Garman And Worse A Norwegian Novel - Alexander Lange Kielland (best way to read ebooks txt) 📗
- Author: Alexander Lange Kielland
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Lighthouse, The Weather Is So Lovely;" And Away She Ran.
"All Right," Answered Per, Springing Like A Cat Up The Slope.
As He Ran He Threw Away The Seaweed So As To Have The Lobster Ready, And
When He Got To The Kitchen Door He Flung The Monster Down On The Bench,
Chapter 2 Pg 13Laughing. They Jested And Laughed As If They Knew Not That They Were No
Longer Children, And She Made Per Promise To Give Up Chewing Tobacco.
Away Along The Curving Shore, With The Salt Breath Of Ocean Fresh Upon
Them, Went These Young Hearts, Rejoicing In Their Existence, While The
Sea Danced In Sparkling Wavelets At Their Feet.
The _Attache_ Had Just Finished A Letter To His Brother; It Was One Of
These Wearisome Business Letters, Enclosing Some Papers He Had Had To
Sign. He Never Could Make Out Where The Proper Place Was For Him To Put
His Name On These Tiresome, Long-Winded Documents. But, Wonderful To
Relate, His Brother Always Told Him That It Was Perfectly Correct, And
Christian Frederick Was Most Particular In Such Matters. The Old
Gentleman Had Just Sent Off The Letter, And Was Beginning To Breathe
More Easily, When He Went To The Window And Looked Out. He Discovered
Two Forms Going In a Northerly Direction Over The Sand-Hills.
Half Abstractedly, He Went To The Other Window And Directed The Large
Telestope Upon Them.
"Humph!" Said He, "I Declare, They'Re There Again."
Suddenly He Took His Eye From The Telescope.
"Hulloa! The Girl Must Be Mad."
He Put His Eye Down Again To The Telescope, And Threw Away His
Cigarette. There Was No Doubt About It--There Was His Own Madeleine
Hanging Round Per'S Neck. He Rubbed The Glass Excitedly With His
Pocket-Handkerchief. They Were Now Going Respectably Enough Side By
Side; Now They Were Among The Grassy Knolls, And Behind One Of Them They
Disappeared From His Sight. He Thoughtfully Directed The Telescope To
The Other Side Of The Hillock And Waited. "What Now?" Muttered He,
Giving The Glass Another Rub. They Had Not Yet Come From Behind The
Hillock. For A Few Minutes The Father Was Quite Nervous. At Last He Saw
One Form Raise Itself, And Immediately After Another.
The Telescope Was Perfect, And The Old Gentleman Took In The Situation
Just As Well As If He Had Himself Been Sitting By Their Side.
"Ah! It'S Well It'S No Worse," He Murmured; "But It'S Bad Enough As It
Is. I Shall Have To Send Her Off To The Town."
When They Were At Dinner, He Said, "You Know, Madeleine, We Have Long
Been Talking About Your Staying A Little While At Sandsgaard."
"Oh No, Father," Broke In Madeleine, Looking Beseechingly At Him.
"Yes, Child; It'S Quite Time Now In My Opinion." He Spoke In an
Unusually Determined Tone.
Madeleine Could See That He Knew Everything, And All At Once The Events
Of The Morning Stood In Their True Light Before Her. As She Sat There,
In Their Well-Appointed Room, Opposite Her Father, Who Looked So Refined
And Stately, Per And The Shore, And Everything That Belonged To It, Bore
Quite A Different Aspect, And Instead Of The Joyful Confession She Had
Chapter 2 Pg 14Pictured To Herself As She Went Homewards, She Looked Down In confusion
And Blushed To The Very Roots Of Her Hair.
The Visit Was Thus Arranged, And Madeleine Was Delighted That Her Father
Had Not Observed Her Confusion; And He Was Glad Enough To Escape Any
Further Explanation On The Subject, For It Was Just In Such Matters That
The Old Gentleman Showed His Weakest Point. The Next Day He Rode Into
The Town.
Chapter 3 Pg 15
_"Avoir, Avant, Avu_--That'S How It Goes! That'S Right, My Boy; _Avoir,
Avant_."
The Whole Class Could See Clearly That The Master Was Lost In Thought.
He Was Pacing Up And Down, With Long Steps And Half-Closed Eyes,
Gesticulating From Time To Time, As He Kept Repeating The Ill-Used
Auxiliary. On The Upper Benches The Boys Began To Titter, And Those On
The Lower Ones, Who Had Not Such A Fine Ear For The French Verbs, Soon
Caught The Infection; While The Unhappy Wretch Who Was Undergoing
Examination, Sat Trembling Lest The Master Should Notice His Wonderful
Method Of Conjugating The Verb. This Unfortunate Being Was Gabriel
Garman, The Consul'S Younger Son. He Was A Tall, Slender Boy Of About
Fifteen Or Sixteen, With A Refined Face, Prominent Nose, And Upright
Bearing.
Gabriel Was Sitting In The Lower Half Of The Class, Which Was, In The
Opinion Of The Master, A Great Disgrace For A Boy Of His Ability. He
Was, However, A Curious, Wayward Boy. In Some Things, Such As Arithmetic
And Mathematics Generally, He Distinguished Himself; But In Greek And
Latin, Which Were Considered The Most Important Part Of His Education,
He Showed But Little Proficiency, Although He Was Destined For A
University Career.
At Last The General Mirth Of The Class Burst Out In Sundry Half-Stifled
Noises, Which Roused The Master From His Reverie, And He Again Resumed
The Book, To Continue The Examination. As Ill Luck Would Have It, He
Once More Repeated, "_Avoir, Avant_," And Then Half Abstractedly,
"_Avu_." "Ah, You Young Idiot!" Cried He, In a Discordant Voice, "Can'T
You Manage _Avoir_ Yet? Whatever Is To Become Of You?"
"Merchant," Answered Gabriel, Bluntly.
"What Do You Say? You Dare To Answer Your Master? Are You Going To Be
Impertinent? I'Ll Teach You! Where'S The Persuader?" And The Master
Strode Up To His Seat, And, Diving Down Into His Desk, Began Routing
About In It.
Chapter 3 Pg 16
At This Moment The Passage Door Opened, And An Extraordinary And Most
Unscholarly Looking Head Intruded Itself Into The Room. The Head Had A
Red Nose, And Wore A Long American Goat'S-Beard And A Blue Seaman'S Cap.
"Are You There?" Said The Head, Addressing Master Gabriel In a
Half-Drunken Voice. "Is That Where You Are, Poor Boy? Bah! What An
Atmosphere! I Only Just Came In To Tell You To Come Down To The
Ship-Yard When You Get Out Of School; We Are Just Beginning The
Planking."
He Did Not Get Any Further, For At The Sight Of The Long-Legged Master,
Who Stalked Down From The Desk, Quite Scandalized At This Disturbance Of
Order, The Head Suddenly Stopped In Its Harangue, And With A Hearty,
"Well, I'M Blest! What A Ghost!" Disappeared, Closing The Door After It.
It Did Not Take Very Much To Provoke The Laughter Of The Boys, And When
At The Same Moment The Bell Rang To Announce That The School-Hour Was
Over, The Class Broke Up In confusion, And The Master Hastened, Fuming
With Rage, To Complain To The Rector.
Gabriel Hurried Off As Fast As He Could, In Hopes Of Catching Up His
Friend Who Had Caused The Disturbance, But He Had Already Disappeared;
He Had Probably Gone Down To The Town To Continue His Libations. This
Friend Was A Foreman Shipwright, Who, Since His Return From America, Had
Borne The Name Of Tom Robson. His Real Name When He Left Home Was Thomas
Robertsen, But It Had Got Changed Somehow In america, And He Kept To It
As It Was.
Tom Robson Was The Cleverest Foreman On The Whole West Coast, But His
Drinking Propensities Tried To The Utmost Both The Patience And The
Firmness Of His Employers. He Had Already Built Several Vessels For
Garman And Worse, But He Was Determined That The One He Was Now
Superintending At Sandsgaard Should Be His Masterpiece.
This Vessel Was Of About Nine Hundred Tons Burden, And Was The Largest
Craft That Had Been Built At That Port Up To The Present Time, And
Consul Garman Had Given Orders That Nothing Should Be Spared To Make It
A Model Of Perfection.
Tom Robson Was Thus Only Able To Get Drunk By Fits And Starts, Which He
Did When They Came To Any Important Epoch In The Building. On That Day,
For Instance, The Time Had Just Arrived For Beginning To Lay The
Planking Upon The Timbers.
As Gabriel Neither Found His Friend Nor Saw Anything Of The Carriage
From Sandsgaard, Which Generally Met Him On His Way From School, He Set
Off To Walk Homewards, Down The Long Avenue Which Led To The Family
Property. It Was A Good Half-Hour'S Walk, And While He Sauntered Along,
Swinging His Heavy Burden Of The Books He So Cordially Hated, He Was
Lost In Gloomy Thought. Every Day, On His Way From School, He Met The
Younger Clerks Going To Their Dinner In The Town. They Looked Tired And
Weary, It Is True; Still, He Envied Them Their Permission To Sit Working
The Whole Day In The Office--A Paradise With Which He, Although His
Father'S Son, Had No Connection Whatever. He Was Obliged To Confine His
Energy To The Building-Yard, Where There Were Plenty Of Hiding-Places,
Chapter 3 Pg 17And Where The Consul Was Seldom Seen Of An Afternoon. The Ship On
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