ows much about farming?" says Axel.
"That all you heard? Nothing more?"

"No. He paid all down in cash for the title-deeds. That's all I heard.
Must have made a heap of money with his fishery, they say. And now
he's going to start here with a store."

"Ho! A store?"

"Ay, so they say."

"H'm. So he's going to start a store?"

This was the one really important piece of news, and the two
neighbours talked it over every way as they drove up. It was a big
piece of news--the greatest event, perhaps, in all the history of the
place; ay, there was much to say of that. Who was he going to trade
with, this new man? The eight of them that had settled on the common
lands? Or did he reckon on getting custom from the village as well?
Anyway, the store would mean a lot to them; like as not, it would
bring up more settlers again. The holdings might rise in value--who
could say?

They talked it over as if they would never tire. Ay, here were two men
with their own interests and aims, as great to them as other men's.
The settlement was their world; work, seasons, crops were the
adventures of their life. Was not that interest and excitement enough?
Ho, enough indeed! Many a time they had need to sleep but lightly, to
work on long past meal-times; but they stood it, they endured it and
were none the worse; a matter of seven hours lying pinned down beneath
a tree was not a thing to spoil them for life as long as their limbs
were whole. A narrow world, a life with no great prospects? Ho,
indeed! What of this new Storborg, a shop and a store here in the
wilds--was not that prospect enough?

They talked it over until Christmas came....

Axel had got a letter, a big envelope with a lion on it; it was from
the State. He was to fetch supplies of wire, a telegraph apparatus,
tools and implements, from Brede Olsen, and take over inspection of
the line from New Year's Day.

Chapter IV

Teams of horses driving up over the moors, carting up houses for the
new man come to settle in the wilds; load after load, for days on end.
Dump the things down on a spot that is to be called Storborg; 'twill
answer to its name, no doubt, in time. There are four men already at
work up in the hills, getting out stone for a wall and two cellars.

Carting loads, carting new loads. The sides of the house are built and
ready beforehand, 'tis only to fix them up when the spring comes; all
reckoned out neatly and accurately in advance, each piece with