CHAPTER IV.
Ole Kamp had been absent a year; and as he said in his letter, hiswinter's experience on the fishing banks of Newfoundland had beena severe one. When one makes money there one richly earns it. Theequinoctial storms that rage there not unfrequently destroy a wholefishing fleet in a few hours; but fish abound, and vessels whichescape find ample compensation for the toil and dangers of this homeof the tempest.
Besides, Norwegians are excellent seamen, and shrink from no danger.In the numberless fiords that extend from Christiansand to Cape North,among the dangerous reefs of Finland, and in the channels of theLoffoden Islands, opportunities to familiarize themselves with theperils of ocean are not wanting; and from time immemorial they havegiven abundant proofs of their courage. Their ancestors were intrepidmariners at an epoch when the Hanse monopolized the commerce ofnorthern Europe. Possibly they were a trifle prone to indulge inpiracy in days gone by, but piracy was then quite common. Doubtlesscommerce has reformed since then, though one may perhaps be pardonedfor thinking that there is still room for improvement.
However that may be, the Norwegians were certainly fearless seamen;they are to-day, and so they will ever be. Ole Kamp was not the man tobelie his origin; besides, he had served his apprenticeship under hisfather, who was the master of a Bergen coasting vessel. His childhoodhad been spent in that port, which is one of the most frequented inScandinavia. Before he ventured out upon the open sea he had been anuntiring fisher in the fiords, and a fearless robber of the sea-birds'nests, and when he became old enough to serve as cabin-boy he made avoyage 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 severalyears before, his uncle Harald Hansen invited him to become a memberof his family, which he did, though he continued to follow the samecalling.
In the intervals between his voyages he invariably spent his time withthe friends he loved; but he made regular voyages upon large fishingvessels, and rose to the rank of mate when he was but twenty-one. Hewas now twenty-three years of age.
When he visited Dal, Joel found him a most congenial companion. Heaccompanied him on his excursions to the mountains, and across thehighest table-lands of the Telemark. The young sailor seemed as muchat home in the fields as in the fiords, and never lagged behind unlessit was to keep his cousin Hulda company.
A close friendship gradually sprung up between Joel and Ole, and quitenaturally the same sentiment assumed a different form in respect tothe young girl. Joel, of course, encouraged it. Where would his sisterever find a better fellow, a more sympathetic nature, a warmer andmore devoted heart? With Ole for a husband, Hulda's happiness wasassured. So it was with the entire approval of her mother and brotherthat the young girl followed the natural promptings of her heart.Though these people of the North are undemonstrative, they must notbe accused of a want of sensibility. No! It is only their way; andperhaps their way is as good as any other, after all.
So it came to pass that one day, when all four of them were sittingquietly 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 beenunder discussion for some time.
"I agree with you," remarked Joel, "and in that case I shall naturallybecome your brother-in-law."
"Yes," said Ole; "but it is probable that I shall only love you thebetter 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 byday."
"That is saying a little too much, my dear Ole."
"No; I certainly ought to be able to say that without making youblush, for it is only the truth. Didn't you see that I was beginningto 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 theyseem intolerable to you after you are married?"
"So intolerable that I shall not follow the sea any more after mymarriage."
"You will not go to sea any more?"
"No, Hulda. Do you think it would be possible for me to leave you formonths at a time?"
"So this is to be your last voyage?"
"Yes, and if we have tolerable luck, this voyage will yield me quitea snug little sum of money, for Help Bros. have promised me a share inthe profits."
"They are good men," remarked Joel.
"The best men living," replied Ole, "and well known and highlyrespected by all the sailors of Bergen."
"But what do you expect to do after you cease to follow the sea, mydear Ole?" inquired Hulda.
"I shall go into partnership with Joel in his business, I have prettygood legs, and if they are not good enough, I will improve them bygoing into regular training. Besides, I have thought of a plan whichwill not prove a bad one perhaps. Why can't we establish a messengerservice between Drammen, Kongsberg and a few other towns in theTelemark? Communication now is neither easy nor regular, and theremight be money in the scheme. Besides, I have other plans, to saynothing of--"
"Of what?"
"Never mind, now. I will tell you on my return. But I warn you that Iam 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 himher hand. "Am I not that already, and is there a home in all Dal aspleasant 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 foryour marriage until after your return," remarked Joel.
"Very well, but it will go hard with me if I do not return in lessthan a year to lead Hulda to the church at Moel, where our friend,Pastor Andersen, will not refuse to make his best prayer for us!"
And it was in this way that the marriage of Hulda Hansen and Ole Kamphad been decided upon.
The young sailor was to go aboard his vessel a week later; but beforethey parted the lovers were formally betrothed in accordance with thetouching custom of Scandinavian countries.
In simple and honest Norway lovers are almost invariably publiclybetrothed before marriage. Sometimes the marriage is not solemnizeduntil two or three years afterward, but one must not suppose that thebetrothal is simply an interchange of vows which depend only upon thehonesty of the parties interested. No, the obligation is much moresacred, and even if this act of betrothal is not binding in the eyesof the law, it is, at least, so regarded by that universal law calledcustom.
So, in this case, it was necessary to make arrangements for a ceremonyover which Pastor Andersen should preside. There was no minister inDal, nor in any of the neighboring hamlets. In Norway they have whatthey call Sunday towns, in which the minister resides, and where theleading families of the parish assemble for worship. They even leaseapartments there, in which they take up their abode for twenty-fourhours or more--time to perform their religious duties--and peoplereturn from the town as from a pilgrimage.
Dal, it is true, boasted of a chapel, but t
he pastor came only when hewas summoned.
After all, Moel was not far off, only about eight miles distant, atthe end of Lake Tinn, and Pastor Andersen was a very obliging man,and a good walker; so the worthy minister was invited to attend thebetrothal in the twofold capacity of minister and family friend. Theacquaintance was one of long standing. He had seen Joel and Hulda growup, and loved them as well as he loved that young sea-dog, Ole Kamp,so the news of the intended marriage was very pleasing to him.
So Pastor Andersen gathered together his robe, his collar, and hisprayer-book, and started off for Dal one misty, moisty morning. Hearrived there in the company of Joel, who had gone half-way to meethim, and it is needless to say that his coming was hailed with delightat Dame Hansen's inn, that he had the very best room in the house, andthat the floor was freshly strewn with twigs of juniper that perfumedit like a chapel.
At one o'clock on the following day the little church was thrownopen, and there, in the presence of the pastor and a few friends andneighbors, Ole and Hulda solemnly promised to wed each other when theyoung sailor should return from the last voyage he intended to make.A year is a long time to wait, but it passes all the same, nor is itintolerable when two persons can trust each other.
And now Ole could not, without good cause, forsake her to whom he hadplighted his troth, nor could Hulda retract the promise she had givento Ole; and if Ole had not left Norway a few days after the betrothal,he might have profited by the incontestable right it gave him to visitthe young girl whenever he pleased, to write to her whenever he chose,walk out with her arm in arm, unaccompanied by any member of thefamily, and enjoy a preference over all others in the dances that forma part of all fetes and ceremonies.
But Ole Kamp had been obliged to return to Bergen, and one weekafterward the "Viking" set sail for the fishing banks of Newfoundland,and Hulda could only look forward to the letters which her betrothedhad promised to send her by every mail.
And these impatiently expected letters never failed her, and alwaysbrought a ray of happiness to the house which seemed so gloomyafter the departure of one of its inmates. The voyage was safelyaccomplished; the fishing proved excellent, and the profits promisedto be large. Besides, at the end of each letter, Ole always referredto a certain secret, and of the fortune it was sure to bring him. Itwas a secret that Hulda would have been glad to know, and Dame Hansen,too, for reasons one would not have been likely to suspect.
Dame Hansen seemed to have become even more gloomy and anxious andreticent than ever, and a circumstance which she did not see fit tomention to her children increased her anxiety very considerably.
Three days after the arrival of Ole's last letter, as Dame Hansenwas returning alone from the saw-mill, to which place she had gone toorder a bag of shavings from the foreman, Lengling, she was accostednear her own door by a man who was a stranger in that part of thecountry.
"This is Dame Hansen, is it not?" he inquired.
"Yes; but I do not know you," was the reply.
"That doesn't matter," rejoined the man. "I arrived here only thismorning from Drammen, and am now on my way back."
"From Drammen?" repeated Dame Hansen, quickly.
"You are acquainted, I think, with a certain Monsieur Sandgoist, wholives there?"
"Monsieur Sandgoist!" repeated Dame Hansen, whose face paled at thename. "Yes, I know him."
"Ah, well! When Monsieur Sandgoist heard that I was coming to Dal, heasked me to give his respects to you."
"Was that all?"
"And to say to you that it was more than probable that he would payyou a visit next month. Good health to you, and good-evening, DameHansen."