e general dealer, could manage, to meet the heavy
expenses for fish-hooks and fish-baskets, and nets and lines, without
having to provide his fishermen with salt herring and bacon, and fresh
butter and _lefser_ and ground coffee into the bargain. They had no need
to starve when they had all the fish of the sea right under their noses,
said she.

And then she handed him, as a specimen, one of his own _lefser_, which
she had filled with butter and sirup herself, and let him taste it. And
he tasted it, and ate and ate till the sirup ran down both corners of
his mouth. Such good greasy _lefser_ he had never tasted before.

Then the general dealer gave them a bit of his mind.

He was as red as a turkey-cock; and out of the shop-door they went head
first--some three yards and some four, according as he got a good grip
of them; and old Thore, who had steered the big _femboering_, both for
him and his father, was discharged.

But Kjel, the herdsman, had hid himself out of the way up on the
threshing-floor whilst the row was going on, and the general dealer was
shrieking and bellowing his worst in the yard below. And he stood there
and peeped through the little window. Then he saw his mistress, who
hadn't been out of bed for nine weeks, hobble forward and stare out of
her bedroom window.

She took on terribly, and cried and wrung her thin hands when she saw
their old foreman told to go to the devil, and shamble off with his cap
in his hand as if he were deranged.

But she dared not so much as shout a word of comfort after him, for
there stood Toad, big and broad, in the store-house door, with a platter
of _moelje_ in her hand, and shook her fist after him.

Then Kjel was like to have wept too.... That stout Toad should not
grease herself shiny with _moelje_ fat much longer in _their_ house, or
he'd know the reason why, thought Kjel.

And from thenceforth Kjel kept a strict watch upon her. There were lots
of things going on that he couldn't make out at all.

Towards spring-time, when they put the mast into the large new yacht
which was to take the first trading voyage to Bergen, the general dealer
was so glad that he was running up and down from the bridge to the house
the whole day. He had never imagined that the yacht would have turned
out so fine and stately.

And when they had the tackle and the shrouds all ready, and were
hoisting away at the yards, he spun round on his heel and snapped his
fingers--"That lass To