seemed resolved to build up his
happiness herself.

They came to agreement all round in the course of the night. 'Twas not
as if they were strangers; they had talked over everything before.
Even the necessary marriage ceremony was to take place before St.
Olaf's Day and harvest; they had no need to hide things, and Barbro
was now herself most eager to get it done at once. Axel was not any
put out at her eagerness, and it did not make him any way suspicious;
far from it, he was flattered and encouraged to find her so. Ay, he
was a worker in the fields, no doubt, a thick-skinned fellow, not used
to looking over fine at things, nothing delicate beyond measure; there
were things he was obliged to do, and he looked to what was useful
first of all. Moreover, here was Barbro all new and pretty again, and
nice to him, almost sweeter than before. Like an apple she was, and he
bit at it. The banns were already put up.

As to the dead child and the trial, neither said a word of that.

But they did speak of Oline, of how they were to get rid of her. "Ay,
she must go," said Barbro. "We've nothing to thank her for, anyway.
She's naught but tale-bearing and malice."

But it proved no easy matter to get Oline to go.

The very first morning, when Barbro appeared, Oline was clear, no
doubt, as to her fate. She was troubled at once, but tried not to show
it, and brought out a chair. They had managed up to then at Maaneland.
Axel had carried water and wood and done the heaviest work, and Oline
doing the rest. And gradually she had come to reckon on staying the
rest of her life on the place. Now came Barbro and upset it all.

"If we'd only a grain of coffee in the house you should have it," said
she to Barbro. "Going farther up, maybe?"

"No," said Barbro.

"Ho! Not going farther?"

"No."

"Why, 'tis no business of mine, no," says Oline. "Going down again,
maybe?"

"No. Nor going down again. I'm staying here for now."

"Staying here, are you?"

"Ay, staying here, I doubt."

Oline waits for a moment, using her old head, full of policy. "Ay,
well," says she. "'Twill save me, then, no doubt. And glad I'll be for
the same."

"Oho," says Barbro in jest, "has Axel here been so hard on you this
while?"

"Hard on me? Axel! Oh, there's no call to turn an old body's words,
there's naught but living on and waiting for the blessed end. Axel
that's been as a father and a messenger from the Highest to me day and
hour together, and