Part 33 (1/2)

”No, not that way.... Unless Eleseus he'd like to have the place to work on.”

”Eleseus? Well, no, I don't know--”

Long pause, the two men thinking hard. The father begins gathering tools 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 Sat.u.r.day, and they had to be off early to get across the hills with the child. Jensine, the servant-girl, was to go with them; that was one G.o.dmother, the rest they would have to find from among Inger's folk on the other side.

Inger looked nice; she had made herself a dainty cotton dress, with white at the neck and wrists. The child was all in white, with a new blue silk ribbon drawn through the lower edge of its dress; but then she was a wonder of a child, to be sure, that could smile and chatter already, and lay and listened when the clock struck on the wall. Her father had chosen her name. It was his right; he was determined to have his say--only trust to him! He had hesitated between Jacobine and Rebecca, as being both sort of related to Isak; and at last he went to Inger 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 in his own house. ”If she's to have a name at all,” he said sharply, ”it shall 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 go to be christened without a decent following! Isak trimmed his beard and put on a red s.h.i.+rt, as in his younger days; it was in the worst of the hot weather, but he had a nice new winter suit, that looked well on him, and he wore it. But for all that, Isak was not the man to make a duty of finery and show; as now, for instance, he put on a pair of fabulously 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 easier than before, when they had had to walk round all the way. But half-way across, as Inger unfastened her dress to nurse the child, Isak noticed something bright hung in a string round her neck; whatever it might be. And in the church he noticed that she wore that gold ring on her finger. 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 his father, with long white hands and a little dark growth on his upper lip. He did not give himself airs, but seemed anxious to appear natural and kindly; his mother, was surprised and pleased. He shared the small bedroom with Sivert; the two brothers got on well together, and were constantly playing tricks on each other by way of amus.e.m.e.nt.

But, naturally, Eleseus had to take his share of the work in building the house; and tired and miserable it made him, all unused as he was to bodily fatigue of any kind. It was worse still when Sivert had to go off and leave it all to the other two; Eleseus then was almost more of a hindrance than a help.

And where had Sivert gone off to? Why, 'twas Oline had come over the hills one day with word from Uncle Sivert that he was dying; and, of course, young Sivert had to go. A nice state of things all at once--it couldn'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 of them, 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 G.o.d's Judgment-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, and Inger 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, he found the little place in terrible muddle and disorder; they had not finished the spring season's work properly yet--had not even carted out all the winter manure; but as for approaching death, there was no sign of it that he could see. Uncle Sivert was an old man now, over seventy; he was something of an invalid, and pottered about half-dressed in the house, and often kept his bed for a time. He needed help on the place in many ways, as, for instance, with the herring nets that hung rotting in the sheds. Oh, but for all that he was by no means at his last gasp; he could still eat sour fish and smoke his pipe.

When Sivert had been there half an hour and seen how things were, he was for going back home again.