ice
if they wished to have everything in readiness before Ole's return;
but even if Ole should arrive sooner than he expected, and Hulda
should not be quite ready, she would not be inconsolable, nor would
he.

The last weeks of April and the first weeks of May were devoted
to these matters. Joel assumed charge of the invitations, taking
advantage of the fact that his vocation of guide gave him considerable
leisure at this season of the year. One would have supposed that he
had a large number of friends in Bamble, for he went there very often.
He had already written to Help Bros., inviting them to attend his
sister's wedding, and in accordance with his prediction, these worthy
shipowners had promptly accepted the invitation.

The fifteenth of May came, and any day now they might expect Ole to
alight from his kariol, throw open the door, and shout in his hearty,
cheerful voice:

"It is I! Here I am!"

A little patience was all that was needed now, for everything was in
readiness, and Siegfrid needed only a word to appear before them in
all her splendor.

The 16th and 17th passed, and still no Ole, nor did the postman bring
any letter from Newfoundland.

"There is no cause for anxiety, little sister," Joel said, again and
again. "A sailing-vessel is always subject to delays. It is a long
way from St. Pierre-Miquelon to Bergen. How I wish the 'Viking' were
a steamer and I the engine. How I would drive along against wind and
tide, even if I should burst my boiler on coming into port."

He said all this because he saw very plainly that Hulda's uneasiness
was increasing from day to day.

Just at this time, too, the weather was very bad in the Telemark.
Violent gales swept the high table-lands, and these winds, which blew
from the west, came from America.

"They ought to have hastened the arrival of the 'Viking,'" the young
girl repeated again and again.

"Yes, little sister," replied Joel; "but they are so strong that they
may have hindered its progress, and compelled it to face the gale.
People can't always do as they like upon the sea."

"So you are not uneasy, Joel?"

"No, Hulda, no. It is annoying, of course, but these delays are very
common. No; I am not uneasy, for there is really not the slightest
cause for anxiety."

On the 19th a traveler arrived at the inn, and asked for a guide to
conduct him over the mountains to the Hardanger, and though Joel did
not like the idea of leaving Hulda, he could not