ly time was
passing, she began to count her steps, first by tens and then by
hundreds, and each time she had finished counting, she looked back to
see how far she had walked; but this did not avail in the least, so she
made up her mind to count to a thousand. When she had counted almost up
to a thousand, she could not remember whether it was eight or nine
hundred she had had last, so she counted four hundred more in order to
be altogether certain that she had counted enough.

But even that did not make the time pass any more quickly, and she did
not reach the point where she could look down into the valley until the
sun was setting. The shadow had begun to creep up on the opposite side.
Above the dark shadow line the slope was still bathed in the rosy
evening sunlight, but the shadow steadily ate its way upward.

Then Lisbeth forgot to count her steps any more. What fun it would be
to try to reach the sunshine again before the shadow had passed Hoel,
which lay shining so brightly up there!

She went down the long slope on a run; but, run as fast as she might,
it took time, and when she had reached the bottom of the valley and
started up the hilly road on the other side, the sun had gone down. She
could only catch its last gleam through the tops of the spruce trees,
and a last tiny reflection as it left the window of Peerout Castle.

She stopped to get her breath after running. It was so still and warm
and close down there in the valley,--so different from what it had been
up on the mountain. It seemed as if the earth sent out a deep breath
the moment the sun went down,--a strange, heavy fragrance that made
her, all at once, feel anxious and downhearted, just as if she had done
something wrong which she could not remember. Then it came into her
mind that she ought to have sent word to Kjersti Hoel that she was
coming. People in the valley were always afraid that something was the
matter when a person came from the saeter unexpectedly; and it would be
too shameful for any one to give Kjersti Hoel a fright.

That was the reason she was now jogging so slowly up over the hilly
road leading to Hoel Farm. She was in hopes that some one would catch
sight of her, or that at least Bearhunter would give warning of her
approach; for then they would see that she was not coming in haste, and
that she therefore could not be bringing any bad news.

But no one caught sight of her, and no one was stirring on the farm; so
she would