Part 27 (1/2)

”Ay, it's had to look after itself while I've been out,” answered Lars Peter in excuse. ”And this trouble with the wife didn't make things better either. Maybe you've heard all about it over there?”

Johannes nodded. ”That oughtn't to make any difference to you, though,” said he.

That day Lars Peter had to go down to the marsh and dig a ditch, to drain a piece of the land. Johannes got a spade and went with him.

He worked with such a will that Lars Peter had some difficulty in keeping up with him. ”'Tis easy to see you're young,” said he, ”the way you go at it.”

”Why don't you ditch the whole and level it out? 'Twould make a good meadow,” said Johannes.

Ay, why not? Lars Peter did not know himself. ”If only a fellow had some one to work with,” said he.

”Do you get any peat here?” asked Johannes once when they were taking a breathing s.p.a.ce.

”No, nothing beyond what we use ourselves; 'tis a hard job to cut it.”

”Ay, when you use your feet! But you ought to get a machine to work with a horse; then a couple of men can do ever so many square feet in a day.”

Lars Peter became thoughtful. Ideas and advice had been poured into him and he would have liked to go thoroughly through them and digest them one by one. But Johannes gave him no time.

The next minute he was by the clay-pit. There was uncommonly fine material for bricks, he thought.

Ay, Lars Peter knew it all only too well. The first summer he was married, Sorine had made bricks to build the outhouse and it had stood all kinds of weather. But one pair of hands could not do everything.

And thus Johannes went from one thing to the other. He was observant and found ways for everything; there was no end to his plans. Lars Peter had to attend; it was like listening to an old, forgotten melody. Marsh, clay-pit and the rest had said the same year after year, though more slowly; now he had hardly time to follow. It was inspiriting, all at once to see a way out of all difficulties.

”Look here, brother,” said he, as they were at dinner, ”you put heart into a man again. How'd you like to stay on here? Then we could put the place in order together. There's not much in that roving business after all.”

Johannes seemed to like the idea--after all, the highroad was unsatisfactory as a means of livelihood!

During the day they talked it over more closely and agreed how to set about things; they would share as brothers both the work and what it brought in. ”But what about the machine?” said Lars Peter.

”That must be returned.”

”Oh, never mind that,” said Johannes. ”The man can't use it; he's ill.”

”Ay, but when he gets up again, then he'll have nothing to earn his living; we can't have that on our conscience. I'm going down to the beach tomorrow for a load of herrings, so I'll drive round by Hundested and put it off there. There's sure to be a fisherman who'll take it over with him. I'd really thought of giving up the herring trade; but long ago I bound myself to take a load, and there should be a good catch these days.”

At three o'clock next morning Lars Peter was ready in the yard to drive to the fis.h.i.+ng village; at the back of the cart was the wonderful machine. As he was about to start, Johannes came running up, unwashed and only half awake; he had just managed to put on his cap and tie a handkerchief round his neck. ”I think I'll go with you,” he said with a yawn.

Lars Peter thought for a minute--it came as a surprise to him. ”Very well, just as you like,” said he at last, making room. He had reckoned on his brother beginning the ditching today; there was so little water in the meadow now.

”Do me good to get out a bit!” said Johannes as he clambered into the cart.

Well--yes--but he had only just come in. ”Don't you want an overcoat?” asked Lars Peter. ”There's an old one of mine you can have.”

”Oh, never mind--I can turn up my collar.”

The sun was just rising; there was a white haze on the sh.o.r.es of the lake, hanging like a veil over the rushes. In the green fields dewdrops were caught by millions in the spiders' webs, sparkling like diamonds in the first rays of suns.h.i.+ne.