Karl Oskar had often said that he regretted having brought along his younger brother to America; Robert fitted this country like a square plug in a round hole. He was too soft and lazy and lacked persistence, insisted the older brother. But Robert had succeeded so well that he had become rich before any other settler from Ljuder! What would Karl Oskar now say about the little brother he had considered useless? Monday evening Robert had silenced Karl Oskar with the black pouch; as soon as he had displayed his money, the roles of the two brothers were reversed. The older one could no longer reproach and scold the younger one. Now it was Robert who did the talking, now it was he who knew what was what. The younger had become more important than the older, and who could now say that Robert didn’t fit in America?
Since last Monday evening Robert had been the big brother and Karl Oskar the little brother. It was strange the way things had changed between the brothers!
Yet Robert, this new big-brother who had returned from the gold-land, had not said twenty words about his riches. No one could say that he bragged about them, no one could accuse him of big talk. And Kristina — like Karl Oskar — felt that there was something wrong and perhaps frightening about his silence.
On Thursday morning Robert was up earlier than had been his wont since his return, and he came into the kitchen before Kristina had put the food on the table. His eyes were pale and bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept. She had noticed that he slept badly; a few times she had heard him go to the kitchen to get a drink.
She put the food on the table and called Karl Oskar, who was surprised that his brother was up already; this was the first time since his return that he had shown up at the breakfast table. He yawned broadly, exposing the tooth-empty upper jaw. His appetite was poor; he chewed slowly and had trouble swallowing. Kristina urged him time and again to eat some more; he ate less than the little boys, Johan and Harald, who ate their breakfast standing up at the table — children were said to grow faster if they ate standing upright. For Robert’s sake Kristina had baked a big corn omelet but he took only a small piece of it on his plate.
It was unusually quiet around the table in the kitchen this morning. But when everyone had finished Karl Oskar pulled the nickel watch from his pocket and placed it beside Robert’s plate.
“Why do you have Arvid’s watch?”
Robert showed no surprise or confusion when he saw the watch, which appeared near his plate like an extra dish of food that he must eat before he left the table:
“I put it under my pillow. I noticed it was gone.”
“Why do you hide the watch? Why don’t you dare tell us the truth? Why don’t you dare tell us that Arvid is dead?”
That was three questions at one time. But Robert only replied:
“You have a right to ask, Karl Oskar. That you have.”
He was interrupted by an attack of persistent, hollow coughing.
“The first evening you said Arvid had remained in the goldfields.”
“Yes, I said he remained out there. He did.” Robert’s coughing spell was over.
“But you didn’t say he was dead. That he had sacrificed his life.”
“Who doesn’t sacrifice his life on the Trail? Everyone does — one way or another. .”
“You talk in riddles! Tell us the truth right out!”
Karl Oskar was getting impatient and loud, but his younger brother remained calm. He picked up the watch and coiled the broad brass chain slowly around his forefinger. Kristina rose and began to clear the table; without interfering in the conversation between the two brothers she was listening intently. She told the children to leave the table.
Robert twisted the chain of Arvid’s watch tightly around his finger until it resembled a thick golden ornament. He squeezed the watch inside the palm of his hand. Kristina noticed his elbows were beginning to tremble.
Roberts eyes looked so big and glassy today; she felt his forehead with her hand.
“You’re burning hot! You have a fever!”
Karl Oskar had sounded angry and she whispered to him not to cross-examine his brother in this way; they could see he was sick.
Her cautioning had its effect. Karl Oskar rose, and put his next question in a milder voice.
“We two are brothers — why don’t you confide in me?”
“The very first evening I came home you said to me, ‘Stop lying!’ I had just begun to confide in you. But you didn’t believe me. You said, ‘I know you’re back without a single nickel!’”
Robert had risen too; he straightened his narrow, caved-in shoulders. They stood shoulder to shoulder and as Robert straightened up it was apparent that he was a couple of inches taller than his older brother.
Not even physically was Karl Oskar any longer the big brother. And his cheeks reddened slightly as he remembered that on Monday evening his “little” brother had got the upper hand: This is just a little pocket money!
“But couldn’t we be honest with each other again? Why did you hide the watch? No one is going to think that you killed Arvid to take his possession!”
Robert turned his face quickly toward Karl Oskar and his reply came as a sudden thrust.
“Maybe you have guessed it! Perhaps I did kill Arvid! Perhaps it was my doing. .”
“Are you out of your senses?!”
“He wanted to return. . once. . but I. .”
Robert stopped suddenly, his shoulders caved in again, as if he were defending himself against a blow. He pressed his hands against his head and panted:
“I can’t. . Leave me alone. . I’m not strong enough. . Please, Karl Oskar. . leave me in peace. . dear brother. . forgive me. . I can’t stand it. .”
He rushed to the door and opened it with a heavy jerk of the handle. While they stood there, perplexed at his sudden outburst, he ran out of the kitchen as if he were pursued. They looked after him through the window — he had thrown himself face down on the ground near the newly planted gooseberry bushes. There he lay, unmoving.
“Leave your brother alone,” advised Kristina. “You can’t do anything else. .”
“No,” Karl Oskar sighed irresolutely. “What else can one do? Nothing, I guess. .”
He knew that Robert would never take back a single word of what he had said, never admit one of his lies, never would admit that he did lie. Would they ever know the truth about Arvid? Would they learn what had happened to the two old farm-hand friends after that day four years ago when they set out on their journey to California?
But one piece of clear information they would get — by tomorrow they would have the truth about the gold-seeker’s riches.
— 2—
Karl Oskar left to work on the church building. A few moments later Robert came back in, like himself again. Today, once more, he wanted to take a walk to the Indian, he said. And Kristina watched him stroll off through the pine grove to the west.
She went into the gable room to make up his bed and there she discovered large dark red spots on his pillow slip which hadn’t been there yesterday. The spots could be nothing but blood oozing from his bad ear during the night.
She began to wonder if Robert didn’t suffer from some consuming inner illness; he had a nasty cough, and sometimes he couldn’t eat their food — such troubles were not caused by a bad ear. Did he perhaps have chest fever? When she was alone with him she would ask him about this; he seemed to confide in her rather than in his brother. For the moment the red spots on his pillow slip told her more about him than he himself had done so far.