ideas, no doubt, and off he went to the edge of
the wood, with crowbar and pick, and fell to working at a stone. Nay,
indeed, Isak could not see why Jensine should have left them; a good
girl, and a worker. To tell the truth, Isak was often at a loss in all
save the simplest things--his work, his lawful and natural doings. A
broad-shouldered man, well filled out, nothing astral about him at
all; he ate like a man and throve on it, and 'twas rarely he was
thrown off his balance in any way.

Well, here was this stone. There were stones more in plenty, but here
was one to begin with. Isak is looking ahead, to the time when he
will need to build a little house here, a little home for himself and
Inger, and as well to get to work a bit on the site, and clear it,
while Sivert is down at Storborg. Otherwise the boy would be asking
questions, and that was not to Isak's mind. The day must come,
of course, when Sivert would need all there was of the place for
himself--the old folks would be wanting a house apart. Ay, there was
never an end of building at Sellanraa; that fodder loft above the
cowshed was not done yet, though the beams and planks for it were
there all ready.

Well, then, here was this stone. Nothing so big to look at above
ground, but not to be moved at a touch for all that; it must be a
heavy fellow. Isak dug round about it, and tried his crowbar, but it
would not move. He dug again and tried once more, but no. Back to the
house for a spade then, and clear the earth away, then digging
again, trying again--no. A mighty heavy beast to shift, thought Isak
patiently enough. He dug away now for a steady while, but the stone
seemed reaching ever deeper and deeper down, there was no getting a
purchase on it. A nuisance it would be if he had to blast it, after
all. The boring would make such a noise, and call up every one on the
place. He dug. Off again to fetch a levering pole and tried that--no.
He dug again. Isak was beginning to be annoyed with this stone; he
frowned, and looked at the thing, as if he had just come along to make
a general inspection of the stones in that neighbourhood, and
found this one particularly stupid. He criticized it; ay, it was a
round-faced, idiotic stone, no getting hold of it any way--he was
almost inclined to say it was deformed. Blasting? The thing wasn't
worth a charge of powder. And was he to give it up, was he to consider
the possibility of being beaten by a stone?

He dug. Hard w