Jerusalem | Page 9

purchased."
"She will come home first, of course," said Ingmar.
"No; what would she be doing there?"
Again Ingmar was silent. He sat with his eyes nearly closed, as if he
were half asleep.
Then Mother Martha took a turn at asking questions. "She'll be needing
clothes, won't she?"
"All that has been attended to; there is a trunk, ready packed, at
Lövberg's place, where we always stop when we come to town."
"Her mother will be there to meet her, I suppose?"
"Well, no. She would like to, but I think it best that they be spared a
meeting."
"Maybe so."

"The ticket and some money are waiting for her at Lövberg's, so that
she will have everything she needs. I felt that Ingmar ought to know of
it, so he won't have this burden on his mind any longer," said the
senator.
Then Mother Martha kept still, too. Her headkerchief had slipped back,
and she sat gazing down at her apron.
"Ingmar should be looking about for a new wife."
Both mother and son persistently held their peace.
"Mother Martha needs a helper in this big household. Ingmar should
see to it that she has some comfort in her old age." The senator paused
a moment, wondering if they could have heard what he said. "My wife
and I wanted to make everything right again," he declared finally.
In the meantime, a sense of great relief had come to Ingmar. Brita was
going to America, and he would not have to marry her. After all a
murderess was not to become the mistress of the old Ingmar home. He
had kept still, thinking it was not the thing to show at once how pleased
he was, but now he began to feel that it would be only right and proper
for him to say something.
The senator quietly bided his time. He knew that he had to give these
old-fashioned people time to consider. Presently Ingmar's mother said:
"Brita has paid her penalty; now it's our turn." By this the old woman
meant that if the senator wanted any help from the Ingmarssons, in
return for his having smoothed the way for them, they would not
withhold it. But Ingmar interpreted her utterance differently. He gave a
start, as if suddenly awakened from sleep. "What would father say of
this?" he wondered. "If I were to lay the whole matter before him, what
would he be likely to say? 'You must not think that you can make a
mockery of God's judgment,' he would say. 'And don't imagine that He
will let it go unpunished if you allow Brita to shoulder all the blame. If
her father wants to cast her off just to get into your good graces, so that
he can borrow money from you, you must nevertheless follow God's
leading, little Ingmar Ingmarsson.'
"I verily believe the old man is keeping close watch of me in this
matter," he thought. "He must have sent Brita's father here to show me
how mean it is to try to shift everything on to her, poor girl! I guess he
must have noticed that I haven't had any great desire to take that
journey these last few days."

Ingmar got up, poured some brandy into his coffee, and raised the cup.
"Here's a thank you to the senator for coming here to-day," he said, and
clinked cups with him.

III
Ingmar had been busy all the morning, working around the birches
down by the gate. First he had put up a scaffolding, then he had bent
the tops of the trees toward each other so that they formed an arch.
"What's all that for?" asked Mother Martha.
"Oh, it suits my fancy to have them grow that way for a change," said
Ingmar.
Along came the noon hour, and the men folks stopped their work; after
the midday meal the farm hands went out into the yard and lay down in
the grass to sleep. Ingmar Ingmarsson slept, too, but he was lying in a
broad bed in the chamber off the living-room. The only person not
asleep was the old mistress, who sat in the big room, knitting.
The door to the entrance hall was cautiously opened, and in came an
old woman carrying two large baskets on a yoke. After passing the time
of day, she sat down on a chair by the door and took the lids off the
baskets, one of which was filled with rusks and buns, the other with
newly baked loaves of spiced bread. The housewife at once went over
to the old woman and began to bargain. Ordinarily she kept a tight fist
on the pennies, but she never could resist a temptation to indulge her
weakness for sweets to dip