Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel - Alexander Lange Kielland (best way to read ebooks txt) 📗

Buildings,  Appeared Like A Small Village.

 

On The Shore Below The Farm Lay The Little Boat Harbour,  Sheltered By A

Breakwater Of Heavy Stone.

 

The Harbour Was Commanded By The Windows Of The Lighthouse,  So That

Madeleine Could Always Keep Her Eye On Per'S Boat,  Which Was As Familiar

To Her As Their Own Sitting-Room. This Was A Large And Cheerful Room,

And Into Its Corner Was Built The Tower Of The Lighthouse Itself,  Which

Was Not Higher Than The Rest Of The Building. The Room Had Thus Two

Windows,  One Of Which Looked Out To Sea,  While From The Other Was A View

To The Northward Over The Sandy Dunes,  Which Were Dotted With Patches Of

Heather And Bent Grass. In The Sitting-Room Madeleine'S Father Had His

Books And Writing-Table,  And Last,  But Not Least,  The Large Telescope.

This Was Made To Turn On Its Stand,  So That It Commanded Both The View

To The North And That Out To Sea. Here Also Madeleine Had Her Flowers

And Her Work-Table; And The Tasteful Furniture Which Uncle Garman Had

Ordered From Copenhagen,  And Which Was Always A Miracle Of Cheapness To

Her Father,  Gave The Room A Bright And Comfortable Appearance.

 

In The Long Evenings When The Winter Storms Came Driving In On The

Little Lighthouse,  Father And Daughter Sat Cosy And Warm Behind The

Shelter Of Their Thick Walls And Closed Shutters,  While The Light Fell

In Regular And Well-Defined Rays Over The Billows,  Which Raged And

Foamed On The Shore Below. The Ever-Changing Ocean,  Which Washed Under

Their Very Windows,  Seemed To Give A Freshness To Their Whole Life,

While Its Never-Ceasing Murmur Mingled In Their Conversation And Their

Laughter,  And In Her Music.

 

Madeleine Had Inherited Much Of Her Father'S Lively Nature; But She Had

Also A Kind Of Impetuosity,  Which One Of Her Governesses Had Called

Defiance. When She Grew Up She Showed,  Therefore,  The Stronger Nature Of

The Two,  And Her Father,  As Was His Wont,  Gave Way. He Laughed At His

Little Tyrant,  Whose Great Delight Was To Ruffle His Thick Curling Hair.

When,  In His Half-Abstracted Way,  The Old Gentleman Would Tell Her

Stones Which Threatened To End Unpleasantly,  She Would Scold Him Well;

But When,  From Some Cause Or Other,  He Was Really Displeased With Her,

It Affected Her So Much That The Impression Remained For A Long Time.

Her Nature Was Bright And Joyous,  But She Yearned For The Sunshine,  And

When Her Father Was Out Of Spirits She Could Not Help Fancying That It

Was Her Fault,  And Became Quite Unhappy.

 

Madeleine Had Also Her Father'S Eyes,  Dark And Sparkling,  But Otherwise

Her Only Resemblance To Him Lay In Her Slight Figure And Graceful

Carriage. Her Mouth Was Rather Large,  And Her Complexion Somewhat Dark.

Chapter 2 Pg 9

None Could Deny That She Was An Attractive Girl,  But No One Would Have

Called Her Pretty; Some Of The Young Men Had Even Decided That She Was

Plain.

 

One Fine Afternoon Early In Spring,  Per Lay Waiting With His Boat Off

The Point Of The Mole. Silly Hans Was Not With Him,  For Both He And

Madeleine Had Agreed That It Was Not Necessary When They Were Going Only

For A Row; And To-Day All There Was To Do Was To Provide The

Lobster-Pots With Fresh Bait For The Night.

 

One After Another The Fishermen Rowed Out Through The Narrow Entrance.

Each One Had Some Mischievous Joke To Throw On Board Per'S Boat,  And

More Than Once The Annoying "Wait" Was Heard. He Began To Lose His

Temper As He Lay On His Oars,  Gazing Expectantly Up At The Lighthouse.

 

But There All Was Still. The Solid Little Building Looked So Quiet And

Well Cared For In The Bright Sunshine,  Which Shone On The Polished

Window-Panes And On The Bright Red Top Of The Lantern,  Where He Could

See The Lamp-Trimmer Going Round On His Little Gallery,  Polishing The

Prisms.

 

At Last,  After What Seemed Endless Waiting,  She Came Out On To The

Steps,  And In another Moment She Was Across The Yard,  Over The Enclosure

Which Belonged To The Lighthouse,  Out Through The Little Gate In The

Fence,  And Now She Came In Full Career Down The Slope. "Have You Been

Waiting?" She Cried,  As She Came On To The Extreme Point Of The

Breakwater. He Was Just Going To Tell Her Not To Jump,  But It Was Too

Late; Without Lessening Her Speed,  She Had Already Sprung From The Pier

Down Into The Boat. Her Feet Slipped From Her,  And She Fell In a Sitting

Posture On The Bottom Of The Boat,  While Part Of Her Dress Hung In The

Water.

 

"Bother The Women!" Cried Per,  Who Had Told Her At Least A Hundred Times

Not To Jump; "Now You Have Hurt Yourself."

 

"No," Answered She.

 

"Yes,  You Have."

 

"Well,  Just A Little," She Replied,  Looking Stubbornly At Him As The

Tears Came Into Her Eyes; For She Really Had Bruised Her Leg Severely.

 

"Let Me See," Said Per.

 

"No,  You Shan'T!" She Answered,  Arranging Her Dress Over Her.

 

Per Began To Make For The Shore.

 

"What Are You Going To Do?"

 

"Going To Get Some Brandy To Rub Your Foot."

 

"That You Certainly Shan'T."

 

"Well,  Then,  You Shan'T Go With Me," Answered Per.

 

"Very Well,  Then; Let Me Get Out."

Chapter 2 Pg 10

 

And Before The Boat Quite Touched The Ground,  She Sprang On To The

Shore,  Climbed On To The Breakwater,  And Went Hurriedly Off Homewards.

She Clenched Her Teeth With The Pain As She Went,  But Still Without

Raising Her Eyes From The Ground She Followed The Well-Known Path. As

She Passed In Front Of The Boat-Houses,  She Had To Step Over Oars,

Tar-Barrels,  Old Swabs,  And All Sorts Of Rubbish,  Which Was Scattered

Among The Boats. All Around Lay The Claws Of Crabs And The Half-Decayed

Heads Of Codfish,  In Which The Gorged And Sleepy Flies Were Crawling In

And Out Of The Eye-Sockets.

 

She Reached The Lighthouse Without Turning Her Head; She Was Determined

Not To Look Back At Him. At The Top,  However,  She Was Obliged To Pause

To Get Her Breath; She Surely Might Look And See How Far He Got.

Madeleine Knew That The Other Fishermen Had Had A Long Start,  And

Expected,  Therefore,  To Find Per'S Boat Far Behind,  Between The Others

And The Shore. But It Was Not To Be Seen,  Neither There Nor In The

Harbour. All At Once Her Eye Caught The Well-Known Craft,  Which Was Not,

However,  Far Behind,  But Almost Level With The Others. Per Must Have

Rowed Like A Madman. She Was Well Able To Estimate The Distance,  And

Could Appreciate Such A Feat Of Oarsmanship,  And,  Entirely Forgetting

Her Pain And That She Was Alone,  She Turned Round As If To A Crowd Of

Spectators,  And Pointing At The Boats She Said,  With Sparkling Eyes,

"Look At Him! That'S The Boy To Row!"

 

Meanwhile Per Sat In His Boat,  Tearing At His Oars Till All Cracked

Again. It Was As Though He Wished To Punish Himself By His Gigantic

Efforts. Her Form Grew Smaller And Smaller As He Rowed Out To Sea,  Till

At Length She Was Out Of Sight; But He Had Deserved It All. "Deuce Take

The Women!" And Each Time He Repeated The Words He Sprang To His Oars

And Rowed As If For Bare Life.

 

The Next Day The Same Lovely Weather Continued,  And The Sea Lay As

Smooth As Oil In The Bright Sunshine. An English Lobster-Cutter Was In

The Offing,  With Sails Flapping Against The Mast,  And The Slack In The

Taut Rigging Could Be Seen As The Craft Heaved Lazily To And Fro On The

Gentle Swell. Madeleine Sat By The Window; She Did Not Care To Go Out.

Her Eye Followed The Lobster-Cutter,  Which She Knew Well: It Was The

_Flying Fish_,  Captain Crab,  Of Hull.

 

So Per Must Have Been Out With Lobsters That Morning: She Wondered If He

Had Caught Many. Perhaps He Might Have Done Himself Harm By His Efforts

Of Yesterday. She Went Out On To The Slope,  And Looked Down Into The

Harbour. Per'S Boat Was There; It Was Quite Likely He Was Not Well.

 

Suddenly Madeleine Made Up Her Mind To Run Down And Ask A Man Whom She

Saw By The Boat-Houses,  But Half-Way Down The Slope She Met Some One Who

Was Coming Upwards. She Could Not Possibly Have Seen Him Sooner,  Because

He Was Below Her At The Steepest Part Of The Hill,  But Now She

Recognized Him,  And Slackened Her Pace.

 

Per Must Also Have Seen Her,  Although He Was Looking Down,  For At A Few

Paces From Her He Left The Main Path,  And Took One That Was A Little

Lower. When Therefore They Were Alongside Each Other,  She Was A Little

Above Him. Per Had A Basket On His Back,  And Madeleine Could See There

Was Seaweed In It.

 

Neither Of Them Spoke,  But Both Of Them Felt As If They Were Half

Chapter 2 Pg 11

Choking. When He Had Got A Pace Beyond Her,  She Turned Round And Asked,

"What Have You Got In The Basket,  Per?"

 

"A Lobster," Answered He,  As He Swung The Basket Off His Back And Put It

Down Upon The Path.

 

"Let Me See It," Said Madeleine.

 

He Hastily Drew Aside The Seaweed,  And Took Out A Gigantic Lobster,

Which Was Flapping Its Broad,  Scaly Tail.

 

"That Is A Splendid Great Lobster!" She Cried.

 

"Yes,  It Isn'T A Bad Un!"

 

"What Are You Going To Do With It?"

 

"Ask Your Father If He Would Like To Have It."

 

"What Do You Want For It?" She Asked,  Although She Knew Perfectly Well

That It Was A Present.

 

"Nothing," Answered Per,  Curtly.

 

"That Is Good Of You,  Per."

 

"Oh,  It'S Nothing," He Answered,  As He Laid The Seaweed Back In The

Basket; And Now,  When The Moment Came To Say Good-Bye,  He Said,  "How'S

Your Foot?"

 

"Thanks,  All Right. I Got The Brandy."

 

"Did It Hurt Much?" Asked Per.

 

"No,  Not Very Much."

 

"I Am Glad You Did That," He Said,  As He Ventured To Lift His Eyes To

The Level Of Her Chin.

 

Now They Really Must Separate,  For There Was Nothing More To Be Said,

But Madeleine Could Not Help Thinking That Per Was A Helpless Creature.

 

"Good-Bye,  Per."

 

"Good-Bye," He Answered,  And Both Took A Few Steps Apart.

 

"Per,  Where Are You Going When You Have Been Up With The Lobster?"

 

"Nowhere Particular," Answered Per.

 

He Really Was Too Stupid,  But All The Same She Turned Round And Called

After Him,  "I Am Going To The Sand-Hills On The