Part 43 (1/2)
”And what about you two? Are you in need of money?”
”No, it's the lad. He's to be dismissed from the confirmation-cla.s.s,”
answered La.s.se simply. With the mistress you couldn't help being decided.
”Are you to be dismissed?” she exclaimed, looking at Pelle as at an old acquaintance. ”Then what have you been doing?”
”Oh, I kicked the parson's son.”
”And what did you do that for?”
”Because he wouldn't fight, but threw himself down.”
Fru Kongstrup laughed and nudged her husband. ”Yes, of course. But what had he done to you?”
”He'd said bad things about Father La.s.se.”
”What were the things?”
Pelle looked hard at her; she meant to get to the bottom of everything.
”I won't tell you!” he said firmly.
”Oh, very well! But then we can't do anything about it either.”
”I may just as well tell you,” La.s.se interrupted. ”He called me Madam Olsen's concubine--from the Bible story, I suppose.”
Kongstrup tried to suppress a chuckle, as if some one had whispered a coa.r.s.e joke in his ear, and he could not help it. The mistress herself was serious enough.
”I don't think I understand,” she said, and laid a repressing hand upon her husband's arm. ”La.s.se must explain.”
”It's because I was engaged to Madam Olsen in the village, who every one thought was a widow; and then her husband came home the other day. And so they've given me that nickname round about, I suppose.”
Kongstrup began his suppressed laughter again, and La.s.se blinked in distress at it.
”Help yourselves to a cake!” said Fru Kongstrup in a very loud voice, pus.h.i.+ng the plate toward them. This silenced Kongstrup, and he lay and watched their a.s.sault upon the cake-plate with an attentive eye.
Fru Kongstrup sat tapping the table with her middle finger while they ate. ”So that good boy Pelle got angry and kicked out, did he?” she said suddenly, her eyes flas.h.i.+ng.
”Yes, that's what he never ought to have done!” answered La.s.se plaintively.
Fru Kongstrup fixed her eyes upon him.
”No, for all that the poorer birds are for is to be pecked at! Well, I prefer the bird that pecks back again and defends its nest, no matter how poor it is. Well, well, we shall see! And is that boy going to be confirmed? Why, of course! To think that I should be so forgetful! Then we must begin to think about his clothes.”
”That's two troubles got rid of!” said La.s.se when they went down to the stable again. ”And did you notice how nicely I let her know that you were going to be confirmed? It was almost as if she'd found it out for herself. Now you'll see, you'll be as fine as a shop-boy in your clothes; people like the master and mistress know what's needed when once they've opened their purse. Well, they got the whole truth straight, but confound it! they're no more than human beings. It's always best to speak out straight.” La.s.se could not forget how well it had turned out.
Pelle let the old man boast. ”Do you think I shall get leather shoes of them too?” he asked.
”Yes, of course you will! And I shouldn't wonder if they made a confirmation-party for you too. I say _they_, but it's her that's doing it all, and we may be thankful for that. Did you notice that she said _we_--_we_ shall, and so on--always? It's nice of her, for he only lies there and eats and leaves everything to her. But what a good time he has! I think she'd go through fire to please him; but upon my word, she's master there. Well, well, I suppose we oughtn't to speak evil of any one; to you she's like your own mother!”
Fru Kongstrup said nothing about the result of her drive to the parson; it was not her way to talk about things afterward. But La.s.se and Pelle once more trod the earth with a feeling of security; when she took up a matter, it was as good as arranged.