orously.

He came out down the passage, unwashed and sooty, straight from his
work.

"He's gone now!"

"Who?"

"He had red hair, and had on blue braces and a sailmaker's cap. I think
it was the man from Groenlien they call Ottersnake; and he accused me of
standing here and looking for my sweetheart!"

"I'll sweetheart him! If I only get hold of him, I'll hammer him into
nails! And then I'll pull his red hair to oakum, so that his father will
only need to put it into the pitch-kettle!"

He looked about; but as the Ottersnake, who was doomed to so cruel and
terrible a fate, was nowhere to be seen, his wrath suddenly subsided,
and with an upward movement of the head, he proposed:

"Baker Ring's, Silla?"

He had his week's wages in his pocket, so they made a short cut through
two or three muddy back yards, which had planks laid down across the
worst places, up to the baker's shop.

Oh, how they bought, and how they did eat!

There were some specially delicious expensive cakes with jam inside. And
it was the two collars, that he had thought of buying for himself next
week, that they ate up!

With a great feeling of his own importance Nikolai related how he had
now forged six large iron hooks with links to them; and she must not
imagine that they wanted nothing but hammering--no, they had to be
hammered out and beaten and bent at the right time! Down there they only
made stakes and picks and tires; but he meant to be either a locksmith
or a brazier.

This did not interest Silla very much; she wanted to hear about the
picnic on Sunday, when he had gone to the woods with the journeymen. It
must have been awfully jolly! And didn't they dance too?

"I should just think they did. Anders Berg is a capital fellow; he's
going to set up for himself in Svelvig soon, and get married."

"And were the others engaged, too?"

"Pshaw!"

"Well?"

"Pooh!"

"What's the matter with you? Can't you tell me?"

"Why, it's nothing--only nonsense! There's not one of them that'll make
a smith's wife--creatures that have larks now with one fellow and now
with another?"

"And did you dance?"

"Oh, the 'prentices have only to run after beer; but when I'm a
journeyman--but, Silla, the time--we must hurry!" he broke off suddenly.

"Oh, it's not late yet. One more nice one with jam--do go in and buy it!
Oh, do, Nikolai!" she begged, and as he ran in to get what she wanted,
she called after him:

"And some sweets to eat on the