said: "Now, then, tell me all
about it."

Come to light? Of course it had; how could it be helped? The place was
no longer a desert, with never a soul for miles; and, moreover, Oline
was there. What had Oline to do with it? Ho! and, to make things
worse, Brede Olsen had made an enemy of her himself. No means of
getting round Oline now; here she was on the spot, and could worm
things out of Axel a bit at a time. 'Twas just such underhand work she
lived for; ay, lived by, in some degree. And here was the very thing
for her--trust Oline for scenting it out! Truth to tell, Oline was
grown too old now to keep house and tend cattle at Maaneland; she
ought to have given it up. But how could she? How could she leave a
place where a fine, deep mystery lay simply waiting to be brought to
light? She managed the winter's work; ay, she got through the summer,
too, and it was a marvel of strength she gained from the mere thought
of being able one day to show up a daughter of Brede himself. The snow
was not gone from the fields that spring before Oline began poking
about. She found the little green mound by the stream, and saw at once
that the turf had been laid down in squares. She had even had the luck
to come upon Axel one day standing by the little grave, and treading
it down. So Axel knew all about it! And Oline nodded her grey
head--ay, it was her turn now!

Not but Axel was a kindly man enough to live with, but miserly;
counted his cheeses, and kept good note of every tuft of wool; Oline
could not do as she liked with things, not by a long way. And then
that matter of the accident last year, when she had saved him--if Axel
had been the right sort, he would have given her the credit for it
all, and acknowledged his debt to her alone. But not a bit of it--Axel
still held to the division he had made on the spot. Ay, he would say,
if Oline hadn't happened to come along, he would have had to lie out
there in the cold all night; but Brede, he'd been a good help too, on
the way home. And that was all the thanks she got! Oline was full of
indignation--surely the Lord Almighty must turn away His face from His
creatures! How easy it would have been for Axel to lead out a cow from
its stall, and bring it to her and say: "Here's a cow for you, Oline."
But no. Not a word of it.

Well, let him wait--wait and see if it might not come to cost him more
than the worth of a cow in the end!

All through that summer, Oline kept a look-out for