Kristina had her own ideas about right and wrong toward other people, and never had anyone been able to sway her. Nor would Petrus Olausson and his wife be able to do so, not to the smallest degree. They asked her to betray a friendship, they asked her to wrong a person, they demanded that she commit this gravest of sins.
And there stood Uncle Petrus and continued to talk to her in the patient voice of an admonishing father. He knew from experience the dangers of heresy, he himself had for a time followed a false prophet. But one day his eyes had been opened to the true light, and now he wanted — along with true Swedish Lutherans — to found an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which would be free from interference by worldly authorities and unblemished by heresy. And among those true Christians who must build this Church were Kristina and her husband. He must therefore protect them against false prophets who called themselves Baptists. They were sent by the devil to spread dissension among the Swedes. They were sunderers, this Baptist ilk, they wanted to create dissension and dissolve the true faith.
He took Kristina by the arm, pleadingly, admonishingly, mildly rebuking her as if she were his beloved, disobedient, self-willed child.
“Dearly beloved Kristina! These sunderers and false prophets deck themselves out like friends. You do not recognize them for what they are. You do not know the Fiend in the soul of this Mrs. Jackson! But as long as she continues to come here, your home is besmirched. Therefore, beloved Kristina, do not ever let her cross your threshold again. Will you give me this promise?”
“No!” she screamed out. “No! No! No! Never!”
And Kristina violently pulled herself away from him, as if he were unclean and had besmirched her. Her explosion was so sudden that Olausson took a few steps backward. His wife jumped up from her chair.
“This is enough!” cried Kristina. “Listen to me, you, once and for all. You come to me and talk ill of Ulrika — what do you mean? Do you think I’m a fool? I’ll tell you something, both of you! Pretending to be my friends, ah?”
“Poor child! How you talk!” said Judit Olausson and turned her head so quickly that her cap slid down over her right ear.
“Dear Kristina, calm down!” pleaded Olausson.
“Wretched woman! The devil speaks through her mouth,” added Judit.
With Kristina’s sudden explosion, Olausson lost his composure. He turned to Karl Oskar. “You must correct your foolish wife, Nilsson! She acts as if she had already been led astray. Help us bring her back to her senses.”
Karl Oskar rose from his seat and straightened up to his full height, “This is crazier than hell!”
“Yes, yes, here we come as friends and fellow Christians and your wife treats us as if we were. .”
“You have given order in my house, Olausson. But you have done it for the last time.”
“What’s that, Nilsson? Are you too against us? Are you as blind as your wife?”
Karl Oskar looked steadily at his neighbor and raised his voice until Olausson drew back. “You leave Kristina alone! She can open her door to whoever she wants! And this I had intended to tell you before: I don’t need a guardian! Nor does my wife! Now you know!”
“But Nilsson — my dear neighbor — you must understand us! All we want is to warn you against the sectarians. . you know — those Baptists! We must be careful — every moment of our lives we must watch out against. .”
“That’s enough! You force me to tell you right out: take care of yourself and shit on others!”
Kristina had stepped between the two men, her eyes aflame. “Let me have a word in this matter! I want to be open with you, Petrus — you come here and try to separate old friends. You insist I kick out the best friend I have. And you speak of sundering and dissension! Who is the sunderer? Who is trying to spread ill will and dissension? No one but you!”
In her excitement she no longer called her neighbor Uncle Petrus. He tried to get a word in in reply, but she wouldn’t let him. “You shut up — it’s my turn to talk now! You try to part Ulrika and me! You yourself are the sunderer, you spread discord, you slander Ulrika and accuse her of evil deeds! You belie your fellow men! You’ve forgotten the eighth commandment, Christian that you call yourself! You bear false witness against your neighbor! You run about and spread evil rumors — you, a grown man! You ought to be ashamed! Or haven’t you any shame in your old body? Haven’t you any decency, you evil old man!”
Petrus Olausson remained frozen, listening. His eyes were riveted on Kristina; his look was one of sorrow rather than anger. It was as if he looked upon his neighbor’s wife as a father might look at a difficult and straying child.
“You ought to feel ashamed of yourself, Petrus Olausson!”
“Dear neighbors — I’m amazed and saddened. It is with sorrow and pain that I hear. .”
“Come, Petrus!” said Judit Olausson, adjusting again her black cap. She took her husband by the arm. “That woman is possessed! Insulting us like that! Lets go!”
“But our duty as fellow Christians. .”
“You can see we’re too late,” said his wife.
“Dear Judit, it’s never too late to lead a straying soul back to the true. .”
“But can’t you hear — the sectarians already have snared her in their nets. Let’s go home. Come, Petrus!”
Judit walked toward the door. Petrus Olausson cleared his throat and turned once more to Kristina, lecturing her kindly. “Our Christian love for our neighbors brought us here today. We so want to warn you, and you reward us with insults. But I forgive you, Kristina. I overlook your words. For it is an evil spirit that speaks through your mouth.”
“Shut up about your evil spirits! No one has led me astray! I intend to remain a Christian Lutheran as long as I live! But I won’t betray my friends! Now you know! And so shut up!”
“You are a foolish woman. We must pray God to protect you against snares. We will pray for your mind to change so that you never again will admit that Baptist ilk into your home. As Christian people we must avoid this unclean house until it has been cleansed.”
“Out with you!” shouted Kristina, trembling. “Out of my house, both of you! Not clean in here! That I’ll never forget as long as I live!”
At this her voice failed her.
— 3—
The Olaussons left. Karl Oskar and Kristina sat down to rest, exhausted as if by some heavy chore.
“Well, I guess our neighbor-peace has come to an end,” said he.
Kristina thought of the spring day last year — it had seemed to her then like a Sunday — when Karl Oskar for the first time had heard their new neighbor’s ax ringing in the forest.
“I lost my temper — but I don’t regret it,” she said.
Her voice still trembled: what did they take her for, this Olausson and his woman? Who did they think she was? A nodding doll, without a mind of her own? A stupid woman they could lead wherever they wished, one whom they must lead by the hand? A silly sheep, in utter simplicity letting herself be devoured by those ugly Baptist wolves, Ulrika and her husband?
But the neighbor’s remark about her unclean house had hurt her the most.
“Well, now they know how we feel,” said Karl Oskar. “Let them get mad if they wish. How stupid that we must quarrel with our neighbors because Ulrika jumped into the river and got herself baptized. It doesn’t make sense.”