for the future--but no. Her mistress is forced to remind her ofall she has done for her, and at that, if you please, Barbro falls toanswering back, ay, so foolish was she, saying impertinent things. Orperhaps she was cleverer than might seem; trying on purpose, maybe, tobring the matter to a head, and get out of the place altogether? Saysher mistress:

"After I've saved you from the clutches of the Law. "

"As for that, " answers Barbro, "I'd have just as pleased if youhadn't. "

"And that's all the thanks I get, " says her mistress. 

"Least said the better, perhaps, " says Barbro. "I wouldn't have gotmore than a month or two, anyway, and done with it. "

Fru Heyerdahl is speechless for a moment; ay, for a little while shestands saying nothing, only opening and closing her mouth. The firstthing she says is to tell the girl to go; she will have no more ofher. 

"Just as you please, " says Barbro. 

For some days after that Barbro had been at home with her parents. Butshe could not go on staying there. True, her mother sold coffee, andthere came a deal of folk to the house, but Barbro could not live onthat--and maybe she had other reasons of her own for wanting to getinto a settled position again. And so today she had taken a sack ofclothes on her back, and started up along the road over the moors. Question now, whether Axel Ström would take her? But she had had thebanns put up, anyway, the Sunday before. 

Raining, and dirty underfoot, but Barbro tramps on. Evening is drawingon, but not dark yet at that season of the year. Poor Barbro--she doesnot spare herself, but goes on her errand like another; she is boundfor a place, to commence another struggle there. She has never sparedherself, to tell the truth, never been of a lazy sort, and that is whyshe has her neat figure now and pretty shape. Barbro is quick to learnthings, and often to her own undoing; what else could one expect? Shehad learned to save herself at a pinch, to slip from one scrape toanother, but keeping all along some better qualities; a child's deathis nothing to her, but she can still give sweets to a child alive. Then she has a fine musical ear, can strum softly and correctly on aguitar, singing hoarsely the while; pleasant and slightly mournfulto hear. Spared herself? no; so little, indeed, that she has thrownherself away altogether, and felt no loss. Now and again she cries, and breaks her heart over this or that in her life--but that isonly natural, it goes with the songs she sings, 'tis the poetry andfriendly sweetness in her; she had fooled herself and many anotherwith the same. Had she been able to bring the guitar with her thisevening she could have strummed a little for Axel when she came. 

She manages so as to arrive late in the, evening; all is quietat Maaneland when she reaches there. See, Axel has already begunhaymaking, the grass is cut near the house, and some of the hayalready in. And then she reckons out that Oline, being old, will besleeping in the little room, and Axel lying out in the hayshed, justas she herself had done. She goes to the door she knows so well, breathless as a thief, and calls softly: "Axel!"

"What's that?" asks Axel all at once. 

"Nay, 'tis only me, " says Barbro, and steps in. "You couldn't house mefor the night?" she says. 

Axel looks at her and is slow to think, and sits there in hisunderclothes, looking at her. "So 'tis you, " says he. "And where'llyou be going?"

"Why, depends first of all if you've need of help to the summer work, "says she. 

Axel thinks over that, and says: "Aren't you going to stay where youwere, then?"

"Nay; I've finished at the Lensmand's. "

"I might be needing help, true enough, for the summer, " said Axel. "But what's it mean, anyway, you wanting to come back?"

"Nay, never mind me, " says Barbro, putting it off. "I'll go on againtomorrow. Go to Sellanraa and cross the hills. I've a place there. "

"You've fixed up with some one there?"

"Ay. "

"I might be needing summer help myself, " says Axel again. 

Barbro is wet through; she has other clothes in her sack, and mustchange. "Don't mind about me, " says Axel, and moves a bit toward thedoor, no more. 

Barbro takes off her wet clothes, they talking the while, and Axelturning his head pretty often towards her. "Now you'd better go outjust a bit, " says she. 

"Out?" says he. And indeed 'twas no weather to go out in. He standsthere, seeing her more and more stripped; 'tis hard to keep his eyesaway; and Barbro is so thoughtless, she might well have put on drythings bit by bit as she took oft the wet, but no. Her shift is thinand clings to her; she unfastens a button at one shoulder, and turnsaside, 'tis nothing new for her. Axel dead silent then, and he seeshow she makes but a touch or two with her hands and washes the last ofher clothes from her. 'Twas splendidly done, to his mind. And thereshe stands, so utterly thoughtless of her. .. . 

A while after, they lay talking together. Ay, he had need of help forthe summer, no doubt about that. 

"They said something that way, " says Barbro. 

He had begun his mowing and haymaking all alone again; Barbro couldjudge for herself how awkward it was for him now. --Ay, Barbrounderstood. --On the other hand, it was Barbro herself that had runaway and left him before, without a soul to help him, he can't forgetthat. And taken her rings with her into the bargain. And on top of allthat, shameful as it was, the paper that kept on coming, that Bergennewspaper it seemed he would never get rid of; he had had to go onpaying for it a whole year after. 

"'Twas shameful mean of them, " says Barbro, taking his part all thetime. 

But seeing her all submissive and gentle, Axel himself could not bealtogether heartless towards her; he agreed that Barbro might havesome reason to be angry with him in return for the way he had takenthe telegraph business from her father. "But as for that, " said he, "your father can have the telegraph business again for me; I'll haveno more of it, 'tis but a waste of time. "

"Ay, " says Barbro. 

Axel thought for a while, then asked straight out: "Well, what aboutit now, would you want to come for the summer and no more?"

"Nay, " says Barbro, "let it be as you please. "

"You mean that, and truly?"

"Ay, just as you please, and I'll be pleased with the same. You've nocall to doubt about me any more. "

"H'm. "

"No, 'tis true. And I've ordered about the banns. "

H'm. This was not so bad. Axel lay thinking it over a long time. Ifshe meant it in earnest this time, and not shameful deceit again, thenhe'd a woman of his own and help for as long as might be. 

"I could get a woman to come from our parts, " said he, "and she'swritten saying she'd come. But then I'd have to pay her fare fromAmerica. "

Says Barbro: "Ho, she's in America, then?"

"Ay. Went over last year she did, but doesn't care to stay. "

"Never mind about her, " says Barbro. "And what'd become of me then?"says she, and begins to be soft and mournful. 

"No. That's why I've not fixed up all certain with her. "

And after that, Barbro must have something to show in return; sheconfessed about how she could have taken a lad in Bergen, and he wasa carter in a big brewery, a mighty big concern, and a good position. "And he'll be sorrowing for me now, I doubt, " says Barbro, and makesa little sob. "But you know how 'tis, Axel; when there's two been somuch together as you and I, 'tis more than I could ever forget. Andyou can forget me as much as you please. "

"What! me?" says Axel. "Nay, no need to lie there crying for that, mygirl, for I've never forgot you. "

"Well. .. . "

Barbro feels a deal better after that confession, and says: "Anyway, paying her fare all the way from America when there's no need. .. . " Sheadvises him to have nothing to do with that business; 'twould be overcostly, and there was no need. Barbro seemed resolved to build up hishappiness herself. 

They came to agreement all round in the course of the night. 'Twas notas if they were strangers; they had talked over everything before. Even the necessary marriage ceremony was to take place before St. Olaf's Day and harvest; they had no need to hide things, and Barbrowas now herself most eager to get it done at once. Axel was not anyput out at her eagerness, and it did not make him any way suspicious;far from it, he was flattered and encouraged to find her so. Ay, hewas a worker in the fields, no doubt, a thick-skinned fellow, not usedto looking over fine at things, nothing delicate beyond measure; therewere things he was obliged to do, and he looked to what was usefulfirst of all. Moreover, here was Barbro all new and pretty again, andnice to him, almost sweeter than before. Like an apple she was, and hebit at it. The banns were already put up. 

As to the dead child and the trial, neither said a word of that. 

But they did speak of Oline, of how they were to get rid of her. "Ay, she must go, " said Barbro. "We've nothing to thank her for, anyway. She's naught but tale-bearing and malice. "

But it proved no easy matter to get Oline to go. 

The very first morning, when Barbro appeared, Oline was clear, nodoubt, as to her fate. She was troubled at once, but tried not to showit, and brought out a chair. They had managed up to then at Maaneland. Axel had carried water and wood and done the heaviest work, and Olinedoing the rest. And gradually she had come to reckon on staying therest of her life on the place. Now came Barbro and upset it all. 

"If we'd only a grain of coffee in the house you should have it, " saidshe to Barbro. "Going farther up, maybe?"

"No, " said Barbro. 

"Ho! Not going farther?"

"No. "

"Why, 'tis no business of mine, no, " says Oline. "Going down again, maybe?"

"No. Nor going down again. I'm staying here for now. "

"Staying here, are you?"

"Ay, staying here, I doubt. "

Oline waits for a moment, using her old head, full of policy. "Ay, well, " says she. "'Twill save me, then, no doubt. And glad I'll be forthe same. "

"Oho, " says Barbro in jest, "has Axel here been so hard on you thiswhile?"

"Hard on me? Axel! Oh, there's no call to turn an old body's words, there's naught but living on and waiting for the blessed end. Axelthat's been as a father and a messenger from the Highest to me day andhour together, and gospel truth the same. But seeing I've none of myown folks here, and living alone and rejected under a stranger's roof, with all my kin over across the hills. .. . "

But for all that, Oline stayed on. They could not get rid of her tillafter they were wed, and Oline made a deal of reluctance, but said"Yes" at last, and would stay so long to please them, and look tohouse and cattle while they went down to the church. It took two days. But when they came back wedded and all, Oline stayed on as before. Sheput off going; one day she was feeling poorly, she said; the next itlooked like rain. She made up to Barbro with smooth words about thefood. Oh, there was a mighty difference in the food now at Maaneland;'twas different living now, and a mighty difference in the coffeenow. Oh, she stopped at nothing, that Oline; asked Barbro's advice onthings she knew better herself. "What you think now, should I milkcows as they stand in their place and order, or should I take cowBordelin first?"

"You can do as you please. "

"Ay, 'tis as I always said, " exclaims Oline. "You've been out in theworld and lived among great folks and fine folks, and learned all andeverything. 'Tis different with the likes of me. "

Ay, Oline stopped at nothing, she was intriguing all day long. Sittingthere telling Barbro how she herself was friends and on the best ofterms with Barbro's father, with Brede Olsen! Ho, many a pleasant hourthey'd had together, and a kindly man and rich and grand to boot wasBrede, and never a hard word in his mouth. 

But this could not go on for ever; neither Axel nor Barbro cared tohave Oline there any longer, and Barbro had taken over all her work. Oline made no complaint, but she flashed dangerous glances at heryoung mistress and changed her tone ever so little. 

"Ay, great folk, 'tis true. Axel, he was in town a while lastharvest-time--you didn't meet him there, maybe? Nay, that's true, youwere in Bergen that time. But he went into town, he did; 'twas allto buy a mowing-machine and a harrow-machine. And what's folk atSellanraa now beside you here? Nothing to compare!"

She was beginning to shoot out little pinpricks, but even that did nothelp her now; neither of them feared her. Axel told her straight outone day that she must go. 

"Go?" says Oline. "And how? Crawling, belike?" No, she would not go, saying by way of excuse that she was poorly, and could not move herlegs. And to make things bad as could be, when once they had taken thework off her hands, and she had nothing to do at all, she collapsed, and was thoroughly ill. She kept about for a week in spite of it, Axellooking furiously at her; but she stayed on from sheer malice, and atlast she had to take to her bed. 

And now she lay there, not in the least awaiting her blessed end, butcounting the hours till she should be up and about again. She askedfor a doctor, a piece of extravagance unheard of in the wilds. 

"Doctor?" said Axel. "Are you out of your senses?"

"How d'you mean, then?" said Oline quite gently, as to something shecould not understand. Ay, so gentle and smooth-tongued was she, soglad to think she need not be a burden to others; she could pay forthe doctor herself. 

"Ho, can you?" said Axel. 

"Why, and couldn't I, then?" says Oline. "And, anyway, you'd not haveme lie here and die like a dumb beast in the face of the Lord?"

Here Barbro put in a word, and was unwise enough to say:

"Well, what you've got to complain of, I'd like to know, when I bringyou in your meals and all myself? As for coffee, I've said you'rebetter without it, and meaning well. "

"Is that Barbro?" says Oline, turning just her eyes and no more tolook for her; ay, she is poorly is Oline, and a pitiful sight with hereyes screwed round cornerways. "Ay, maybe 'tis as you say, Barbro, ifa tiny drop of coffee'd do me any harm, a spoonful and no more. "

"If 'twas me in your stead, I'd be thinking of other things thancoffee at this hour, " says Barbro. 

"Ay, 'tis as I say, " answers Oline. "'Twas never your way to wish anddesire a fellow-creature's end, but rather they should be convertedand live. What . .. Ay, I'm lying here and seeing things. .. . Is it withchild you are now, Barbro?"

"What's that you say?" cries Barbro furiously; and goes on again: "Oh, 'twould serve you right if I took and heaved you out on the muck-heapfor your wicked tongue. "

And at that the invalid was silent for one thoughtful moment, hermouth trembling as if trying so hard to smile, but dare not. 

"I heard a some one calling last night, " says she. 

"She's out of her senses, " says Axel, whispering. 

"Nay, out of my senses that I'm not. Like some one calling it was. From the woods, or maybe from the stream up yonder. Strange tohear--as it might be a bit of a child crying out. Was that Barbro wentout?"

"Ay, " says Axel. "Sick of your nonsense, and no wonder. "

"Nonsense, you call it, and out of my senses, and all? Ah, but not sofar as you'd like to think, " says Oline. "Nay, 'tis not the Almighty'swill and decree I should come before the Throne and before the Lamb asyet, with all I know of goings-on here at Maaneland. I'll be up andabout again, never fear; but you'd better be fetching a doctor, Axel, 'tis quicker that way. What about that cow you were going to give me?"

"Cow? What cow?"

"That cow you promised me. Was it Bordelin, maybe?"

"You're talking wild, " says Axel. 

"You know how you promised me a cow the day I saved your life. "

"Nay, that I never knew. "

At that Oline lifts up her head and looks at him. Grey and bald sheis, a head standing up on a long, scraggy neck--ugly as a witch, as anogress out of a story. And Axel starts at the sight, and fumbles witha hand behind his back for the latch of the door. 

"Ho, " says Oline, "so you're that sort! Ay, well--say no more of itnow. I can live without the cow from this day forth, and never a wordI'll say nor breathe of it again. But well that you've shown what sortand manner of man you are this day; I know it now. Ay, and I'll knowit another time. "

But Oline, she died that night--some time in the night; anyway, shewas cold next morning when they came in. 

Oline--an aged creature. Born and died. .. . 

'Twas no sorrow to Axel nor Barbro to bury her, and be quit of her forever; there was less to be on their guard against now, they could beat rest. Barbro is having trouble with her teeth again; save for that, all is well. But that everlasting woollen muffler over her face, andshifting it aside every time there's a word to say--'twas plaguy andtroublesome enough, and all this toothache is something of a mysteryto Axel. He has noticed, certainly, that she chews her food in acareful sort of way, but there's not a tooth missing in her head. 

"Didn't you get new teeth?" he asks. 

"Ay, so I did. "

"And are they aching, too?"

"Ah, you with your nonsense!" says Barbro irritably, for all that Axelhas asked innocently enough. And in her bitterness she lets out whatis the matter. "You can see how 'tis with me, surely?"

How 'twas with her? Axel looks closer, and fancies she is stouter thanneed be. 

"Why, you can't be--'tis surely not another child again?" says he. 

"Why, you know it is, " says she. 

Axel stares foolishly at her. Slow of thought as he is, he sits therecounting for a bit: one week, two weeks, getting on the third week. .. . 

"Nay, how I should know. .. . " says he. 

But Barbro is losing all patience with this debate, and bursts out, crying aloud, crying like a deeply injured creature: "Nay, you cantake and bury me, too, in the ground, and then you'll be rid of me. "

Strange, what odd things a woman can find to cry for!

Axel had never a thought of, burying her in the ground; he is athick-skinned fellow, looking mainly to what is useful; a pathwaycarpeted with flowers is beyond his needs. 

"Then you'll not be fit to work in the fields this summer?" says he. 

"Not work?" says Barbro, all terrified again. And then--strange whatodd things a woman can find to smile for! Axel, taking it that way, sent a flow of hysterical joy through Barbro, and she burst out: "I'llwork for two! Oh, you wait and see, Axel; I'll do all you set me to, and more beyond. Wear myself to the bone, I will, and be thankful, ifonly you'll put up with me so!"

More tears and smiles and tenderness after that. Only the two of themin the wilds, none to disturb them; open doors and a humming of fliesin the summer heat. All so tender and willing was Barbro; ay, he mightdo as he pleased with her, and she was willing. 

After sunset he stands harnessing up to the mowing-machine; there's abit he can still get done ready for tomorrow. Barbro comes hurryingout, as if she's something important, and says:

"Axel, how ever could you think of getting one home from America? Shecouldn't get here before winter, and what use of her then?" And thatwas something had just come into her head, and she must come runningout with it as if 'twas something needful. 

But 'twas no way needful; Axel had seen from the first that takingBarbro would mean getting help for all the year. No swaying andswinging with Axel, no thinking with his head among the stars. Nowhe's a woman of his own to look after the place, he can keep on thetelegraph business for a bit. 'Tis a deal of money in the year, andgood to reckon with as long as he's barely enough for his needs fromthe land, and little to sell. All sound and working well; all goodreality. And little to fear from Brede about the telegraph line, seeing he's son-in-law to Brede now. 

Ay, things are looking well, looking grand with Axel now. 

Chapter XI

And time goes on; winter is passed; spring comes again. 

Isak has to go down to the village one day--and why not? What for?"Nay, I don't know, " says he. But he gets the cart cleaned up allfine, puts in the seat, and drives off, and a deal of victuals andsuch put in, too--and why not? 'Twas for Eleseus at Storborg. Never ahorse went out from Sellanraa but there was something taken down toEleseus. 

When Isak came driving down over the moors, 'twas no little event, forhe came but rarely, Sivert going most ways in his stead. At the twofarms nearest down, folk stand at the door of the huts and tell oneanother: "'Tis Isak himself; and what'll he be going down aftertoday?" And, coming down as far as to Maaneland, there's Barbro at theglass window with a child in her arms, and sees him, and says: "'TisIsak himself!"

He comes to Storborg and pulls up. "_Ptro_! Is Eleseus at home?"

Eleseus comes out. Ay, he's at home; not gone yet, but just going--offon his spring tour of the towns down south. 

"Here's some things your mother sent down, " says his father. "Don'tknow what it is, but nothing much, I doubt. "

Eleseus takes the things, and thanks him, and asks:

"There wasn't a letter, I suppose, or anything that sort?"

"Ay, " says his father, feeling in pockets, "there was. 'Tis fromlittle Rebecca I think they said. "

Eleseus takes the letter, 'tis that he has been waiting for. Feels itall nice and thick, and says to his father:

"Well, 'twas lucky you came in time--though 'tis two days before I'moff yet. If you'd like to stay a bit, you might take my trunk down. "

Isak gets down and ties up his horse, and goes for a stroll over theground. Little Andresen is no bad worker on the land in Eleseus'service; true, he has had Sivert from Sellanraa with horses, but hehas done a deal of work on his own account, draining bogs, and hiringa man himself to set the ditches with stone. No need of buying fodderat Storborg that year, and next, like as not, Eleseus would be keepinga horse of his own. Thanks to Andresen and the way he worked on theland. 

After a bit of a while, Eleseus calls down that he's ready with histrunk. Ready to go himself, too, by the look of it; in a fine bluesuit, white collar, galoshes, and a walking-stick. True, he will havetwo days to wait for the boat, but no matter; he may just as well staydown in the village; 'tis all the same if he's here or there. 

And father and son drive off. Andresen watches them from the door ofthe shop and wishes a pleasant journey. 

Isak is all thought for his boy, and would give him the seat tohimself; but Eleseus will have none of that, and 'sits up by his side. They come to Breidablik, and suddenly Eleseus has forgotten something. "_Ptro_!--What is it?" asks his father. 

Oh, his umbrella! Eleseus has forgotten his umbrella; but he can'texplain all about it, and only says: "Never mind, drive on. "

"Don't you want to turn back?"

"No; drive on. "

But a nuisance it was; how on earth had he come to leave it? 'Twas allin a hurry, through his father being there waiting. Well, now he hadbetter buy a new umbrella at Trondhjem when he got there. 'Twas noimportance either way if he had one umbrella or two. But for all that, Eleseus is out of humour with himself; so much so that he jumps downand walks behind. 

They could hardly talk much on the way down after that, seeing Isakhad to turn round every time and speak over his shoulder. Says Isak:"How long you're going to be away?"

And Eleseus answers: "Oh, say three weeks, perhaps, or a month at theoutside. "

His father marvels how folk don't get lost in the big towns, and neverfind their way back. But Eleseus answers, as to that, he's used toliving in towns, and never got lost, never had done in his life. 

Isak thinks it a shame to be sitting up there all alone, and callsout: "Here, you come and drive a bit; I'm getting tired. "

Eleseus won't hear of his father getting down, and gets up besidehim again. But first they must have something to eat--out of Isak'swell-filled pack. Then they drive on again. 

They come to the two holdings farthest down; easy to see they arenearing the village now; both the houses have white curtains in thelittle window facing toward the road, and a flag-pole stuck up on topof the hayloft for Constitution Day. "'Tis Isak himself, " said folk onthe two new farms as the cart went by. 

At last Eleseus gives over thinking of his own affairs and his ownprecious self enough to ask: "What you driving down for today?"

"H'm, " says his father. "'Twas nothing much today. " But then, afterall, Eleseus was going away; no harm, perhaps, in telling him. "'Tisblacksmith's girl, Jensine, I'm going down for, " says his father; ay, he admits so much. 

"And you're going down yourself for that? Couldn't Sivert have gone?"says Eleseus. Ay, Eleseus knew no better, nothing better than to thinkSivert would go down to the smith's to fetch Jensine, after she hadthought so much of herself as to leave Sellanraa!

No, 'twas all awry with the haymaking the year before. Inger had putin all she could, as she had promised. Leopoldine did her share too, not to speak of having a machine for a horse to rake. But the haywas much of it heavy stuff, and the fields were big. Sellanraa was asizeable place now, and the women had other things to look to besidesmaking hay; all the cattle to look to, and meals to be got, and allin proper time; butter and cheese to make, and clothes to wash, andbaking of bread; mother and daughter working all they could. Isak wasnot going to have another summer like that; he decided without anyfuss that Jensine should come back again if she could be got. Inger, too, had no longer a word against it; she had come to her sensesagain, and said: "Ay, do as you think best. " Ay, Inger was grownreasonable now; 'tis no little thing to come to one's senses againafter a spell. Inger was no longer full of heat that must out, nolonger full of wild blood to be kept in check, the winter had cooledher; nothing beyond the needful warmth in her now. She was gettingstouter, growing fine and stately. A wonderful woman to keep fromfading, keep from dying off by degrees; like enough because she hadbloomed so late in life. Who can say how things come about? Nothingcomes from a single cause, but from many. Was Inger not in the bestrepute with the smith's wife? What could any smith's wife say againsther? With her disfigurement, she had been cheated of her spring, andlater, had been set in artificial air to lose six years of her summer;with life still in her, what wonder her autumn gave an errant growth?Inger was better than blacksmiths' wives--a little damaged, a littlewarped, but good by nature, clever by nature . .. Ay. .. . 

Father and son drive down, they come to Brede Olsen's lodging-houseand set the horse in a shed. It is evening now. They go in themselves. 

Brede Olsen has rented the house; an outbuilding it had been, belonging to the storekeeper, but done up now with two sitting-roomsand two bedrooms; none so bad, and in a good situation. The placeis well frequented by coffee-drinkers and folk from round about thevillage going by the boat. 

Brede seems to have been in luck for once, found something suited tohim, and he may thank his wife for that. 'Twas Brede's wife had hit onthe idea of a coffee-shop and lodging-house, the day she sat sellingcoffee at the auction at Breidablik; 'twas a pleasant enough thing tobe selling something, to feel money in her fingers, ready cash. Sincethey had come down here they had managed nicely, selling coffee inearnest now, and housing a deal of folk with nowhere else to lay theirheads. A blessing to travellers, is Brede's wife. She has a goodhelper, of course, in Katrine, her daughter, a big girl now and cleverat waiting--though that is only for the time, of course; not longbefore little Katrine must have something better than waiting on folkin her parents' house. But for the present, they are making moneyfairly well, and that is the main thing. The start had been decidedlyfavourable, and might have been better if the storekeeper had not runshort of cakes and sweet biscuits to serve with the coffee; here wereall the feast-day folk calling for cakes with their coffee, biscuitsand cakes! 'Twas a lesson to the storekeeper to lay in a good supplyanother time. 

The family, and Brede himself, live as best they can on their takings. A good many meals are nothing but coffee and stale cakes left over, but it keeps them alive, and gives the children a delicate, sort ofrefined appearance. 'Tis not every one has cakes with their coffee, say the village folk. Ay, Bredes are doing well, it seems; they evenmanage to keep a dog, that goes round begging among the customers andgets bits here and there and grows fat on it. A good fat dog about theplace is a mighty fine advertisement for a lodging-house; it speaksfor good feeding anywhere. 

Brede, then, is husband and father in the house, and apart from thatposition, has got on variously beside. He had been once more installedas Lensmand's assistant and deputy, and had a good deal to do that wayfor a time. Unfortunately, his daughter Barbro had fallen out withthe Lensmand's wife last autumn, about a trifling matter, a merenothing--indeed, to tell the truth, a flea; and Brede himself issomewhat in disfavour there since. But Brede counts it no great loss, after all; there are other families that find work for him now onpurpose to annoy the Lensmand's; he is frequently called upon, forinstance, to drive for the doctor, and as for the parsonage, they'dgladly send for Brede every time there's a pig to be killed, andmore--Brede says so himself. 

But for all that there are hard times now and again in Brede's house;'tis not all the family are as fat and flourishing as the dog. Still, Heaven be praised, Brede is not a man to take things much to heart. "Here's the children growing up day by day, " says he, though, for thatmatter, there's always new little ones coming to take their place. Theones that are grown up and out in the world can keep themselves, andsend home a bit now and again. There's Barbro married at Maaneland, and Helge out at the herring fishery; they send home something inmoney or money's worth as often as they can; ay, even Katrine, doingwaiting at home, managed, strangely enough, to slip a five-_Krone_note into her father's hand last winter, when things were lookingextra bad. "There's a girl for you, " said Brede, and never asked herwhere she'd got the money, or what for. Ay, that was the way! Childrenwith a heart to think of their parents and help them in time of need!

Brede is not altogether pleased with his boy Helge in that respect; hecan be heard at times standing in the store with a little group abouthim, developing his theories as to children and their duty towardtheir parents. "Look you, now, my boy, Helge; if he smokes tobacco abit, or takes a dram now and then, I've nothing against that, we'veall been young in our time. But 'tis not right of him to go sendingone letter home after another and nothing but words and wishes in. 'Tis not right to set his mother crying. 'Tis the wrong road for alad. In days gone by, things were different. Children were no soonergrown than they went into service and started sending home a little tohelp. And quite right, too. Isn't it their father and mother had bornethem under their breast first of all, and sweating blood to keep thelife in them all their tender years? And then to forget it all!"

It almost seemed as if Helge had heard that speech of his father's, for there came a letter from him after with money in--fifty _Kroner_, no less. And then Bredes had a great time; ay, in their endlessextravagance they bought both meat and fish for dinner, and a lamp allhung about with lustres to hang from the ceiling in the best room. 

They managed somehow, and what more could they ask? Bredes, they keptalive, lived from hand to mouth, but without great fear. What morecould they wish for?

"Here's visitors indeed!" says Brede, showing Isak and Eleseus intothe room with the new lamp. "And I'd never thought to see. Isak, you're never going away yourself, and all?"

"Nay, only to the smith's for something, 'tis no more. "

"Ho! 'Tis Eleseus, then, going off south again?"

Eleseus is used to hotels; he makes himself at hojne, hangs up hiscoat and stick on the wall, and calls for coffee; as for something toeat, his father has things in a basket. Katrine brings the coffee. 

"Pay? I'll not hear of it, " says Brede. "I've had many a bite and supat Sellanraa; and as for Eleseus, I'm in his books already. Don't takeit, Katrine. " But Eleseus pays all the same, takes out his purse andpays out the money, and twenty _Ore_ over; no nonsense about him. 

Isak goes across to the smith's, and Eleseus stays where he is. 

He says a few words, as in duty bound, to Katrine, but no more than isneeded; he would rather talk to her father. No, Eleseus cares nothingfor women; has been frightened off by them once, as it were, and takesno interest in them now. Like as not he'd never much inclinationthat way to speak of, seeing he's so completely out of it all now. A strange man to live in the wilds; a gentleman with thin writer'shands, and the sense of a woman for finery; for sticks and umbrellasand galoshes. Frightened off, and changed, incomprehensibly not amarrying man. Even his upper lip declines to put forth any brutaldegree of growth. Yet it might be the lad had started well enough, come of good stock, but been turned thereafter into an artificialatmosphere, and warped, transformed? Had he worked so hard in anoffice, in a shop, that his whole originality was lost thereby? Ay, maybe 'twas so. Anyway, here he is now, easy and passionless, a littleweak, a little heedless, wandering farther and farther off the road. He might envy every soul among his fellows in the wilds, but has noteven strength for that. 

Katrine is used to jesting with her customers, and asks him teasinglyif he is off to see his sweetheart in the south again. 

"I've other things to think of, " says Eleseus. "I'm out onbusiness--opening up connections. "

"No call to be so free with your betters, Katrine, " says her fatherreprovingly. Oh, Brede Olsen is all respect towards Eleseus, mightyrespectful for him to be. And well he may, 'tis but wise of him, seeing he owes money up at Storborg, and here's his creditor beforehim. And Eleseus? Ho, all this deference pleases him, and he is kindand gracious in return; calls Brede "My dear sir, " in jest, and goeson that way. He mentions that he has forgotten his umbrella: "Just aswe were passing Breidablik, I thought of it; left my umbrella behind. "

Brede asks: "You'll be going over to our little store this evening, belike, for a drink?"

Says Eleseus: "Ay, maybe, if 'twas only myself. But I've my fatherhere. "

Brede makes himself pleasant, and goes on gossiping: "There's a fellowcoming in day after tomorrow that's on his way to America. "

"Been home, d'you mean?"

"Ay. He's from up in the village a bit. Been away for ever so manyyears, and home for the winter. His trunk's come down already bycart--and a mighty fine trunk. "

"I've thought of going to America myself once or twice, " says Eleseusfrankly. 

"You?" cries Brede. "Why, there's little need for the likes of yougoing that way surely!"

"Well, 'twas not going over to stay for ever I was thinking. But I'vebeen travelling about so many places now, I might just as well makethe trip over there. "

"Ay, of course, and why not? And a heap of money and means and all, sothey say, in America. Here's this fellow I spoke of before; he's paidfor more feasting and parties than's easy to count this winter past, and comes in here and says to me, 'Let's have some coffee, a potful, and all the cakes you've got. ' Like to see his trunk?"

They went out in the passage to look at the trunk. A wonder to lookat on earth, flaming all sides and corners with metal and clasps andbinding, and three flaps to hold it down, not to speak of a lock. "Burglar-proof, " says Brede, as if he had tried it himself. 

They went back into the room, but Eleseus was grown thoughtful. ThisAmerican from up in the village had outdone him; he was nothing besidesuch a man. Going out on journeys like any high official; ay, naturalenough that Brede should make a fuss of him. Eleseus ordered morecoffee, and tried to play the rich man too; ordered cakes with hiscoffee and gave them to the dog--and all the time feeling worthlessand dejected. What was his trunk beside that wonder out there? Thereit stood, black canvas with the corners all rubbed and worn; ahandbag, nothing more--ho, but wait! He would buy a trunk when he gotto the towns, a splendid one it should be, only wait!

"'Tis a pity to feed the dog so, " says Brede. 

And Eleseus feels better at that, and ready to show off again. "'Tis amarvel how a beast can get so fat, " says he. 

One thought leading to another: Eleseus breaks off his talk with Bredeand goes out into the shed to look at the horse. And there he takesout a letter from his pocket and opens it. He had put it away at once, never troubling to look what money was in it; he had had lettersof that sort from home before, and always a deal of notesinside--something to help him on the way. What was this? A big sheetof grey paper scrawled all over; little Rebecca to her brotherEleseus, and a few words from his mother. What else? Nothing else. Nomoney at all. 

His mother wrote that she could not ask his father for more moneyagain now, for there was none too much left of all they had got forthe copper mine that time; the money had gone to buy Storborg, and payfor all the goods after, and Eleseus' travelling about. He must tryand manage by himself this time, for the money that was left wouldhave to be kept for his brother and sisters, not to leave them allwithout. And a pleasant journey and your loving mother. 

No money. 

Eleseus himself had not enough for his fare; he had cleaned out thecash box at Storborg, and that was not much. Oh, but he had been afool to send that money to the dealers in Bergen on account; no hurryfor that; he might have let it stand over. He ought, of course, tohave opened the letter before starting out at all; he might have savedhimself that journey down to the village with his miserable trunk andall. And here he was. .. . 

His father comes back from the smith's after settling his businessthere; Jensine was to go back with him next morning. And Jensine, lookyou, had been nowise contrary and hard to persuade, but saw at oncethey wanted help at Sellanraa for the summer, and was ready to come. Aproper way to do, again. 

While his father is talking, Eleseus sits thinking of his own affairs. He shows him the American's trunk, and says: "Only wish I was wherethat's come from. "

And his father answers: "Ay, 'twas none so bad, maybe. "

Next morning Isak gets ready to start for home again; has his food, puts in the horse and drives round by the smith's to fetch Jensine andher box. Eleseus stands looking after them as they go; then when theyare lost to sight in the woods, he pays his score at the lodging-houseagain, and something over. "You can leave my trunk here till I comeback, " he tells Katrine, and off he goes. 

Eleseus--going where? Only one place to go; he turns back, going backhome again. So he too takes the road up over the hills again, takingcare to keep as near his father and Jensine as he can without beingseen. Walks on and on. Beginning now to envy every soul of them in thewilds. 

'Tis a pity about Eleseus, so changed he is and all. 

Is he doing no business at Storborg? Such as it is; nothing to make afortune out of there, and Eleseus is overmuch out and abroad, makingpleasant journeys on business to open up connections, and it coststoo much; he does not travel cheaply. "Doesn't do to be mean, " saysEleseus, and gives twenty _Ore_ over where he might save ten. Thebusiness cannot support a man of his tastes, he must get subsidiesfrom home. There's the farm at Storborg, with potatoes and corn andhay enough for the place itself, but all provisions else must comefrom Sellanraa. Is that all? Sivert must cart up his brother's goodsfrom the steamer all for nothing. And is that all? His mother must getmoney out of his father to pay for his journeys. But is that all?

The worst is to come. 

Eleseus manages his business like a fool. It flatters him to have folkcoming up from the village to buy at Storborg, so that he gives themcredit as soon as asked; and when this is noised abroad, there comestill more of them to buy the same way. The whole thing is going torack and ruin. Eleseus is an easy man, and lets it go; the store isemptied and the store is filled again. All costs money. And who paysit? His father. 

At first, his mother had been a faithful spokesman for him every way. Eleseus was the clever head of the family; they must help him on andgive him a start; then think how cheaply he had got Storborg, andsaying straight out what he would give for it! When his father thoughtit was going wrong somehow with the business, and naught but foolery, she took him up. "How can you stand there and say such things!"Ay, she reproved him for using such words about his son; Isak wasforgetting his place, it seemed, to speak so of Eleseus. 

For look you, his mother had been out in the world herself; sheunderstood how hard it was for Eleseus to live in the wilds, beingused to better things, and accustomed to move in society, and withnone of his equals near. He risked too much in his dealings with folkthat were none of the soundest; but even so, 'twas not done with anyevil intent on his part of ruining his parents, but sheer goodness ofheart and noble nature; 'twas his way to help those that were not sofine and grand as himself. Why, wasn't he the only man in those partsto use white handkerchiefs that were always having to be washed? Whenfolk came trustingly to him and asked for credit, if he were to say"No, " they might take it amiss, it might seem as if he were not thenoble fellow they had thought, after all. Also, he had a certain dutytowards his fellows, as the town-bred man, the genius among them all. 

Ay, his mother bore all these things in mind. 

But his father, never understanding it all in the least, opened hereyes and ears one day and said:

"Look you here. Here's all that is left of the money from that mine. "

"That's all?" said she. "And what's come of the rest?"

"Eleseus, he's had the rest. "

And she clasped her hands at that and declared it was time Eleseusbegan to use his wits. 

Poor Eleseus, all set on end and frittered away. Better, maybe, ifhe'd worked on the land all the time, but now he's a man that haslearned to write and use letters; no grip in him, no depth. For allthat, no pitch-black devil of a man, not in love, not ambitious, hardly nothing at all is Eleseus, not even a bad thing of any greatdimensions. 

Something unfortunate, ill-fated about this young man, as if somethingwere rotting him from within. That engineer from the town, goodman--better perhaps, if he had not discovered the lad in his youthand taken him up to make something out of him; the child had lost hisroothold, and suffered thereby. All that he turns to now leads back tosomething wanting in him, something dark against the light. .. . 

Eleseus goes on and on. The two in the cart ahead pass by Storborg. Eleseus goes a long way round, and he too passes by; what was he to dothere, at home, at his trading station and store? The two in the cartget to Sellanraa at nightfall; Eleseus is close at their heels. SeesSivert come out in the yard, all surprised to see Jensine, and the twoshake hands and laugh a little; then Sivert takes the horse out andleads it to stable. 

Eleseus ventures forward; the pride of the family, he ventures up alittle. Not walking up, but stealing up; he comes on Sivert in thestable. "'Tis only me, " he says. 

"What--you too?" says Sivert, all astonished again. 

The two brothers begin talking quietly; about Sivert getting hismother to find some money; a last resource, the money for a journey. Things can't go on this way; Eleseus is weary of it; has been thinkingof it a long time now, and he must go tonight; a long journey, toAmerica, and start tonight. 

"America?" says Sivert out loud. 

"Sh! I've been thinking of it a long time, and you must get her to doas I say; it can't go on like this, and I've been thinking of goingfor ever so long. "

"But America!" says Sivert. "No, don't you do it. "

"I'm going. I've settled that. Going back now to catch the boat. "

"But you must have something to eat. "

"I'm not hungry. "

"But rest a bit, then?"

"No. "

Sivert is trying to act for the best, and hold his brother back, butEleseus is determined, ay, for once he is determined. Sivert himselfis all taken aback; first of all it was a surprise to see Jensineagain, and now here's Eleseus going to leave the place altogether, notto say the world. "What about Storborg?" says he. "What'll you do withit?"

"Andresen can have it, " says Sivert. 

"Andresen have it? How d'you mean?"

"Isn't he going to have Leopoldine?"

"Don't know about that. Ay; perhaps he is. "

They talk quietly, keep on talking. Sivert thinks it would be best ifhis father came out and Eleseus could talk to him himself; but "No, no!" whispers Eleseus again; he was never much of a man to face athing like that, but always must have a go-between. 

Says Sivert: "Well, mother, you know how 'tis with her. There'll be nogetting any way with her for crying and talking on. She mustn't know. "

"No, " Eleseus agrees, "she mustn't know. "

Sivert goes off, stays away for ages, and comes back with money, a heap of money. "Here, that's all he has; think it'll be enough?Count--he didn't count how much there was. "

"What did he say--father?"

"Nay, he didn't say much. Now you must wait a little, and I'll getsome more clothes on and go down with you. "

"'Tis not worth while; you go and lie down. "

"Ho, are you frightened of the dark that I mustn't go away?" saysSivert, trying a moment to be cheerful. 

He is away a moment, and comes back dressed, and with his father'sfood basket over his shoulder. As they go out, there is their fatherstanding outside. "So you're going all that way, seems?" says Isak. 

"Ay, " answered Eleseus; "but I'll be coming back again. "

"I'll not be keeping you now--there's little time, " mumbles the oldman, and turns away. "Good luck, " he croaks out in a strange voice, and goes off all hurriedly. 

The two brothers walk down the road; a little way gone, they sit downto eat; Eleseus is hungry, can hardly eat enough. 'Tis a fine springnight, and the black grouse at play on the hilltops; the homely soundmakes the emigrant lose courage for a moment. "'Tis a fine night, "says he. "You better turn back now, Sivert, " says he. 

"H'm, " says Sivert, and goes on with him. 

They pass by Storborg, by Breidablik, and the sound follows them allthe way from the hills here and there; 'tis no military music likein the towns, nay, but voices--a proclamation: Spring has come. Thensuddenly the first chirp of a bird is heard from a treetop, wakingothers, and a calling and answering on every side; more than a song, it is a hymn of praise. The emigrant feels home-sick already, maybe, something weak and helpless in him; he is going off to America, andnone could be more fitted to go than he. 

"You turn back now, Sivert, " says he. 

"Ay, well, " says his brother. "If you'd rather. "

They sit down at the edge of the wood, and see the village just belowthem, the store and the quay, Brede's old lodging-house; some men aremoving about by the steamer, getting ready. 

"Well, no time to stay sitting here, " says Eleseus, getting up again. 

"Fancy you going all that way, " says Sivert. 

And Eleseus answers: "But I'll be coming back again. And I'll have abetter sort of trunk that journey. "

As they say good-bye, Sivert thrusts something into his brother'shand, a bit of something wrapped in paper. "What is it?" asks Eleseus. 

"Don't forget to write often, " says Sivert. And so he goes. 

Eleseus opens the paper and looks; 'tis the gold piece, twenty-five_Kroner_ in gold. "Here, don't!" he calls out. "You mustn't do that!"

Sivert walks on. 

Walks on a little, then turns round and sits down again at the edge ofthe wood. More folk astir now down by the steamer; passengers going onboard, Eleseus going on board; the boat pushes off from the side androws away. And Eleseus is gone to America. 

He never came back. 

Chapter XII

A notable procession coming up to Sellanraa; Something laughable tolook at, maybe, but more than that. Three men with enormous burdens, with sacks hanging down from their shoulders, front and back. Walkingone behind the other, and calling to one another with jesting words, but heavily laden. Little Andresen, chief clerk, is head of thatprocession; indeed, 'tis his procession; he has fitted out himself, and Sivert from Sellanraa, and one other, Fredrik Ström fromBreidablik, for the expedition. A notable little man is Andresen; hisshoulder is weighed down slantwise on one side, and his jacket pulledall awry at the neck, the way he goes, but he carries his burden onand on. 

Storborg and the business Eleseus had left--well, not bought itstraight out on the spot, perhaps, 'tis more than Andresen couldafford; better afford to wait a bit and get the whole maybe fornothing. Andresen is no fool; he has taken over the place on lease forthe meanwhile, and manages the business himself. 

Gone through the stock in hand, and found a deal of unsalable truck inEleseus' store, even to such things as toothbrushes and embroideredtable centres; ay, and stuffed birds on springs that squeaked when youpressed in the right place. 

These are the things he has started out with now, going to sell themto the miners on the other side of the hills. He knows from Aronsen'stime that miners with money in their pockets will buy anything onearth. Only a pity he had to leave behind six rocking-horses thatEleseus had ordered on his last trip to Bergen. 

The caravan turns into the yard at Sellanraa and sets down its load. No long wait here; they drink a mug of milk, and make pretence oftrying to sell their wares on the spot, then shoulder their burdensand off again. They are not out for pretence. Off they go, trundlingsouthward through the forest. 

They march till noon, rest for a meal and on again till evening. Thenthey camp and make a fire, lie down, and sleep a while. Sivert sleepsresting on a boulder that he calls an arm-chair. Oh, Sivert knows whathe is about; here's the sun been warming that boulder all day, tillit's a good place to sit and sleep. His companions are not so wise, and will not take advice; they lie down in the heather, and wake upfeeling cold, and sneezing. Then they have breakfast and start offagain. 

Listening now, for any sound of blasting about; they are hoping tocome on the mine, and meet with folk some time that day. The workshould have got so far by now; a good way up from the water towardsSellanraa. But never a sound of blasting anywhere. They march tillnoon, meeting never a soul; but here and there they come upon holes inthe ground, where men have been digging for trial. What can this mean?Means, no doubt, that the ore must be more than commonly rich at thefarther end of the tract; they are getting out pure heavy copper, andkeeping to that end all the time. 

In the afternoon they come upon several more mines, but no miners;they march on till evening, and already they can make out the seabelow; marching through a wilderness of deserted mines, and never asound. 'Tis all beyond understanding, but nothing for it; they mustcamp and sleep out again that night. They talk the matter over: Canthe work have stopped? Should they turn and go back again? "Not a bitof it, " says Andresen. 

Next morning a man walks into their camp--a pale, haggard man wholooks at them frowningly, piercingly. "That you, Andresen?" says theman. It is Aronsen, Aronsen the trader. He does not say "No" to a cupof hot coffee and something to eat with the caravan, and settles downat once. "I saw the smoke of your fire, and came up to see what itwas, " says he. "I said to myself, 'Sure enough, they're coming totheir senses, and starting work again. ' And 'twas only you, after all!Where you making for, then?"

"Here. "

"What's that you've got with you?"

"Goods. "

"Goods?" cries Aronsen. "Coming up here with goods for sale? Who's tobuy them? There's never a soul. They left last Saturday gone. "

"Left? Who left?"

"All the lot. Not a soul on the place now. And I've goods enoughmyself, anyway. A whole store packed full. I'll sell you anything youlike. "

Oh, Trader Aronsen in difficulties again! The mine has shut down. 

They ply him with coffee till he grows calmer, and asks what it allmeans. 

Aronsen shakes his head despairingly. "'Tis beyond understanding, there's no words for it, " says he. All had been going so well, and hehad been selling goods, and money pouring in; the village round allflourishing, and using the finest meal, and a new schoolhouse, andhanging lamps and town-made boots, and all! Then suddenly theirlordships up at the mine take it into their heads that the thing isn'tpaying, and close down. Not paying? But it paid them before? Wasn'tthere clean copper there and plain to see at every blasting? 'Twasrank cheating, no less. "And never a thought of what it means to a manlike me. Ay, I doubt it's as they say; 'tis that Geissler's at thebottom of it all, same as before. No sooner he'd come up than the workstopped; 'twas as if he'd smelt it out somehow. "

"Geissler, is he here, then?"

"Is he not? Ought to be shot, he ought! Comes up one day by thesteamer and says to the engineer: 'Well, how's things going?'--'Allright, as far as I can see, ' says the engineer. But Geissler he juststands there, and asks again: 'Ho, all right, is it?'--'Ay, as far asI know, ' says the engineer. But as true as I'm here, no sooner thepost comes up from that same boat Geissler had come by, than there'sletter and telegram both to the engineer that the work wasn't paying, and he's to shut down at once. "

The members of the expedition look at one another, but the leader, Andresen himself, has not lost courage yet. 

"You may just as well turn back and go home again, " is Aronsen'sadvice. 

"We're not doing that, " says Andresen, and packs up the coffee-pot. 

Aronsen stares at the three of them in turn. "You're mad, then, " sayshe. 

Look you, Andresen he cares little now for what his master that wascan say; he's master himself now, leader of an expedition equipped athis own expense for a journey to distant parts; 'twould lose him hisprestige to turn back now where he is. 

"Well, where will you go?" asks Aronsen irritably. 

"Can't say, " answers Andresen. But he's a notion of his own all thesame, no doubt; thinking, maybe, of the natives, and coming down intothe district three men strong, with glass beads and finger rings. "We'll be getting on, " says he to the rest. 

Now, Aronsen had thought like enough to go farther up that morning, seeing he'd come so far, wanting, maybe, to see if all the place wasquite deserted, if it could be true every man on the place was gone. But seeing these pedlar-folk so set on going on, it hinders him, andhe tells them again and again they're mad to try. Aronsen is furioushimself, marches down in front of the caravan, turning round andshouting at them, barking at them, trying to keep them out of hisdistrict. And so they come down to the huts in the mining centre. 

A little town of huts, but empty and desolate. Most of the tools andimplements are housed under cover, but poles and planks, broken cartsand cases and barrels, lie all about in disorder; here and there anotice on a door declares "No admittance. "

"There you are, " cries Aronsen. "What did I say? Not a soul in theplace. " And he threatens the caravan with disaster--he will send forthe Lensmand; anyway, he's going to follow them every step now, andif he can catch them at any unlawful trading 'tis penal servitude andslavery, no mistake!

All at once somebody calls out for Sivert. The place is not altogetherdead, after all, not utterly deserted; here is a man standingbeckoning at the corner of a house. Sivert trundles over with hisload, and sees at once who it is--Geissler. 

"Funny meeting you here, " says Geissler. His face is red andflourishing, but his eyes apparently cannot stand the glare of spring, he is wearing smoked glasses. He talks as brilliantly as ever. "Luckiest thing in the world, " says he. "Save me going all the way upto Sellanraa; and I've a deal to look after. How many settlers arethere in the _Almenning_ now?"

"Ten. "

"Ten new holdings. I'll agree. I'm satisfied. But 'tistwo-and-thirty-thousand men of your father's stamp the country wants. Ay, that's what I say, and I mean it; I've reckoned it out. "

"Sivert, are you coming on?" The caravan is waiting. 

Geissler hears, and calls back sharply: "No. "

"I'll come on after, " calls Sivert, and sets down his load. 

The two men sit down and talk. Geissler is in the right mood today;the spirit moves him, and he talks all the time, only pausing whenSivert puts in a word or so in answer, and then going on again. "Amighty lucky thing--can't help saying it. Everything turned out justas I wanted all the way up, and now meeting you here and saving allthe journey to Sellanraa. All well at home, what?"

"All well, and thank you kindly. "

"Got up that hayloft yet, over the cowshed?"

"Ay, 'tis done. "

"Well, well--I've a heap of things to look to, almost more than I canmanage. Look at where we're sitting now, for instance. What d'you sayto that, Sivert man? Ruined city, eh? Men gone about to build it allagainst their nature and well-being. Properly speaking, it's allmy fault from the start--that is to say, I'm a humble agent in theworkings of fate. It all began when your father picked up some bitsof stone up in the hills, and gave you to play with when you were achild. That was how it started. I knew well enough those bits of stonewere worth exactly as much as men would give for them, no more; welland good, I set a price on them myself, and bought them. Then thestones passed from hand to hand, and did no end of damage. Time wenton. And now, a few days ago, I came up here again, and what for, d'youthink? To buy those stones back again!"

Geissler stops for a moment, and looks at Sivert. Then suddenly heglances at the sack, and asks: "What's that you're carrying?"

"Goods, " says Sivert. "We're taking them down to the village. "

Geissler does not seem interested in the answer; has not even heardit, like as not. He goes on:

"Buy them back again--yes. Last time, I let my son manage the deal; hesold them then. Young fellow about your own age, that's all about him. He's the lightning in the family, I'm more a sort of fog. Know what'sthe right thing to do, but don't do it. But he's the lightning--andhe's entered the service of industry for the time being. 'Twas he soldfor me last time. I'm something and he's not, he's only the lightning;quick to act, modern type. But the lightning by itself's a barrenthing. Look at you folk at Sellanraa, now; looking up at blue peaksevery day of your lives; no new-fangled inventions about that, butfjeld and rocky peaks, rooted deep in the past--but you've them forcompanionship. There you are, living in touch with heaven and earth, one with them, one with all these wide, deep-rooted things. No need ofa sword in your hands, you go through life bareheaded, barehanded, inthe midst of a great kindliness. Look, Nature's there, for you andyours to have and enjoy. Man and Nature don't bombard each other, but agree; they don't compete, race one against the other, but gotogether. There's you Sellanraa folk, in all this, living there. Fjeldand forest, moors and meadow, and sky and stars--oh, 'tis not poor andsparingly counted out, but without measure. Listen to me, Sivert: yoube content! You've everything to live on, everything to live for, everything to believe in; being born and bringing forth, you are theneedful on earth. 'Tis not all that are so, but you are so; needful onearth. 'Tis you that maintain life. Generation to generation, breedingever anew; and when you die, the new stock goes on. That's the meaningof eternal life. What do you get out of it? An existence innocentlyand properly set towards all. What you get out of it? Nothing can putyou under orders and lord it over you Sellanraa folk, you've peace andauthority and this great kindliness all round. That's what you get forit. You lie at a mother's breast and suck, and play with a mother'swarm hand. There's your father now, he's one of the two-and-thirtythousand. What's to be said of many another? I'm something, I'm thefog, as it were, here and there, floating around, sometimes cominglike rain on dry ground. But the others? There's my son, the lightningthat's nothing in itself, a flash of barrenness; he can act. 

"My son, ay, he's the modern type, a man of our time; he believeshonestly enough all the age has taught him, all the Jew and the Yankeehave taught him; I shake my head at it all. But there's nothingmythical about me; 'tis only in the family, so to speak, that I'm likea fog. Sit there shaking my head. Tell the truth--I've not the powerof doing things and not regretting it. If I had, I could be lightningmyself. Now I'm a fog. "

Suddenly Geissler seems to recollect himself, and asks: "Got up thathayloft yet, above the cowshed?"

"Ay, that's done. And father's put up a new house. "

"New house?"

"'Tis in case any one should come, he says--in case Geissler he shouldhappen to come along. "

Geissler thinks over this, and takes his decision: "Well, then, I'dbetter come. Yes, I'll come; you can tell your father that. But I've aheap of things to look to. Came up here and told the engineer tolet his people in Sweden know I was ready to buy. And we'd see whathappened. All the same to me, no hurry. You ought to have seen thatengineer--here he's been going about and keeping it all up with menand horses and money and machines and any amount of fuss; thought itwas all right, knew no better. The more bits of stone he can turninto money, the better; he thinks he's doing something clever anddeserving, bringing money to the place, to the country, and everythingnearing disaster more and more, and he's none the wiser. 'Tis notmoney the country wants, there's more than enough of it already; 'tismen like your father there's not enough of. Ay, turning the means toan end in itself and being proud of it! They're mad, diseased; theydon't work, they know nothing of the plough, only the dice. Mightydeserving of them, isn't it, working and wasting themselves to nothingin their own mad way. Look at them--staking everything, aren't they?There's but this much wrong with it all; they forget that gamblingisn't courage, 'tis not even foolhardy courage, 'tis a horror. D'youknow what gambling is? 'Tis fear, with the sweat on your brow, that'swhat it is. What's wrong with them is, they won't keep pace with life, but want to go faster--race on, tear on ahead, driving themselves intolife itself like wedges. And then the flanks of them say: here, stop, there's something breaking, find a remedy; stop, say the flanks! Andthen life crushes them, politely but firmly crushes them. And thenthey set to complaining about life, raging against life! Each to hisown taste; some may have ground to complain, others not, but there'snone should rage against life. Not be stern and strict and just withlife, but be merciful to it, and take its part; only think of thegamblers life has to bear with!"

Geissler recollects himself again, and says: "Well, all that's as itmay be; leave it!" He is evidently tired, beginning to breathe inlittle gasps. "Going down?" says he. 

"Ay. "

"There's no hurry. You owe me a long walk over the hills, Sivert man, remember that? I remember it all. I remember from the time I was ayear and a half; stood leaning down from the barn bridge at Garmo, andnoticed a smell. I can smell it again now. But all that's as it maybe, that too; but we might have done that trip over the hills now ifyou hadn't got that sack. What's in it?"

"Goods. 'Tis Andresen is going to sell them. "

"Well, then, I'm a man that knows what's the right thing to do, butdoesn't do it, " says Geissler. "I'm the fog. Now perhaps I'll buy thatmine back again one of these days, it's not impossible; but if I do, it wouldn't be to go about staring up at the sky and saying, 'Aerialrailway! South America!' No, leave that to the gamblers. Folkhereabout say I must be the devil himself because I knew beforehandthis was going to break up. But there's nothing mystical about me, 'tis simple enough. The new copper mines in Montana, that's all. TheYankees are smarter than we are at that game; they are cutting usto death in South America--our ore here's too poor. My son's thelightning; he got the news, and I came floating up here. Simple, isn'tit? I beat those fellows in Sweden by a few hours, that's all. "

Geissler is short of breath again; he gets on his feet, and says: "Ifyou're going down, let's get along. "

They go on down together, Geissler dragging behind, all tired out. Thecaravan has stopped at the quay, and Fredrik Ström, cheerful as ever, is poking fun at Aronsen: "I'm clean out of tobacco; got any tobacco, what?"

"I'll give you tobacco, " said Aronsen threateningly. 

Fredrik laughs, and says comfortingly: "Nay, you've no call to take itall heavy-like and sad, Aronsen. We're just going to sell these thingshere before your eyes, and then we'll be off home again. "

"Get away and wash your dirty mouth, " says Aronsen furiously. 

"Ha ha ha! Nay, you've no call to dance about that way; keep still andlook like a picture!"

Geissler is tired, tired out, even his smoked glasses do not help himnow, his eyes keep closing in the glare. 

"Good-bye, Sivert man, " says he all at once. "No, I can't get up toSellanraa this time, after all; tell your father. I've a heap ofthings to see to. But I'll come later on--say that. .. . "

Aronsen spits after him, and says: "Ought to be shot!"

 * * * * *

For three days the caravan peddles its wares, selling out the contentsof the sacks, and getting good prices. It was a brilliant piece ofbusiness. The village folk were still well supplied with money afterthe downfall of the mine, and were excellently in form in the way ofspending; those stuffed birds on springs were the very thing theywanted; they set them up on chests of drawers in their parlours, andalso bought nice paper-knives, the very thing for cutting the leavesof an almanac. Aronsen was furious. "Just as if I hadn't things everybit as good in my store, " said he. 

Trader Aronsen was in a sorry way; he had made up his mind to keepwith these pedlars and their sacks, watching them all the time; butthey went separate ways about the village, each for himself, andAronsen almost tore himself to pieces trying to follow all at once. First he gave up Fredrik Ström, who was quickest at saying unpleasantthings; then Sivert, because he never said a word, but went onselling; at last he stuck to following his former clerk, and trying toset folk against him wherever he went in. Oh, but Andresen knew hismaster that was--knew him of old, and how little he knew of businessand unlawful trading. 

"Ho, you mean to say English thread's not prohibited?" said Aronsen, looking wise. 

"I know it is, " answered Andresen. "But I'm not carrying any thisway; I can sell that elsewhere. I haven't a reel in my pack; look foryourself, if you like. "

"That's as it may be, " says Aronsen. "Anyway, I know what's forbidden, and I've shown you, so don't try to teach me. "

Aronsen stood it for a whole day, then he gave up Andresen, too, andwent home. The pedlars had no one to watch them after that. 

And then things began to go swimmingly. It was in the day whenwomenfolk used to wear loose plaits in their hair; and Andresen, hewas the man to sell loose plaits. Ay, at a pinch he could sell fairplaits to dark girls, and be sorry he'd nothing lighter; no greyplaits, for instance, for that was the finest of all. And everyevening the three young salesmen met at an appointed place and wentover the day's trade, each borrowing from another anything he'd soldout of; and Andresen would sit down, often as not, and take out a fileand file away the German trade-mark from a sportsman's whistle, or rubout "Faber" on the pens and pencils. Andresen was a trump, and alwayshad been. 

Sivert, on the other hand, was rather a disappointment. Not that hewas any way slack, and failed to sell his goods--'twas he, indeed, sold most--but he did not get enough for them. "You don't put inenough patter with it, " said Andresen. 

No, Sivert was no hand at reeling off a lot of talk; he was afieldworker, sure of what he said, and speaking calmly when he spokeat all. What was there to talk about here? Also, Sivert was anxious tobe done with it and get back home, there was work to do in the fields. 

"Tis that Jensine's calling him, " Fredrik Ström explained. Fredrik, himself, by the way, had work on his own fields to be done thatspring, and little time to waste; but for all that, he must look in onAronsen the last day and get up an argument with him. "I'll sell himthe empty sacks, " said he. 

Andresen and Sivert stayed outside while he went in. They heard grandgoings-on inside the store, both talking at once, and Fredrik settingup a laugh now and again; then Aronsen threw open the door and showedhis visitor out. Oh, but Fredrik didn't come out--no, he took histime, and talked a lot more. The last thing they heard from outsidewas Fredrik trying to sell Aronsen a lot of rocking-horses. 

Then the caravan went home again--three young men full of life andhealth. They marched and sang, slept a few hours in the open, and wenton again. When they got back to Sellanraa on the Monday, Isak hadbegun sowing. The weather was right for it; the air moist, with thesun peeping out now and again, and a mighty rainbow strung rightacross the heavens. 

The caravan broke up--_Farvel, Farvel_. .. . 

 * * * * *

Isak at his sowing; a stump of a man, a barge of a man to look at, nothing more. Clad in homespun--wool from his own sheep, boots fromthe hide of his own cows and calves. Sowing--and he walks religiouslybareheaded to that work; his head is bald just at the very top, butall the rest of him shamefully hairy; a fan, a wheel of hair andbeard, stands out from his face. 'Tis Isak, the Margrave. 

'Twas rarely he knew the day of the month--what need had he of that?He had no bills to be met on a certain date; the marks on his almanacwere to show the time when each of the cows should bear. But he knewSt. Olaf's Day in the autumn, that by then his hay must be in, and heknew Candlemas in spring, and that three weeks after then the bearscame out of their winter quarters; all seed must be in the earth bythen. He knew what was needful. 

A tiller of the ground, body and soul; a worker on the land withoutrespite. A ghost risen out of the past to point the future, a man fromthe earliest days of cultivation, a settler in the wilds, nine hundredyears old, and, withal, a man of the day. 

Nay, there was nothing left to him now of the copper mine and itsriches--the money had vanished into air. And who had anything left ofall that wealth when the working stopped, and the hills lay dead anddeserted? But the _Almenning_ was there still, and ten new holdings onthat land, beckoning a hundred more. 

Nothing growing there? All things growing there; men and beasts andfruit of the soil. Isak sowing his corn. The evening sunlight falls onthe corn that flashes out in an arc from his hand, and falls like adropping of gold to the ground. Here comes Sivert to the harrowing;after that the roller, and then the harrow again. Forest and fieldlook on. All is majesty and power--a sequence and purpose of things. 

_Kling_ . .. _eling_ . .. Say the cow bells far up on the hillside, coming nearer and nearer; the cattle are coming home for the night. Fifteen head of them, and five-and-forty sheep and goats besides;threescore in all. There go the women out with their milk-pails, carried on yokes from the shoulder: Leopoldine, Jensine, and littleRebecca. All three barefooted. The Margravine, Inger herself, is notwith them; she is indoors preparing the meal. Tall and stately, as shemoves about her house, a Vestal tending the fire of a kitchen stove. Inger has made her stormy voyage, 'tis true, has lived in a city awhile, but now she is home; the world is wide, swarming with tinyspecks--Inger has been one of them. All but nothing in all humanity, only one speck. 

Then comes the evening. 

Knut Hamsun

_by_

W. W. Worster

Knut Hamsun [Footnote: December, 1920. ]

By W. W. Worster

Knut Hamsun is now sixty. For years past he has been regarded as thegreatest of living Norwegian writers, but he is still little known inEngland. One or two attempts have been made previously to introduceHamsun's work into this country, but it was not until this year, withthe publication of _Growth of the Soil_, that he achieved any realsuccess, or became at all generally known, among English readers. 

_Growth of the Soil_ (Markens Gröde) is Hamsun's latest work. Itsreception here was one of immediate and unstinted appreciation, such as is rarely accorded to a translated work by an alien authorpractically unknown even to the critics. A noticeable feature was thefrankness with which experienced bookmen laid aside stock phrases, anddealt with this book as in response to a strong personal appeal. Tothe reviewer, aged with much knowledge, hardened by much handling ofmediocrity, it is a relief to meet with a book that can and must bedealt with so. 

Those readers are, perhaps, most fortunate who come upon such a bookas this without foretaste or preparation. To the mind under spell ofan aesthetic or emotional appeal, the steps that went to make it, thestages whereby the author passed, are as irrelevant as the logarithmsthat went to build an aeroplane. Yet it is only by knowledge of suchsteps that the achievement can be fully understood. 

_Growth of the Soil_ is very far indeed from Hamsun's earliestbeginnings: far even from the books of his early middle period, whichmade his name. It is the life story of a man in the wilds, the genesisand gradual development of a homestead, the unit of humanity, inthe unfilled, uncleared tracts that still remain in the NorwegianHighlands. It is an epic of earth; the history of a microcosm. Itsdominant note is one of patient strength and simplicity; the mainstayof its working is the tacit, stern, yet loving alliance between Natureand the Man who faces her himself, trusting to himself and her for thephysical means of life, and the spiritual contentment with life whichshe must grant if he be worthy. Modern man faces Nature only by proxy, or as proxy, through others or for others, and the intimacy is lost. In the wilds the contact is direct and immediate; it is the footholdupon earth, the touch of the soil itself, that gives strength. 

The story is epic in its magnitude, in its calm, steady progress andunhurrying rhythm, in its vast and intimate humanity. The author looksupon his characters with a great, all-tolerant sympathy, aloof yetkindly, as a god. A more objective work of fiction it would be hard tofind--certainly in what used to be called "the neurasthenic North. "

And this from the pen of the man who wrote _Sult_, _Mysterier_, and_Pan_. 

Hamsun's early work was subjective in the extreme; so much so, indeed, as almost to lie outside the limits of aesthetic composition. As a boyhe wrote verse under difficulties--he was born in Gudbrandsdalen, butcame as a child to Bodö in Lofoten, and worked with a shoemaker therefor some years, saving up money for the publication of his juvenileefforts. He had little education to speak of, and after a period ofvarying casual occupations, mostly of the humblest sort, he came toChristiania with the object of studying there, but failed to make hisway. Twice he essayed his fortune in America, but without success. Forthree years he worked as a fisherman on the Newfoundland Banks. 

His Nordland origin is in itself significant; it means an environmentof month-long nights and concentrated summers, in which all feelingsare intensified, and love and dread and gratitude and longing arenearer and deeper than in milder and more temperate regions, whereelemental opposites are, as it were, reciprocally diluted. 

In 1890, at the age of thirty, Hamsun attracted attention by thepublication of _Sult_ (Hunger). _Sult_ is a record of weeks ofstarvation in a city; the semi-delirious confession of a man whosephysical and mental faculties have slipped beyond control. He speaksand acts irrationally, and knows it, watches himself at his mentalantics and takes himself to task for the same. And he asks himself: Isit a sign of madness?

It might seem so. The extraordinary associations, the weird fanciesand bizarre impulses that are here laid bare give an air of convincingverisimilitude to the supposed confessions of a starving journalist. But, as a matter of fact, Hamsun has no need of extraneous influencesto invest his characters with originality. Starving or fed, they canbe equally erratic. This is seen in his next book, _Mysterier_. 

Here we have actions and reactions as fantastic as in _Sult_, though the hero has here no such excuse as in the former case. The"mysteries, " or mystifications, of Nagel, a stranger who comes, for noparticular reason apparent, to stay in a little Norwegian town, ariseentirely out of Nagel's own personality. 

_Mysterier_ is one of the most exasperating books that a publisher'sreader, or a conscientious reviewer, could be given to deal with. Ananalysis of the principal character is a most baffling task. One istempted to call him mad, and have done with it. But, as a matter offact, he is uncompromisingly, unrestrainedly human; he goes aboutconstantly saying and doing things that we, ordinary and respectablepeople, are trained and accustomed to refrain from saying or doing atall. He has the self-consciousness of a sensitive child; he is forever thinking of what people think of him, and trying to create animpression. Then, with a paradoxical sincerity, he confesses that themotive of this or that action _was_ simply to create an impression, and thereby destroys the impression. Sometimes he caps this bywilfully letting it appear that the double move was carefully designedto produce the reverse impression of the first--until the personconcerned is utterly bewildered, and the reader likewise. 

_Mysterier_ appeared in 1893. In the following year Hamsun astonishedhis critics with two books, _Ny Jord_ (New Ground) and _RedaktörLynge_, both equally unlike his previous work. With these he passes ata bound from one-man stories, portrait studies of eccentric charactersin a remote or restricted environment, to group subjects, chosenfrom centres of life and culture in Christiania. _RedaktörLynge_--_redaktör_, of course, means "editor"--deals largely withpolitical manoeuvres and intrigues, the bitter controversial politicsof Norway prior to the dissolution of the Union with Sweden. _Ny Jord_gives an unflattering picture of the academic, literary, andartistic youth of the capital, idlers for the most part, arrogant, unscrupulous, self-important, and full of disdain for the merecitizens and merchants whose simple honesty and kindliness are laughedat or exploited by the newly dominant representatives of culture. 

Both these books are technically superior to the first two, inasmuchas they show mastery of a more difficult form. But their appeal isnot so great; there is lacking a something that might be inspiration, personal sympathy--some indefinable essential that the author himselfhas taught us to expect. They are less _hamsunsk_ than most ofHamsun's work. Hamsun is at his best among the scenes and charactershe loves; tenderness and sympathy make up so great a part of his charmthat he is hardly recognizable in surroundings or society uncongenialto himself. 

It would almost seem as if he realized something of this. For in hisnext work he turns from the capital to the Nordland coast, revertingalso, in some degree, to the subjective, keenly sensitive manner of_Sult_, though now with more restraint and concentration. 

_Pan_ (1894) is probably Hamsun's best-known work. It is a love-story, but of an extraordinary type, and is, moreover, important from thefact that we are here introduced to some of the characters and typesthat are destined to reappear again and again in his later works. 

Nagel, the exasperating irresponsible of _Mysterier_, is at hismaddest in his behaviour towards the woman he loves. It is naturalthat this should be so. When a man is intoxicated his essentialqualities are emphasized. If he have wit, he will be witty; if abrutal nature, he will be a brute; if he be of a melancholy temper, hewill be disposed to sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of thedeath of kings. 

We see this in _Pan_. The love-making of the hero is characterizedby the same irrational impulses, the same extravagant actions, asin _Sult_ and _Mysterier_. But they are now less frequent and lessinvolved. The book as a whole is toned down, so to speak, from thebewildering tangle of unrestraint in the first two. There is quitesufficient of the erratic and unusual in the character of Glahn, thehero, but the tone is more subdued. The madcap youth of genius hasrealized that the world looks frigidly at its vagaries, and thesecretly proud "_au moins_ je suis autre"--more a boast than aconfession--gives place to a wistful, apologetic admission of thedifference as a fault. Here already we have something of thatresignation which comes later to its fulness in the story of theWanderer with the Mute. 

The love-story in _Pan_ takes the form of a conflict; it is one ofthose battles between the sexes, duels of wit and _esprit_, such asone finds in the plays of Marivaux. But Hamsun sets his battle in thesign of the heart, not of the head; it is a _marivaudage_ of feeling, none the less deep for its erratic utterance. Moreover, the scene islaid, not in salons and ante-chambers, but in a landscape such asHamsun loves, the forest-clad hills above a little fishing village, between the _höifjeld_ and the sea. And interwoven with the story, like an eerie breathing from the dark of woods at dusk and dawn, isthe haunting presence of Iselin, _la belle dame sans merci_. 

Otto Weininger, the author of _Sex and Character_, said of _Pan_ thatit was "perhaps the most beautiful novel ever written. " Weininger, ofcourse, was an extremist, and few would accept his judgment withoutreserve. It is doubtful whether any writer nowadays would venture tomake such a claim for any book at all. 

_Pan_ is a book that offends against all sorts of rules; as a literaryproduct it is eminently calculated to elicit, especially in England, the Olympian "this will never do. " To begin with, it is not so much anovel as a _novelle_--a form of art little cultivated in this country, but which lends itself excellently to delicate artistic handling, andthe creation of that subtle influence which Hamsun's countrymen call_stemning_, poorly rendered by the English "atmosphere. " The epilogueis disproportionately long; the portion written as by another handis all too recognizably in the style of the rest. And with all hischivalrous sacrifice and violent end, Glahn is at best a quixotichero. Men, as men, would think him rather a fool, and women, aswomen, might flush at the thought of a cavalier so embarrassinglyunrestrained. He is not to be idolized as a cinema star, or theliterary gymnastic hero of a perennial Earl's Court Exhibition setto music on the stage. He could not be truthfully portrayed on aflamboyant wrapper as at all seductively masculine. In a word, he isneither a man's man nor a woman's man. But he is a human being, keenlysusceptible to influence which most of us have felt, in some degree. 

Closely allied to _Pan_ is _Victoria_, likewise a story of conflictbetween two lovers. The actual plot can only be described ashackneyed. Girl and boy, the rich man's daughter and the poor man'sson, playmates in youth, then separated by the barriers of socialstanding--few but the most hardened of "best-sellers" catering forsemi-detached suburbia would venture nowadays to handle such a theme. Yet Hamsun dares, and so insistently unlike all else is the impressof his personality that the mechanical structure of the story isforgotten. It is interspersed with irrelevant fancies, visions andimaginings, a chain of tied notes heard as an undertone through theaction on the surface. The effect is that of something strainingtowards an impossible realization; a beating of wings in the void; astriving for utterance of things beyond speech. 

_Victoria_ is the swan-song of Hamsun's subjective period. Already, inthe three plays which appeared during the years immediately following_Pan_, he faces the merciless law of change; the unrelenting "forward"which means leaving loved things behind. Kareno, student of life, begins his career in resolute opposition to the old men, theestablished authorities who stand for compromise and resignation. Fortwenty years he remains obstinately faithful to his creed, that theold men must step aside or be thrust aside, to make way for the youththat will be served. "What has age that youth has not? Experience. Experience, in, all its poor and withered nakedness. And what useis their experience to us, who must make our own in every singlehappening of life?" In _Aftenröde_, the "Sunset" of the trilogy, Kareno himself deserts the cause of youth, and allies himself to theparty in power. And the final scene shows him telling a story to achild: "There was once a man who never would give way. .. . "

The madness of _Sult_ is excused as being delirium, due to physicalsuffering. Nagel, in _Mysterier_, is shown as a fool, an eccentricintolerable in ordinary society, though he is disconcertingly human, paradoxically sane. Glahn, in _Pan_, apologizes for his uncouthstraightforwardness by confessing that he is more at home in thewoods, where he can say and do what he pleases without offence. Johannes, in _Victoria_, is of humble birth, which counts inextenuation of his unmannerly frankness in early years. Later hebecomes a poet, and as such is exempt in some degree from theconventional restraint imposed on those who aspire to polite society. All these well-chosen characters are made to serve the author'spurpose as channels for poetic utterance that might otherwise seemirrelevant. The extent to which this is done may be seen from the wayin which Hamsun lets a character in one book enter upon a themewhich later becomes the subject of an independent work by the authorhimself. Thus Glahn is haunted by visions of Diderik and Iselin;Johannes writes fragments supposed to be spoken by one Vendt the Monk. Five years after _Victoria_, Hamsun gives us the romantic drama of_Munken Vendt_, in which Diderik and Iselin appear. 

Throughout these early works, Hamsun is striving to find expressionfor his own sensitive personality; a form and degree of expressionsufficient to relieve his own tension of feeling, without fusing themedium; adequate to his own needs, yet understandable and tolerableto ordinary human beings; to the readers of books. The process, ineffect, is simply this: Hamsun is a poet, with a poet's deep andunusual feeling, and a poet's need of utterance. To gain a hearing, hechooses figures whom he can conveniently represent as fools. Secretly, he loves them, for they are himself. But to the world he can presentthem with a polite apology, a plea for kindly indulgence. 

It is not infrequent in literature to find the wisest and mostpoignant utterances thus laid in the mouths of poor men clad inmotley. Some of the most daring things in Shakespeare, the newestheresies of the Renaissance, are voiced by irresponsibles. Of alldramatic figures, that of the fool is most suited to the expressionof concentrated feeling. There is an arresting question in a play ofrecent years, which runs something like this: "Do you think that thethings people make fools of themselves about are any less real andtrue than the things they behave sensibly about?"

Most of us have at some time or another felt that uncomfortable, almost indecently denuding question which comes to us at rare momentsfrom the stage where some great drama is being played: What is higher, what is more real: this, or the life we live? In that sudden flash, the matters of today's and tomorrow's reality in our minds appear asvulgar trifles, things of which we are ashamed. The feeling lasts buta moment; for a moment we have been something higher than ourselves, in the mere desire so to be. Then we fall back to ourselves once more, to the lower levels upon which alone we can exist. And yet it is bysuch potentials that we judge the highest art; by its power to giveus, if only for a moment, something of that which the divinity of ouraspiring minds finds wanting in the confines of reality. 

The richness of this quality is one of the most endearing things inHamsun's characters. Their sensitiveness is a thing we have beentrained, for self-defence, to repress. It is well for us, no doubt, that this is so. But we are grateful for their showing that suchthings _are_, as we are grateful for Kensington Gardens who cannotlive where trees are everywhere. The figures Hamsun sets before usas confessedly unsuited to the realities of life, his vagabonds, hisfailures, his fools, have power at times to make us question whetherour world of comfort, luxury, success, is what we thought; if it werenot well lost in exchange for the power to _feel_ as they. 

It has been said that life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedyto those who feel. Humanly speaking, it is one of the greatest meritsof Hamsun's work that he shows otherwise. His attitude towards lifeis throughout one of feeling, yet he makes of life no tragedy, but abeautiful story. 

"I will be young until I die, " says Kareno in _Aftenröde_. The wordsare not so much a challenge to fate as a denial of fact; he is notfighting, only refusing to acknowledge the power that is already hardupon him. 

Kareno is an _intellectual_ character. He is a philosopher, a manwhose perceptions and activity lie predominantly in the sphere ofthought, not of feeling. His attempt to carry the fire of youth beyondthe grave of youth ends in disaster; an unnecessary _débâcle_ due tohis gratuitously attempting the impossible. 

Hamsun's poet-personality, the spirit we have seen striving forexpression through the figures of Nagel, Glahn, Johannes, and therest, is a creature of _feeling_. And here the development proceeds onaltogether different lines. The emotion which fails to find adequateoutlet, even in such works as _Sult_, _Mysterier_, _Victoria_, and_Pan_, might well seem more of a peril than the quixotic stubbornnessof Kareno's philosophy. Such a flood, in its tempestuous unrest, mightseem to threaten destruction, or at best the vain dispersal of its ownpower into chaos. But by some rare guidance it is led, after the stormof _Munken Vendt_, into channels of beneficent fertility. 

In 1904, after an interval of short stories, letters of travel, andpoems, came the story entitled _Svoermere_. The word means "Moths. " Italso stands for something else; something for which we English, asa sensible people, have no word. Something pleasantly futile, deliciously unprofitable--foolish lovers, hovering like moths about alamp. 

But there is more than this that is untranslatable in the title. _As_a title it suggests an attitude of gentleness, tenderness, sympathy, toward whomsoever it describes. It is a new note in Hamsun; theopening of a new _motif_. 

The main thread of the story bears a certain similarity to that of_Mysterier_, _Vicioria_, and _Pan_, being a love affair of mazywindings, a tangled skein of loves-me-loves-me-not. But it is purecomedy throughout. Rolandsen, the telegraph operator in love withElsie Mack, is no poet; he has not even any pretensions to educationor social standing. He is a cheerful, riotous "blade, " who sportswith the girls of the village, gets drunk at times, and serenades theparson's wife at night with his guitar. _Svoermere_ is the slightestof little stories in itself, but full of delightful vagaries and themost winning humour. 

The story of _Benoni_, with its continuation _Rosa_, is in like vein;a tenderly humorous portrayal of love below stairs, the principalcharacters being chosen from the class who appear as supers in _Pan_;subjects or retainers of the all-powerful Trader Mack. It is as ifthe sub-plots in one of Shakespeare's plays had been taken out forseparate presentment, and the clown promoted to be hero in a play ofhis own. The cast is increased, the _milieu_ lightly drawn in _Pan_is now shown more comprehensively and in detail, making us graduallyacquainted with a whole little community, a village world, knowinglittle of any world beyond, and forming a microcosm in itself. 

Hamsun has returned, as it were, to the scene of his passionateyouth, but in altered guise. He plays no part himself now, but is anonlooker, a stander-by, chronicling, as from a cloistered aloofness, yet with kindly wisdom always, the little things that matter in thelives of those around him. Wisdom and kindliness, sympathy and humourand understanding, these are the dominant notes of the new phase. _Svoermere_ ends happily--for it is a story of other people's lives. So also with Benoni and Rosa at the last. And so surely has the authorestablished his foothold on the new ground that he can even bring inEdvarda, the "Iselin" figure from _Pan_, once more, thus linking uphis brave and lusty comedies of middle age with the romantic tragediesof his youth, making a comprehensive pageant-play of large-heartedhumanity. 

Meantime, the effect upon himself is seen--and avowed. Between_Svoermere_ and _Benoni_ comes the frankly first-personal narrativeof a vagabond who describes himself, upon interrogation, as "KnutPedersen"--which is two-thirds of Knut Pedersen Hamsund--and hailingfrom Nordland--which embraces Lofoten. 

It does not need any showing of paper, however, to establish theidentity of Knut Pedersen, vagabond, with the author of _Pan_. Theopening words of the book ("Under Höststjaernen") are enough. "Indiansummer, mild and warm . .. It is many years now since I knew suchpeace. Twenty or thirty years maybe--or maybe it was in another life. But I have felt it some time, surely, since I go about now humming alittle tune; go about rejoicing, loving every straw and every stone, and feeling as if they cared for me in return. .. . "

This is the Hamsun of _Pan_. But Hamsun now is a greater soul than inthe days when Glahn, the solitary dweller in the woods, picked up abroken twig from the ground and held it lovingly, because it lookedpoor and forsaken; or thanked the hillock of stone outside his hutbecause it stood there faithfully, as a friend that waited his return. He is stronger now, but no less delicate; he loves not Nature less, but the world more. He has learned to love his fellow-men. Knut Pedersen, vagabond, wanders about the country with histramp-companions, Grindhusen, the painter who can ditch and delve at apinch, or Falkenberg, farm-labourer in harvest-time, and piano-tunerwhere pianos are. Here is brave comradeship, the sharing ofadventures, the ready wit of jovial vagrants. The book is a harmlesspicaresque, a _geste_ of innocent rogue-errantry; its place is with_Lavengro_ and _The Cloister and the Hearth_, in that ancient, endlessorder of tales which link up age with age and land with land in theunaltering, unfrontiered fellowship of the road that kept the spiritof poetry alive through the Dark Ages. 

The vagabond from Nordland has his own adventures, his _bonnesfortunes_. There is a touch of Sterne about the book; notthe exaggerated super-Sterne of Tristram Shandy, witheighteenth-century-futurist blanks and marbled pages, but the fluent, casual, follow-your-fancy Sterne of the _Sentimental Journey_. Yetthe vagabond himself is unobtrusive, ready to step back and be achronicler the moment other figures enter into constellation. He movesamong youth, himself no longer young, and among gentlefolk, as onemaking no claim to equal rank. 

Both these features are accentuated further in the story of theWanderer with the Mute. It is a continuation of _Under Höststjaernen_, and forms the culmination, the acquiescent close, of theself-expressional series that began with _Sult_. The discords oftortured loveliness are now resolved into an ultimate harmony ofcomely resignation and rich content. "A Wanderer may come to fiftyyears; he plays more softly then. Plays with muted strings. " This isthe keynote of the book. The Wanderer is no longer young; it is foryouth to make the stories old men tell. Tragedy is reserved for thoseof high estate; a wanderer in corduroy, "such as labourers wear herein the south, " can tell the story of his chatelaine and her loverswith the self-repression of a humbler Henry Esmond, winning nothingfor himself even at the last, yet feeling he is still in Nature'sdebt. 

Hamsun's next work is _Den Siste Gloede_ (literally "The Last Joy"). The title as it stands is expressive. The substantive is "joy"--butit is so qualified by the preceding "last, " a word of overwhelminginfluence in any combination, that the total effect is one of sadness. And the book itself is a masterly presentment of gloom. Masterly--ormost natural: it is often hard to say how much of Hamsun's effect isdue to superlative technique and how much to the inspired disregard ofall technique. _Den Siste Gloede_ is a diary of wearisome days, spentfor the most part among unattractive, insignificant people at aholiday resort; the only "action" in it is an altogether pitiful loveaffair, in which the narrator is involved to the slightest possibledegree. The writer is throughout despondent; he feels himself out ofthe race; his day is past. Solitude and quiet, Nature, and his ownfoolish feelings--these are the "last joys" left him now. 

The book might have seemed a fitting, if pathetic, ending to theliterary career of the author of _Pan_. Certainly it holds out nopromise of further energy or interest in life or work. The closingwords amount to a personal farewell. 

Then, without warning, Hamsun enters upon a new phase of power. _Börnav Tilden_ (Children of the Age) is an objective study, its main themebeing the "marriage" conflict touched upon in the Wandererstories, and here developed in a different setting and with fullerindividuality. Hamsun has here moved up a step in the social scale, from villagers of the Benoni type to the land-owning class. There isthe same conflict of temperaments that we have seen before, but lessviolent now; the poet's late-won calm of mind, and the levelof culture from which his characters now are drawn--perhaps byinstinctive selection--make for restraint. Still a romantic at heart, he becomes more classic in form. 

_Börn av Tilden_ is also the story of Segelfoss, in its passing fromthe tranquil dignity of a semi-feudal estate to the complex andruthless modernity of an industrial centre. _Segelfoss By_ (1915)treats of the fortunes of the succeeding generation, and the furtherdevelopment of Segelfoss into a township ("By"). 

Then, with _Growth of the Soil_, Hamsun achieves his greatest triumph. Setting aside all that mattered most to himself, he turns, with theexperience of a lifetime rich in conflict, to the things that matterto us all. Deliberately shorn of all that makes for mere effect, Isakstands out as an elemental figure, the symbol of Man at his best, face to face with Nature and life. There is no greater humancharacter--reverently said--in the Bible itself. 

 * * * * *

These, then, are the steps of Hamsun's progress as an author, from thepassionate chaos of _Sult_ to the Miltonic, monumental calm of _Growthof the Soil_. The stages in themselves are full of beauty; thewistfulness of _Pan_ and _Victoria_, the kindly humour of _Svoermere_and _Benoni_, the autumn-tinted resignation of the Wanderer with theMute--they follow as the seasons do, each with a charm of its own, yet all deriving from one source. His muse at first is Iselin, theembodiment of adolescent longing, the dream of those "whom delightflies because they give her chase. " The hopelessness of his ownpursuit fills him with pity for mortals under the same spell, and hesteps aside to be a brave, encouraging chorus, or a kindly chroniclerof others' lives. And his reward is the love of a greater divinity, the goddess of field and homestead. No will-o'-the-wisp, but apresence of wisdom and calm. 

THE END