ikolai. That she, Mrs.
Holman's daughter, in spite of all prohibitions, sought the society of
that misled prodigal, who had rewarded her with such ingratitude, was
enough to bring her to her grave. And no one would persuade her either
that Holman's hardly-earned week's wages could vanish like steam from a
kettle. A half-starved apprentice-boy, walking beside a well-filled
pocket--any one could understand what the result of that would be.
Master Nikolai had only carefully and craftily watched his time, when he
knew that Silla had her father's money in her pocket, to get it shuffled
into his own.

Matters were not improved by Silla in her obstinacy declaring that he
had not so much as seen the money--as if Nikolai would take a farthing
from _her_!

This last remark sealed his fate--there should be no concealment of his
conduct on Mrs. Holman's part.

There was a commotion in the forge-yard, when the nest day a
police-officer came and arrested Nikolai. He was to be taken to the
police-station for having defrauded a young girl on Saturday evening of
the whole of her father's week's wages.

But when they were gone, Anders Berg swore, as he brought the
sledge-hammer down on the anvil, that that Nikolai had never done. The
others--Jan Peter, and Katrinus, and Bernt Johan Jakobsen and Petter
Evensen--they thought nothing; but to bring the police into a
respectable work-yard! He had better get work in some other place after
this!

For the first moment Nikolai had only one sensation--the paralysing fear
by which a first acquaintance with the police is always accompanied. The
feeling that he had a good conscience did indeed leap up within him, but
only to die away again immediately. He had so often had that, and it had
always proved to be too thin a sheet of ice to stand upon in the hour of
trial. That kind of self-esteem was a plant which had too often been
trodden under Mrs. Holman's heel to be able to bloom now as a fragrant,
full-blown flower within him.

The outcome of his reflections was a sudden twist and a violent jerk, by
which he hoped to escape from his inconvenient companion, the sole
result, however, being that he immediately had a constable at each arm.

When brought up for examination before the police superintendent, a
dark, unwilling defiance glowed in his face, and the sharp glance--too
sharp for a lad of his age--did not prepossess any one in his favour.

Silla? He had not been with any Silla on Saturd