"Good day. Why, is it you, Peter, out for a walk?"
They shook hands.
"Yes; I thought it would be pleasant to have a look at the old places again; and since Jacob was coming up to visit you, I made up my mind to keep him company."
"Is Jacob with you?"
"Yes, but he is waiting down at the sæter, for he was tired. We were out early to-day, and tomorrow we are to take home a pair of nags to Hoegseth Farm. He sent you his greeting and will see you this evening."
"Were you sure that you could find me?"
"Oh, yes! I knew just about where you would be in such weather. And, of course, it is more fun for me to ramble around here than for him, I being so familiar with the region."
He sat down beside her on the stone and gazed slowly around.
"Does it look natural here?"
"Yes, everything is unaltered. It seems only yesterday that I was here taking care of the Lunde flocks. But I hardly recognized you again. You have grown so large."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes. But still it is two years since I last saw you."
There was a short pause. Then Peter continued: "I walked over Sloping Marsh, by our bathing pond. The water has all run out."
"Yes, it has."
"I wondered if it would not be a good plan for me to build the dam up again, so that you could use the pond."
"No, you need not do that, for I have my bathing place somewhere else,-a place that no one knows about."
"Oh, have you?"
"Yes; I had it the last year that you and Ole were here, too."
"So it was there you used to be on the days that you kept away from us?"
"Yes, sometimes."
The animals began to get up and stray off, thus attracting attention. Lisbeth made Peter look at the older goats to see if he recognized them, and she was glad to find that he did remember them all. Then she told him about the new ones; but soon that topic was exhausted and there was apparently nothing more to talk about. They still remained seated on the stone. Then Peter said, "You haven't that birch-bark hat any longer, have you, Lisbeth?"
"No; it was worn out long ago."
"But what is it you have on this string?"
He took hold carefully of a string she wore around her neck, and, pulling it, drew out from her bosom the little goat horn he had given her.
"I did not think you would have that horn still," said Peter.
A deep blush covered Lisbeth's face at the idea of appearing childish to Peter. She hastened to say, "Oh, yes; I carry it with me sometimes."
"I have mine, too. It is the only thing I have left from my herding days." And he drew one of Crookhorn's horns out of an inner pocket. "Shall we try them?"
Then they both laughed and played "The Old Woman with a Stick" together, as they had so often done in the old days. It did not sound as if either of them had forgotten it in the least. When the tune was finished there was another pause. At last Lisbeth said, "I must look after the animals a little now, or I shall lose track of them."
"Can't you let them go home alone to-night? It is time for them to seek the fold, and they will surely find the way safely. Then we can walk to the sæter more at our leisure."
"Yes, I will gladly. I can trust them to find their way home, I am sure."
Again there was silence for a time. Then Lisbeth rose, saying, "I think we must go now."
Peter did not stir. He merely said very quietly: "Can't you sit a little longer? There was something I wanted to ask you."
Lisbeth bowed her head and seated herself again without speaking.
"I have a greeting to you from Ole. I received a letter from him a fortnight ago. He asked me very particularly to give you his greetings."
"Thank you. Is all going well with him?"
"Yes, it seems so from his letter. He has a good place and earns large wages."
"Ole deserves it. He grew to be a fine fellow."
"Yes, he did. He asks me whether I will go to America in the spring. He will send me a ticket, if I will."
On hearing that Lisbeth looked up at Peter for an instant, then drooped her head again without saying a word. Peter continued: "It was that I wanted to ask you about. Do you wish me to go?"
A dead silence ensued, during which Peter sat looking inquiringly at her. For a long time she was motionless; then, suddenly lifting her head, she fastened her blue eyes upon him and said, "No, I do not wish you to go."
* * * * *
There was no more conversation on that subject, and soon they were on their way to the sæter. They went around by all the familiar, memorable places, including both the bathing pond and Pointing Stump; and all these places had so many reminders for them of the time when they watched their flocks together there, that more than once they said how much they pitied Ole, who would perhaps never be able to come to Norway again. The sky arched high and clear above them, the mountain stretched beyond them with its unending, silent wastes; and Lisbeth and Peter felt strangely buoyant and glad. Although they had made no agreement, they felt as if they had a hidden bond between them-as if they two had a wonderful secret that no one, not even Jacob, could share.
CHAPTER XI. LISBETH APPOINTED HEAD MILKMAID
It was the first Sunday after Easter, early in the morning. Lisbeth sat by the small table in her little sleeping room, with one elbow leaning on the table and her hand under her chin, while she stared down at a big black book which lay open before her. The book was the New Testament, and Lisbeth's lips moved softly as she read. That morning, for the first time in several years, she had not gone into the cow house. Kjersti Hoel had said that she was to have a couple of hours in which she could be alone. No one was to disturb her.
She sat there somewhat stiff and helpless, in a long black dress with a strip of white in the neck. The dress seemed to her rather tight, so tight that she held her elbows close to her side and hardly dared to bend her back. It was the first time she had had a close-fitting dress on,-her usual costume being a jacket and skirt. Her light hair was drawn smoothly back and twisted into a knot at her neck. That was for the first time, too. She was a trifle paler than usual, and her lips, as she moved them, were dark red and dewy; but her eyes shone with peace. All in all, she was beautiful, as she sat there in her little room waiting for church time to come. This was the day that she was to be confirmed.
A knock was heard at the door, and in stepped Kjersti Hoel. She also was dressed in her very best,-an old-fashioned black dress with a gathered waist, and a freshly ironed cap with a frill around the face and strings hanging down. In her hand she carried the big psalm book, a handsome one printed in large type, which she used only on the greatest occasions. On top of the psalm book lay a neatly folded pocket handkerchief.
Standing still for a moment and looking earnestly at Lisbeth, Kjersti said, "Do you think you are ready now, Lisbeth?"
Lisbeth answered quietly, "Yes, I think so."
"Then it is time for us to start. Come, let me tie your kerchief, so that your hair will not get untidy."
She tied the kerchief on Lisbeth's head and then they went slowly out through the hall way. Outside, at the door, stood the broad wagon with the military horse harnessed to it.
"You may come and sit up here by me, Lisbeth," said Kjersti.
So they both got into the wagon and drove off. Not a word was spoken the whole way. As they drove down the hill from the farm and out on the main road, they were encompassed by all the effervescence of the spring,-its myriads of sights, sounds, and odors. The brooks and rivers rushed tunefully along, birds by the thousands were singing and calling, insects were buzzing, trees and plants of many sorts were pouring their fragrance over the whole valley; and above it all stood the sun, shedding down its glittering light. But these things failed to arouse in Lisbeth the feelings they usually awakened. They had, instead, the effect of a roar and a disturbance, of something inharmonious that caused her to quiver with discomfort. Involuntarily she drew nearer to Kjersti on the wagon seat. She felt a longing for one thing only,-silence. Thus they drove for a while along the sunlit valley road.