Her joy was great and she hurried in.

The whole thing marked an event and a turning point in Edevart’s life. He probably did not draw any immediate conclusions from his experience in the forest, but it laid a foundation in him upon which later experiences could build. The next winter he was taken on as a half hand fishing in the Lofotens, although he was still not confirmed. This was no small thing; older lads than he remained at home. It was good for him to have got out. He gradually lost his reticence; he began to speak out in discussion.

But in the spring he was failed by the priest. This was in everybody’s eyes a great shame, and particularly of course for his father and mother, both of whom were able to read and were also religious. He had to stay at school another year, and this blunted his spirit again. Finally, at fifteen, he was confirmed and accepted more or less as an adult. He read badly and was frightened of books, but he was no stupider than many another and he had grown big and strong, a capable lad at work, and kind and good-natured. He gave all support possible to his parents and to his brother and sisters.

A MUCH-TRAVELED young man returned home to the village. He was called August, and was an orphan. Actually, he was from another district but had grown up here. Among many other things, he had been to sea for a number of years and visited many lands. The things he could tell of his life were something miraculous. He was not rich, nor did he pretend to be; but he had beautiful blue clothes, a silver watch, and a daler or two in his pocket. As he had no close kinsfolk, he stayed with the woman who had brought him up. But he ranged far and wide in the locality and was well regarded by everyone. The young girls had him much in their thoughts, and the small boys listened to his stories openmouthed. A close friendship had arisen between him and Edevart.

It began this way:

An accident at sea had caused some damage to August’s mouth, knocking out some teeth. He had made up for this as much as possible by growing a mighty mustache and wearing a set of gold teeth, a so-called bridge. Edevart had never seen such glorious teeth, and he planned to buy some similar teeth for himself as soon as he could afford it. August told him quite readily where he had acquired this set of teeth and what it had cost. It wasn’t pennies; he’d saved for months and years to meet the expense, he said. The girls for their part found no fault with August’s teeth, but the young men began to laugh at them and mock him. They were jealous of August, and angry that he should come here and collect all the girls around him.

As time passed, things got worse. The young men joined forces to scoff at the sailor lad and even seemed about to turn the girls against him. One day the young woman Ane Maria even said to him in everybody’s hearing that he shouldn’t open his mouth so when he laughed.

“Why not?” asked August.

“Well, you shouldn’t show off those teeth.”

Many laughed at this; and August—good-natured and even-tempered as sailors are—said nothing.

But it was more than Edevart could stand. He turned to her and said: “You shouldn’t have given the organ-grinder those stockings.”

“Why not?” asked Ane Maria uneasily.

“What stockings?” asked her husband. His name was Karolus.

“New stockings,” said Edevart.

Ane Maria went and busied herself over by the window, and asked from there: “Why shouldn’t I have given them to him?”

“Because he didn’t need them. He sold them for eighteen skilling at the village north of here.”

“How do you know?”

“I know, all right.