Part 19 (1/2)
”Then he tried to catch it, and keep it fast, And keep it fast; But he woke, and away in the night it pa.s.sed, In the night it pa.s.sed.
”'My Lord, let me pa.s.s in the night, I pray, In the night, I pray; For the tune has taken my heart away, My heart away.'
”Then answered the Lord, 'It is thy friend It is thy friend, Though not for an hour shall thy longing end, Thy longing end;
”'And all the others are nothing to thee, Nothing to thee, To this that thou seekest and never shalt see, Never shalt see.'”[28]
CHAPTER XV.
It was a Sunday evening in midsummer; the priest had returned from church, and Margit had been sitting with him until it was nearly seven o'clock. Now she took her leave, and hastened down the steps and out into the yard, for there she had just caught sight of Eli Boen, who had been playing for some time with the priest's son and her own brother.
”Good evening!” said Margit, standing still, ”and G.o.d bless you all!”
”Good evening!” replied Eli, blus.h.i.+ng crimson, and showing a desire to stop playing, although the boys urged her to continue; but she begged to be excused, and they had to let her go for that evening.
”It seems to me I ought to know you,” said Margit.
”That is quite likely,” was the reply.
”This surely never can be Eli Boen?”
Yes, it was she.
”Oh, dear me! So you are Eli Boen! Yes, now I see you are like your mother.”
Eli's auburn hair had become unfastened, so that it floated carelessly about her; her face was as hot and as red as a berry, her bosom heaved, she could not speak, and laughed because she was so out of breath.
”Yes, that is the way with young people.”
Margit looked at Eli with satisfaction as she spoke.
”I suppose you do not know me?”
Eli had no doubt wanted to ask who she was, but could not command the courage to do so, because the other was so much older than she; now she said that she did not remember having seen her before.
”Well, to be sure, that is scarcely to be expected; old folks seldom get out. You may perhaps know my son, Arne Kampen. I am his mother.” She stole a sly glance, as she spoke, at Eli, on whom these words wrought a considerable change. ”I am inclined to think he worked over at Boen once, did he not?”
Yes, it was Eli's impression, too, that he had done so.
”The weather is fine this evening. We turned our hay to-day, and got it in before I left home; it is really blessed weather.”
”There will surely be a good hay-harvest this year,” Eli observed.
”Yes, you may well say so. I suppose everything looks splendidly over at Boen.”
”They are through harvesting there.”
”Oh, of course; plenty of help, stirring people. Are you going home this evening?”