aw
that was determined to beat him down. And Geissler nodded to him.

Ay, Geissler was come to town. He had not asked to be called as a
witness, but he was there. He had also spent a couple of days before
the case came on in going into the matter himself, and noting down
what he remembered of Axel's own account given him at Maaneland. Most
of the documents seemed to Geissler somewhat unsatisfactory; this
Lensmand Heyerdahl was evidently a narrow-minded person, who had
throughout endeavoured to prove complicity on Axel's part. Fool, idiot
of a man--what did he know of life in the wilds, when he could see
that the child was just what Axel had counted on to keep the woman,
his helpmeet, on the place!

Geissler spoke to the advocate for the Crown, but it seemed there was
little need of intervention there; he wanted to help Axel back to his
farm and his land, but Axel was in no need of help, from the looks
of things. For the case was going well as far as Barbro herself was
concerned, and if she were acquitted, then there could be no question
of any complicity at all. It would depend on the testimony of the
witnesses.

When the few witnesses had been heard--Oline had not been summoned,
but only the Lensmand, Axel himself, the experts, a couple of girls
from the village--when they had been heard, it was time to adjourn for
the midday break, and Geissler went up to the advocate for the Crown
once more. The advocate was of opinion that all was going well for the
girl Barbro, and so much the better. Fru Lensmand Heyerdahl's words
had carried great weight. All depended now upon the finding of the
court.

"Are you at all interested in the girl?" asked the advocate.

"Why, to a certain extent," answered Geissler--"or rather, perhaps, in
the man."

"Has she been in your service too?"

"No, he's never been in my service."

"I was speaking of the girl. It's she that has the sympathy of the
court."

"No, she's never been in my service at all."

"The man--h'm, he doesn't seem to come out of it so well," said
the advocate. "Goes off and buries the body all by himself in the
wood--looks bad, very bad."

"He wanted to have it buried properly, I suppose," said Geissler. "It
hadn't been really buried at all at first."

"Well, of course a woman hadn't the strength of a man to go digging.
And in her state--she must have been done up already. Altogether,"
said the advocate, "I think we've come to take a more humane view of
thes