ou come and help Axel a bit with the new house a day or
so? If you could begin tomorrow, say, when you come back from the
village?"

Sivert thought for a moment. "Ay, maybe. But I've no clothes."

"I could run up and fetch your working clothes this evening, so
they'll be here when you get back."

"Ay," said Sivert, "if you could."

And Barbro unnecessarily eager now: "Oh, if only you would come!
Here's summer nearly gone already, and the house that should be up and
roofed before the autumn rains. Axel, he's been going to ask you a
many times before, but he couldn't, somehow. Oh, you'd be helping us
no end!"

"I'll help as well as I can," said Sivert.

And that was settled.

But now it was Eleseus' turn to be offended. He can see well enough
that it's clever of Barbro and all that, to look out and manage to her
own advantage and Axel's too, and get help for the building and save
the house, but the whole thing is a little too plain; after all, she
is not mistress of the place as yet, and it's not so long since he
himself had kissed her--the creature! Was there never an atom of shame
in her at all?

"Ay," said Eleseus, then suddenly: "I'll come back again in time and
be a godfather when you're ready."

She sent him a glance, and answered in great offence: "Godfather,
indeed! And who's talking nonsense now, I'd like to know? 'Twill be
time enough for you when I send word I'm looking out for godfathers."
And what could Eleseus do then but laugh foolishly and wish himself
out of the place!

"Here's thanks!" says Sivert, and gets up from his seat to go.

"Here's thanks!" says Eleseus also; but he did not rise nor bow as a
man should do in saying thanks for a cup of coffee; not he, indeed--he
would see her at the devil for a bitter-tongued lump of ugliness.

"Let me look," said Barbro. "Oh yes; the young men I stayed with in
town, they had silver plates on their overcoats too, much bigger than
this," said she. "Well, then, you'll come in on your way back, Sivert,
and stay the night? I'll get your clothes all right."

And that was good-bye to Barbro.

The brothers went on again. Eleseus was not distressed in any way in
the matter of Barbro; she could go to the devil--and, besides, he had
two big bank-notes in his pocket! The brothers took care not to touch
on any mournful things, such as the strange way father had said
good-bye, or how mother had cried. They went a long way round to avoid
being stopped at Brei