Ticket No. 9672 - Jules Verne (i can read book club .txt) 📗

mariners at an epoch when the Hanse monopolized the commerce of Northern Europe. Possibly they were a trifle prone to indulge in piracy in days gone by, but piracy was then quite common. Doubtless commerce has reformed since then, though one may perhaps be pardoned for thinking that there is still room for improvement.

However that may be, the Norwegians were certainly fearless seamen; they are today, and so they will ever be. Ole Kamp was not the man to belie his origin; besides, he had served his apprenticeship under his father, who was the master of a Bergen coasting vessel. His childhood had been spent in that port, which is one of the most frequented in Scandinavia. Before he ventured out upon the open sea he had been an untiring fisher in the fjords, and a fearless robber of the seabirds’ nests, and when he became old enough to serve as cabin-boy he made a voyage across the North Sea and even to the waters of the Polar Ocean.

Soon afterward his father died, and as he had lost his mother several years before, his uncle Harald Hansen invited him to become a member of his family, which he did, though he continued to follow the same calling.

In the intervals between his voyages he invariably spent his time with the friends he loved; but he made regular voyages upon large fishing vessels, and rose to the rank of mate when he was but twenty-one. He was now twenty-three years of age.

When he visited Dal, Joel found him a most congenial companion. He accompanied him on his excursions to the mountains, and across the highest tablelands of the Telemark. The young sailor seemed as much at home in the fields as in the fjords, and never lagged behind unless it was to keep his cousin Hulda company.

A close friendship gradually sprung up between Joel and Ole, and quite naturally the same sentiment assumed a different form in respect to the young girl. Joel, of course, encouraged it. Where would his sister ever find a better fellow, a more sympathetic nature, a warmer and more devoted heart? With Ole for a husband, Hulda’s happiness was assured. So it was with the entire approval of her mother and brother that the young girl followed the natural promptings of her heart. Though these people of the North are undemonstrative, they must not be accused of a want of sensibility. No! It is only their way; and perhaps their way is as good as any other, after all.

So it came to pass that one day, when all four of them were sitting quietly together, Ole remarked, without any preamble whatever:

“An idea occurs to me, Hulda.”

“What is it?”

“It seems to me that we ought to marry.”

“I think so too.”

“And so do I,” added Dame Hansen as coolly as if the matter had been under discussion for some time.

“I agree with you,” remarked Joel, “and in that case I shall naturally become your brother-in-law.”

“Yes,” said Ole; “but it is probable that I shall only love you the better for it.”

“That is very possible.”

“We have your consent, then?”

“Upon my word! nothing would please me better,” replied Joel.

“So it is decided, Hulda?” inquired Dame Hansen.

“Yes, mother,” replied the girl, quietly.

“You are really willing?” asked Ole. “I have loved you a long time, Hulda, without saying so.”

“And I you, Ole.”

“How it came about, I really do not know.”

“Nor I.”

“But it was doubtless seeing you grow more beautiful and good day by day.”

“That is saying a little too much, my dear Ole.”

“No; I certainly ought to be able to say that without making you blush, for it is only the truth. Didn’t you see that I was beginning to love Hulda, Dame Hansen?”

“I suspected as much.”

“And you, Joel?”

“I was sure of it.”

“Then I certainly think that you ought to have warned me,” said Ole, smiling.

“But how about your voyages, Ole?” inquired Dame Hansen. “Won’t they seem intolerable to you after you are married?”

“So intolerable that I shall not follow the sea any more after my marriage.”

“You will not go to sea any more?”

“No, Hulda. Do you think it would be possible for me to leave you for months at a time?”

“So this is to be your last voyage?”

“Yes, and if we have tolerable luck, this voyage will yield me quite a snug little sum of money, for Help Bros. have promised me a share in the profits.”

“They are good men,” remarked Joel.

“The best men living,” replied Ole, “and well known and highly respected by all the sailors of Bergen.”

“But what do you expect to do after you cease to follow the sea, my dear Ole?” inquired Hulda.

“I shall go into partnership with Joel in his business, I have pretty good legs, and if they are not good enough, I will improve them by going into regular training. Besides, I have thought of a plan which will not prove a bad one perhaps. Why can’t we establish a messenger service between Drammen, Kongsberg and a few other towns in the Telemark? Communication now is neither easy nor regular, and there might be money in the scheme. Besides, I have other plans, to say nothing of⁠—”

“Of what?”

“Never mind, now. I will tell you on my return. But I warn you that I am firmly resolved to make my Hulda the happiest woman in the country. Yes, I am.”

“If you but knew how easy that will be!” replied Hulda, offering him her hand. “Am I not that already, and is there a home in all Dal as pleasant as ours?”

Dame Hansen hastily averted her head.

“So the matter is settled?” asked Ole, cheerfully.

“Yes,” replied Joel.

“And settled beyond recall?”

“Certainly.”

“And you feel no regret, Hulda?”

“None whatever, my dear Ole.”

“I think, however, that it would be better not to appoint the day for your marriage until after your return,” remarked Joel.

“Very well, but it will go hard with me if I do not return in less than a year to lead Hulda to the church at Moel, where our