Datasets:

PedroDKE
/

LibriS2S

f000001,1.120,6.640,"The next day Tede Haien stepped with his son into the spacious room of the dikemaster."
f000002,6.640,20.160,"The walls were covered with glazed tiles on which the visitor could enjoy here a ship with sails unfurled or an angler on the shore, there a cow that lay chewing in front of a peasant's house."
f000003,20.160,31.920,"This durable wallcovering was interrupted by an alcovebed with doors now closed, and a cupboard which showed all kinds of china and silver dishes through glass doors."
f000004,31.920,39.240,"Beside the door to the best room a Dutch clock was set into the wall behind a pane of glass."
f000005,39.240,49.080,"The stout, somewhat apoplectic master of the house sat at the end of the wellscrubbed, shining table in an armchair with a brightcoloured cushion."
f000006,49.080,61.480,"He had folded his hands across his stomach, and was staring contentedly with his round eyes at the skeleton of a fat duck; knife and fork were resting in front of him on his plate."
f000007,61.480,70.080,"Good day, dikemaster! said Haien, and the gentleman thus addressed slowly turned his head and eyes toward him."
f000008,70.080,77.800,"You here, Tede? he replied, and the devoured fat duck had left its mark on his voice."
f000009,77.800,83.200,"Sit down; it is quite a walk from your place over here!"
f000010,83.200,92.040,"I have come, dikemaster, said Tede Haien, while he sat down opposite the other in a corner on the bench that ran along the wall."
f000011,92.040,98.560,"You have had trouble with your hired man and have agreed with my boy to put him in his place!"
f000012,98.560,106.440,"The dikemaster nodded: Yes, yes, Tede; butwhat do you mean by trouble?"
f000013,106.440,119.440,"We people of the marshes, thank goodness, have something to take against troubles!and he took the knife before him and patted the skeleton of the poor duck almost affectionately."
f000014,119.440,127.080,"This was my pet bird, he added laughing smugly; he fed out of my hand!"
f000015,127.080,134.680,"I thought, said old Haien, not hearing the last remark, the boy had done harm in your stable."
f000016,134.680,136.160,"Harm?"
f000017,136.160,139.160,"Yes, Tede; surely harm enough!"
f000018,139.160,155.240,"That fat clown hadn't watered the calves; but he lay drunk on the hayloft, and the beasts bellowed all night with thirst, so that I had to make up my lost sleep till noon; that's not the way a farm can go on!"
f000019,155.240,161.400,"No, dikemaster; but there is no danger of that happening with my boy."
f000020,161.400,170.720,"Hauke stood, his hands in his pockets, by the doorpost, and had thrown back his head and was studying the window frames opposite him."
f000021,170.720,192.840,"The dikemaster had raised his eyes and nodded toward him: No, no, Tede,and now he nodded at the old man too; your Hauke won't disturb my night's rest; the schoolmaster has told me before that he would rather sit with his slate and do arithmetic than with a glass of whiskey."
f000022,192.840,205.040,"Hauke did not hear this encouragement, for Elke had stepped into the room and with her light hand took out the remnants from the table, meanwhile glancing at him carelessly with her dark eyes."
f000023,205.040,208.400,"Then his glances fell on her too."
f000024,208.400,215.320,"By my faith, he said to himself, she doesn't look so dull now either!"
f000025,215.320,218.160,"The girl had left the room."
f000026,218.160,226.280,"You know, Tede, the dikemaster began again, the Lord has not granted me a son!"
f000027,226.280,241.760,"Yes, dikemaster, but don't let that worry you, replied the other, for they say that in the third generation the brains of a family run out; your grandfather, we all remember, was a man who protected the land!"
f000028,241.760,256.120,"The dikemaster, after some pondering, looked quite puzzled: How do you mean, Tede Haien? he said and sat up in his armchair; I am in the third generation myself!"
f000029,256.120,258.000,"Oh, indeed!"
f000030,258.000,262.080,"Never mind, dikemaster; that's just what people say!"
f000031,262.080,268.720,"And the lean Tede Haien looked at the old dignitary with rather mischievous eyes."
f000032,268.720,284.400,"The latter, however, spoke unconcerned: You mustn't let old women get nonsense like that into your head, Tede Haien; you don't know my daughter yetshe can calculate three times better than I can!"
f000033,284.400,297.200,"I only wanted to say, your Hauke will be able to make some profit outside of his field work in my room with pen and pencil, and that will do him no harm."
f000034,297.200,310.600,"Yes, yes, dikemaster, he can do that; there you are perfectly right; said old Haien and then began to demand some privileges with the contract which his son had not thought of the night before."
f000035,310.600,326.240,"For instance, the latter should receive, besides his linen shirts, eight pair of woollen stockings in addition to his wages; also he wanted to have his son's help at his own work for eight days in springand more of the sort."
f000036,326.240,334.040,"But the dikemaster agreed to everything; Hauke Haien appeared to him just the right servant."
f000037,334.040,344.000,"Well, God help you, my boy, said the old man, when they had just left the house, if that man is to make the world clear to you!"
f000038,344.000,351.320,"But Hauke replied calmly: Never mind, father; everything will turn out all right."
f000039,351.320,353.960,"Hauke had not been wrong in his judgment."
f000040,353.960,371.480,"The world, or what the world meant to him, grew clearer to his mind, the longer he stayed in this houseperhaps all the more, the less he was helped by a wiser insight and the more he had to depend on his own powers with which he had from the beginning helped himself."
f000041,371.480,381.760,"There was someone in the house, however, whom he did not seem to suit; that was Ole Peters, the head man, a good worker and a great talker."
f000042,381.760,395.000,"The former lazy and stupid but stocky hired man had been more to his liking, whose back he could load calmly with a barrel of oats and whom he could knock about to his heart's content."
f000043,395.000,405.720,"Hauke, who was still more silent, but who surpassed him mentally, he could not treat in the same way; Hauke had too strange a way of looking at him."
f000044,405.720,425.480,"Nevertheless he managed to pick out tasks which might have been dangerous for the young man's yet undeveloped body; and when the head man would say: You ought to have seen fat Nick, he could do it without any trouble at all, then Hauke would work with all his might and finish the task, although with difficulty."
f000045,425.480,428.320,"It was lucky for him that Elke usually could hinder this, either by herself or through her father."
f000046,428.320,441.120,"One may ask what it is that binds people who are complete strangers to each other; perhapswell, they were both born arithmeticians, and the girl could not bear to see her comrade ruined by rough work."
f000047,441.120,450.080,"The conflict between head man and second man did not grow less when after Martinmas the different dike bills came in for revision."
f000048,450.080,459.200,"It happened on a May evening, but the weather was like November; inside the house one could hear the surf roar outside from behind the dike."
f000049,459.200,468.720,"Hey, Hauke, said the master of the house, come in; now is your chance to show if you can do arithmetic!"
f000050,468.720,474.360,"Master, Hauke replied; I'm supposed to feed the young cattle first."
f000051,474.360,479.800,"Elke! called the dikemaster; where are you, Elke?"
f000052,479.800,485.400,"Go and tell Ole to feed the young cattle; I want Hauke to calculate!"
f000053,485.400,495.040,"So Elke hurried into the stable and gave the order to the head man who was just busy hanging the harness used during the day back in place."
f000054,495.040,506.440,"Ole Peters whipped the post beside which he had been busying himself with a bridle, as if he wanted to beat it to pieces: The devil take that cursed scribbler!"
f000055,506.440,512.880,"She heard these words even before she had closed the stable door again."
f000056,512.880,518.200,"Well? asked the old man, as she stepped into the room."
f000057,518.200,531.520,"Ole was willing to do it, said his daughter, biting her lips a little, and sat down opposite Hauke on one of the roughly carved chairs which in those days were still made at home on winter evenings."
f000058,531.520,542.960,"Out of a drawer she had taken a white stocking with a red bird pattern on it, which she was now knitting; the longlegged creatures might have represented herons or storks."
f000059,542.960,552.200,"Hauke sat opposite her, deep in his arithmetic; the dikemaster himself rested in his armchair and blinked sleepily at Hauke's pen."
f000060,552.200,568.280,"On the table, as always in the house of the dikemaster, two tallow candles were burning, and behind the windows with their leaden frames the shutters were closed and fastened from within; now the wind could bang against them as hard as it liked."
f000061,568.280,577.240,"Once in a while Hauke raised his head and glanced for a moment at the bird stockings or at the narrow, calm face of the girl."
f000062,577.240,594.680,"Suddenly from the armchair there rose a loud snore, and a glance and smile flew back and forth between the two young people; gradually the breathing grew more quiet, and one could easily talk a littleonly Hauke did not know about what."
f000063,594.680,603.920,"But when she raised her knitting and the birds appeared in their whole length, he whispered across the table: Where have you learned that, Elke?"
f000064,603.920,606.400,"Learned what? the girl returned."
f000065,606.400,610.920,"This bird knitting? said Hauke."
f000066,610.920,611.520,"This?"
f000067,611.520,616.240,"From Trin Jans out there on the dike; she can do all sorts of things."
f000068,616.240,621.080,"She was servant here to my grandfather a long time ago."
f000069,621.080,624.200,"At that time I don't suppose you were born? said Hauke."
f000070,624.200,628.280,"I think not; but she has often come to the house since then."
f000071,628.280,635.680,"Does she like birds? asked Hauke; I thought only cats were for her."
f000072,635.680,651.720,"Elke shook her head: Why, she raises ducks and sells them; but last spring, when you had killed her Angora cat, the rats got into the pen at the back of the house and made mischief; now she wants to build herself another in front of the house."
f000073,651.720,658.240,"Is that so? said Hauke and whistled low through his teeth, that's why she dragged mud and stones from the upper land."
f000074,658.240,663.320,"But then she will get on to the inland road; has she a grant?"
f000075,663.320,665.440,"I don't know, said Elke."
f000076,665.440,672.200,"But he had spoken the last word so loud that the dikemaster started out of his slumber."
f000077,672.200,676.760,"What grant? he asked and looked almost wildly from one to the other."
f000078,676.760,680.440,"What about the grant?"
f000079,680.440,695.800,"But when Hauke had explained the matter to him, he slapped the young man's shoulder, laughing: Oh, well, the inland road is broad enough; God help the dikemaster if he has to worry about duck pens!"
f000080,695.800,705.320,"It weighed on Hauke's heart that he should have delivered the old woman and her ducks over to the rats, but he allowed himself to be quieted by this objection."
f000081,705.320,718.480,"But, master, he began again, it might be good for some people to be prodded a little, and if you don't want to go after them yourself, why don't you prod the overseers who ought to look out for order on the dike?"
f000082,718.480,732.240,"Howwhat is the boy saying? and the dikemaster sat up straight, and Elke let her fancy stocking sink down and turned an ear toward Hauke."
f000083,732.240,747.560,"Yes, master, Hauke went on, you have already gone round on your spring inspection; but just the same Peter Jansen hasn't weeded his lot to this day; and in summer the goldfinches will play round the red thistles as gaily as ever."
f000084,747.560,764.360,"And near byI don't know to whom it belongsthere is a hole like a cradle on the outer side of the dike; when the weather is good it is always full of little children that roll in it; butGod save us from high water!"
f000085,764.360,769.600,"The eyes of the old dikemaster had grown bigger and bigger."
f000086,769.600,774.280,"And then said Hauke again."
f000087,774.280,784.800,"asked the dikemaster; haven't you finished yet? and it seemed as if he had already had too much of his second man's speech."
f000088,784.800,805.600,"Yes; then, master, Hauke went on; you know that fat Vollina, the daughter of the overseer Harder, who always fetches her father's horse from the fenwell, as soon as she sits with her round legs on the old yellow mareGet up!why, then every time she goes diagonally up the slope of the dike!"
f000089,805.600,812.720,"Hauke did not notice until now that Elke had fixed her intelligent eyes on him and was gently shaking her head."
f000090,812.720,819.200,"He was silent, but a bang on the table from the old man's fist thundered in his ears."
f000091,819.200,829.320,"Confound it! he cried, and Hauke was almost frightened by the bear's voice that suddenly broke out: to the fens!"
f000092,829.320,832.600,"Note down that fat creature in the fens, Hauke!"
f000093,832.600,835.560,"That girl caught three of my young ducks last summer!"
f000094,835.560,844.720,"Yes, yes, put it down, he repeated, when Hauke hesitated; I even believe there were four!"
f000095,844.720,849.480,"Oh, father, said Elke, wasn't it an otter that took the ducks?"
f000096,849.480,858.080,"A big otter! cried the old man, panting; I guess I can tell the fat Vollina and an otter apart!"
f000097,858.080,874.600,"No, no, four ducks, Haukebut as for the rest of what you have been chatteringlast spring the dikemaster general and I, after we had breakfasted together at my house, drove by your weeds and your cradlehole and yet couldn't see anything."
f000098,874.600,884.760,"But you two, and he nodded a few times significantly at Hauke and his daughter, you can thank God that you are no dikemaster!"
f000099,884.760,890.240,"Two eyes are all one has, and one is supposed to look with a hundred."
f000100,890.240,899.560,"Take the bills for the straw coverings, Hauke, and look them over; those rascals do keep their accounts in such a shiftless way!"
f000101,899.560,909.200,"Then he leaned back in his chair again, moved his heavy body a few times and soon gave himself over to carefree slumber."
f000102,909.200,914.600,"The same thing was repeated on many an evening."
f000103,914.600,948.840,"Hauke had sharp eyes, and when they sat together, he did not neglect to call the old man's attention to one or the other violation or omission in dike matters, and as the latter could not always keep his eyes closed, unawares the management acquired a greater efficiency and those who in other times had gone on sinning in their old, careless ways and now, as it were, unexpectedly felt their mischievous or lazy fingers slapped, looked round indignantly and with astonishment to see whence these slaps had come."
f000104,948.840,961.600,"And Ole, the head man, did not hesitate to spread the information and in this way to rouse indignation among these people against Hauke and his father, who had to bear part of the guilt."
f000105,961.600,973.040,"The others, however, who were not affected or who were not concerned with the matter, laughed and rejoiced to see that the young man had at last got the old man going a bit."
f000106,973.040,988.360,"It's only too bad, they said, that the young fellow hasn't enough ground under his feet; else he might make a dikemaster of the kind we used to havebut those few acres of his old man wouldn't do, after all!"
f000107,988.360,1000.400,"Next autumn, when the inspector and the dikemaster general came for the inspection, he looked at old Tede Volkerts from top to toe, while the latter was urging him to sit down to lunch."
f000108,1000.400,1006.720,"I tell you, dikemaster, he said, I was thinkingyou have actually grown ten years younger."
f000109,1006.720,1013.520,"You have set my blood coursing with all your proposals; if only we can get down with all that today!"
f000110,1013.520,1023.400,"Oh, we shall, we shall, your Honor, replied the old man with a smirk; the roast goose over there will give us strength!"
f000111,1023.400,1027.440,"Yes, thank God, I am still always well and brisk!"
f000112,1027.440,1040.360,"He looked round the room to make sure that Hauke was not about; then he added with calm dignity: And so I hope I may fulfill the duties of my office a few more blessed years."
f000113,1040.360,1047.240,"And to this, my dear dikemaster, returned his superior, we want to drink this glass together."
f000114,1047.240,1055.880,"Elke who had looked after the lunch laughed to herself as she left the room just when the glasses were clicking."
f000115,1055.880,1064.720,"Then she took a dish of scraps from the kitchen and walked through the stable to give them to the poultry in front of the outside door."
f000116,1064.720,1074.000,"In the stable stood Hauke Haien and with his pitchfork put hay into the racks of the cows that had to be brought up here so early because of the bad weather."
f000117,1074.000,1078.800,"But when he saw the girl come, he stuck the pitchfork into the ground."
f000118,1078.800,1081.920,"Well, Elke! he said."
f000119,1081.920,1088.400,"She stood still and nodded at him: All right, Haukebut you should have been in there!"
f000120,1088.400,1090.480,"Do you think so?"
f000121,1090.480,1091.800,"Why, Elke?"
f000122,1091.800,1095.440,"The dikemaster general has praised the master!"
f000123,1095.440,1097.200,"The master?"
f000124,1097.200,1098.920,"What has that to do with me?"
f000125,1098.920,1102.760,"No, I mean, he has praised the dikemaster!"
f000126,1102.760,1110.720,"The young man's face was flushed crimson: I know very well, he said, what you are driving at."
f000127,1110.720,1116.040,"Don't blush, Hauke; it was really you whom the dikemaster general praised!"
f000128,1116.040,1119.320,"Hauke looked at her with a half smile."
f000129,1119.320,1122.560,"You too, Elke! he said."
f000130,1122.560,1129.120,"But she shook her head: No, Hauke; when I was helper alone, we got no praise."
f000131,1129.120,1137.320,"And then, I can only do arithmetic; but you see everything outdoors that the dikemaster is supposed to see for himself."
f000132,1137.320,1138.680,"You have cut me out!"
f000133,1138.680,1147.720,"That isn't what I intendedleast of all you! said Hauke timidly, and he pushed aside the head of a cow."
f000134,1147.720,1152.160,"Come, Redskin, don't swallow my pitchfork, you'll get all you want!"
f000135,1152.160,1160.160,"Don't think that I'm sorry, Hauke; said the girl after thinking a little while; that really is a man's business."
f000136,1160.160,1163.920,"Then Hauke stretched out his arm toward her."
f000137,1163.920,1168.080,"Elke, give me your hand, so that I can be sure."
f000138,1168.080,1173.440,"Beneath her dark brows a deep crimson flushed the girl's face."
f000139,1173.440,1174.640,"Why?"
f000140,1174.640,1176.920,"I'm not lying! she cried."
f000141,1176.920,1190.040,"Hauke wanted to reply; but she had already left the stable, and he stood with his pitchfork in his hand and heard only the cackling and crowing of the ducks and the hens round her outside."
f000142,1190.040,1200.280,"In the January of Hauke's third year of service a winter festival was to be heldEisboseln they call it here."
f000143,1200.280,1217.280,"The winds had been calm on the coast and steady frost had covered all the ditches between the fens with a solid, even, crystal surface, so that the markedoff strips of land offered a wide field for the throwing at a goal of little wooden balls filled with lead."
f000144,1217.280,1223.880,"Day in, day out, a light northeast wind was blowing: everything had been prepared."
f000145,1223.880,1235.200,"The people from the higher land, inhabitants of the village that lay eastward above the marshes, who had won last year, had been challenged to a match and had accepted."
f000146,1235.200,1238.840,"From either side nine players had been picked."
f000147,1238.840,1242.280,"The umpire and the scorekeepers had been chosen."
f000148,1242.280,1260.040,"The latter, who had to discuss a doubtful throw whenever a difference of opinion came up, were always chosen from among people who knew how to place their own case in the best possible light, preferably young fellows who not only had good common sense but also a ready tongue."
f000149,1260.040,1266.120,"Among these was, above all, Ole Peters, the head man of the dikemaster."
f000150,1266.120,1271.440,"Throw away like devils! he said; I'll do the talking for nothing!"
f000151,1271.440,1285.960,"Toward evening on the day before the holiday a number of throwers had appeared in the side room of the parish inn up on the higher land, in order to decide about accepting some men who had applied in the last moment."
f000152,1285.960,1289.080,"Hauke Haien was among these."
f000153,1289.080,1304.560,"At first he had not wanted to take part, although he was well aware of having arms skilled in throwing; but he was afraid that he might be rejected by Ole Peters who had a post of honor in the game, and he wanted to spare himself this defeat."
f000154,1304.560,1308.680,"But Elke had made him change his mind at the eleventh hour."
f000155,1308.680,1318.800,"He won't dare, Hauke, she had said; he is the son of a day laborer; your father has his cow and horse and is the cleverest man in the village."
f000156,1318.800,1322.560,"But if he should manage to, after all?"
f000157,1322.560,1326.640,"Half smiling she looked at him with her dark eyes."
f000158,1326.640,1332.880,"Then he'll get left, she said, in the evening, when he wants to dance with his master's daughter."
f000159,1332.880,1336.680,"Then Hauke had nodded to her with spirit."
f000160,1336.680,1349.400,"Now the young men who still hoped to be taken into the game stood shivering and stamping outside the parish inn and looked up at the top of the stone church tower which stood beside the tavern."
f000161,1349.400,1364.880,"The pastor's pigeons which during the summer found their food on the fields of the village were just returning from the farmyards and barns of the peasants, where they had pecked their grain, and were disappearing into their nests underneath the shingles of the tower."
f000162,1364.880,1369.040,"In the west, over the sea, there was a glowing sunset."
f000163,1369.040,1380.120,"We'll have good weather tomorrow, said one of the young fellows, and began to wander up and down excitedly; but coldcold."
f000164,1380.120,1388.760,"Another man, when he saw no more pigeons flying, walked into the house and stood listening beside the door of the room in which a lively babble was now sounding."
f000165,1388.760,1393.320,"The second man of the dikemaster, too, had stepped up beside him."
f000166,1393.320,1399.800,"Listen, Hauke, he said to the latter; now they are making all this noise about you."
f000167,1399.800,1408.000,"And clearly one could hear from inside Ole Peters's grating voice: Underlings and boys don't belong here!"
f000168,1408.000,1417.400,"Come, whispered the other man and tried to pull Hauke by his sleeve to the door of the room, here you can learn how high they value you."
f000169,1417.400,1426.560,"But Hauke tore himself away and went to the front of the house again: They haven't barred us out so that we should hear, he called back."
f000170,1426.560,1430.400,"Before the house stood the third of the applicants."
f000171,1430.400,1439.800,"I'm afraid there's a hitch in this business for me, he called to Hauke; I'm barely eighteen years old; if they only won't ask for my birth certificate!"
f000172,1439.800,1443.760,"Your head man, Hauke, will get you out of your fix, all right!"
f000173,1443.760,1450.040,"Yes, out! growled Hauke and kicked a stone across the road; but not in!"
f000174,1450.040,1455.920,"The noise in the room was growing louder; then gradually there was calm."
f000175,1455.920,1462.480,"Those outside could again hear the gentle northeast wind that broke against the point of the church steeple."
f000176,1462.480,1465.040,"The man who listened joined them."
f000177,1465.040,1469.480,"Whom did they take in there? asked the eighteenyearold one."
f000178,1469.480,1478.720,"Him! said the other, and pointed to Hauke; Ole Peters wanted to make him out as a boy; but the others shouted against it."
f000179,1478.720,1482.800,"And his father has cattle and land,' said Jess Hansen."
f000180,1482.800,1489.360,"Yes, land,' cried Ole Peters, 'land that one can cart away on thirteen wheelbarrows!'"
f000181,1489.360,1497.640,"Last came Ole Hensen: 'Keep still!' he cried; 'I'll make things clear: tell me, who is the first man in the village?"
f000182,1497.640,1500.760,"Then all kept mum and seemed to be thinking."
f000183,1500.760,1504.320,"Then a voice said: 'I should say it was the dikemaster!"
f000184,1504.320,1510.240,"And who is the dikemaster?' cried Ole Hensen again; 'but now think twice!"
f000185,1510.240,1518.400,"Then somebody began to laugh quietly, and then someone else too, and so on till there was nothing but loud laughter in the room."
f000186,1518.400,1525.080,"Well, then call him,' said Ole Hensen; 'you don't want to keep the dikemaster out in the cold!"
f000187,1525.080,1530.160,"I believe they're still laughing; but Ole Peters's voice could not be heard any more!"
f000188,1530.160,1533.680,"Thus the young fellow ended his account."
f000189,1533.680,1543.880,"Almost in the same instant the door of the room inside the house was opened suddenly and out into the cold night sounded loud and merry cries of Hauke!"
f000190,1543.880,1544.920,"Hauke Haien!"
f000191,1544.920,1555.560,"Then Hauke marched into the house and never could hear the rest of the story of who was the dikemaster; meanwhile no one has found out what was going on in his head."
f000192,1555.560,1568.680,"After a while, when he approached the house of his employers, he saw Elke standing by the fence below, where the ascent began; the moonlight was shimmering over the measureless white frosted pasture."
f000193,1568.680,1572.800,"You are standing here, Elke? he asked."
f000194,1572.800,1578.040,"She only nodded: What happened? she said; has he dared?"
f000195,1578.040,1579.880,"What wouldn't he?"
f000196,1579.880,1581.840,"Well, and?"
f000197,1581.840,1585.320,"Yes, Elke; I'm allowed to try it tomorrow!"
f000198,1585.320,1587.880,"Good night, Hauke!"
f000199,1587.880,1591.360,"And she fled up the slope and vanished into the house."
f000200,1591.360,1593.760,"Slowly he followed her."
f000201,1593.760,1604.040,"Next afternoon on the wide pasture that extended in the east along the land side of the dike, one could see a dark crowd."
f000202,1604.040,1618.680,"Now it would stand motionless, now move gradually on, down from the long and low houses lying behind if, as soon as a wooden ball had twice shot forth from it over the ground now freed by the bright sun from frost."
f000203,1618.680,1640.240,"The teams of the Eisbosler were in the middle, surrounded by old and young, by all who lived with them in these houses or up in those of the higher landthe older men in long coats, pensively smoking their short pipes, the women in shawls or jackets, some leading children by the hand or carrying them on their arms."
f000204,1640.240,1649.120,"From the frozen ditches, which were being crossed gradually, the pale light of the afternoon sun was gleaming through the sharp points of the sedges."
f000205,1649.120,1661.760,"It was keen frost, but the game went on uninterruptedly, and the eyes of all were again and again following the flying ball, for upon it depended the honor of the whole village for the day."
f000206,1661.760,1672.680,"The scorekeepers of the two sides carried a white stick with an iron point for the home team, a black one of the same kind for the team of the people from the upper land."
f000207,1672.680,1712.320,"Where the ball ended its flight, the stick was driven into the frozen ground, accompanied, as it happened, either by silent approval or the derisive laughter of the opposing side; and he whose ball had first reached the goal, had won the game for his team."
f000208,1712.320,1719.800,"or: That's the way your father threw, too; God bless him in eternity! or some other friendly saying."
f000209,1719.800,1738.600,"Hauke had no luck with his first throw: just as he was swinging his arm backward in order to hurl off the ball, a cloud sailed away which had covered the sun so that now its bright beams shot into his eyes; the throw was too short, the ball fell on a ditch and remained stuck in the ice."
f000210,1738.600,1740.440,"That doesn't count!"
f000211,1740.440,1741.400,"That doesn't count!"
f000212,1741.400,1744.560,"Hauke, once more! called his partners."
f000213,1744.560,1752.360,"But the scorekeeper of the people from the high land protested against this: It'll have to count; a throw is a throw!"
f000214,1752.360,1754.040,"Ole!"
f000215,1754.040,1757.160,"Ole Peters! cried the young folks of the marshes."
f000216,1757.160,1758.600,"Where is Ole?"
f000217,1758.600,1760.160,"Where the devil is he?"
f000218,1760.160,1763.880,"But there he was: Don't scream so!"
f000219,1763.880,1766.320,"Does Hauke have to be patched up somewhere?"
f000220,1766.320,1768.080,"I thought as much."
f000221,1768.080,1769.760,"Never mind!"
f000222,1769.760,1773.440,"Hauke has to throw again; now show that your tongue is good for something!"
f000223,1773.440,1780.560,"Oh, it is all right! cried Ole and stepped up to the scorekeeper of the other side and talked a lot of bosh."
f000224,1780.560,1786.360,"But the pointedness and sharpness of his usually so scintillating words were absent this time."
f000225,1786.360,1796.840,"Beside him stood the girl with the enigmatic eyebrows and looked at him sharply with angry glances; but she was not allowed to talk, for women had no say in the game."
f000226,1796.840,1803.800,"You are babbling nonsense, cried the other scorekeeper, because you can't use any sense for this!"
f000227,1803.800,1811.560,"Sun, moon and stars are alike for us all and always in the sky; the throw was awkward, and all awkward throws have to count!"
f000228,1811.560,1822.040,"Thus they talked back and forth a little while, but the end of it was that, according to the decision of the umpire, Hauke was not allowed to repeat his throw."
f000229,1822.040,1833.920,"Come on! called the people from the upper land, and their scorekeeper pulled the black stick out of the ground, and the thrower came forward when his number was called and hurled the ball ahead."
f000230,1833.920,1845.920,"When the head man of the dikemaster wanted to watch the throw, he had to pass Elke Volkerts: For whose sake have you left your brains at home today? she whispered to him."
f000231,1845.920,1851.440,"Then he looked at her almost grimly, and all joking was gone from his broad face."
f000232,1851.440,1856.720,"For your sake, he said, for you have forgotten yours too!"
f000233,1856.720,1863.920,"Go, goI know you, Ole Peters! the girl replied, drawing herself up straight."
f000234,1863.920,1867.760,"But he turned his head away and pretended not to have heard."
f000235,1867.760,1871.960,"And the game and the black and white stick went on."
f000236,1871.960,1880.760,"When Hauke's turn to throw came again, his ball flew so far, that the goal, the great whitewashed barrel, came clearly in sight."
f000237,1880.760,1888.800,"He was now a solidly built young fellow, and mathematics and the art of throwing he had practised daily in his boyhood."
f000238,1888.800,1897.000,"Why, Hauke! there were cries from the crowd; that was just as if the archangel Michael himself had thrown the ball!"
f000239,1897.000,1911.520,"An old woman with cake and brandy pushed her way through the crowd toward him; she poured out a glass for him and offered it to him: Come, she said, we want to be friends: this today is better than when you killed my cat!"
f000240,1911.520,1915.880,"When he looked at her, he recognised her as Trin Jans."
f000241,1915.880,1920.360,"Thank you, old lady, he said; but I don't drink that."
f000242,1920.360,1930.760,"He put his hand into his pocket and pressed a newly minted mark piece into her hand: Take that and empty your glass yourself, Trin; and so we are friends!"
f000243,1930.760,1939.640,"You're right, Hauke! replied the old woman, while she obeyed his instructions; you're right; that's better for an old woman like me!"
f000244,1939.640,1951.440,"How are your ducks getting on he called after her, when she had already started on her way with her basket; but she only shook her head, without turning round, and struck the air with her old hands."
f000245,1951.440,1959.480,"Nothing, nothing, Hauke; there are too many rats in your ditches; God help me, but I've got to support myself some other way!"
f000246,1959.480,1964.840,"And so she pushed her way into the crowd and again offered her brandy and honey cake."
f000247,1964.840,1978.160,"The sun had at last gone down behind the dike; in his stead rose a red violet glimmer; now and then black crows flew by and for moments looked gilded: evening had come."
f000248,1978.160,1988.680,"But on the fens the dark mass of people were moving still farther away from the already distant houses toward the barrel; an especially good throw would have to reach it now."
f000249,1988.680,1993.840,"The people of the marshes were having their turn: Hauke was to throw."
f000250,1993.840,2000.480,"The chalky barrel showed white against the broad evening shadow that now fell from the dike across the plain."
f000251,2000.480,2006.760,"I guess you'll leave it to us this time, called one of the people of the upper land, for it was very close; they had the advantage of at least ten feet."
f000252,2006.760,2016.280,"Hauke's lean figure was just stepping out of the crowd; the grey eyes in his long Frisian face were looking ahead at the barrel; in his hand which hung down he held the ball."
f000253,2016.280,2027.360,"I suppose the bird is too big for you, he heard Ole Peters's grating voice in this instant behind his ears; shall we exchange it for a grey pot?"
f000254,2027.360,2034.960,"Hauke turned round and looked at him with steady eyes: I'm throwing for the marshes, he said."
f000255,2034.960,2036.320,"Where do you belong?"
f000256,2036.320,2041.880,"I think, I belong there too; I suppose you're throwing for Elke Volkerts!"
f000257,2041.880,2046.320,"Go! shouted Hauke and stood in position again."
f000258,2046.320,2049.720,"But Ole pushed his head still nearer to him."
f000259,2049.720,2060.320,"Then suddenly, before Hauke could do anything against it himself, a hand clutched the intruder and pulled him back, so that the fellow reeled against his comrades."
f000260,2060.320,2072.800,"It was not a large hand that had done it; for when Hauke turned his head round for a moment he saw Elke Volkerts putting her sleeve to rights, and her dark brows looked angry in her heated face."
f000261,2072.800,2086.840,"Now something like steely strength shot into Hauke's arm; he bent forward a little, rocked the ball a few times in his hand; then he made the throw, and there was dead silence on both sides."
f000262,2086.840,2100.520,"All eyes followed the flying ball, one could hear it whizz as it cut the air; suddenly, already far from the starting point, it was covered by the wings of a silver gull that came flying from the dike with a scream."
f000263,2100.520,2106.280,"At the same time, however, one could hear something bang from a distance against the barrel."
f000264,2106.280,2113.840,"Hurrah for Hauke! called the people from the marshes, and cries went through the crowd: Hauke!"
f000265,2113.840,2115.840,"Hauke Haien has won the game!"
f000266,2115.840,2127.000,"He, however, when all were crowding round him, had thrust his hand to one side to seize another; and even when they called again: Why are you still standing there, Hauke?"
f000267,2127.000,2131.840,"The ball is in the barrel!he only nodded and did not budge from his place."
f000268,2131.840,2140.440,"Only when he felt that the little hand lay fast in his, he said: You may be right; I think myself I have won."
f000269,2140.440,2153.120,"Then the whole company streamed back and Elke and Hauke were separated and pushed on by the crowd along the road to the inn which ascended from the hill of the dikemaster to the upper land."
f000270,2153.120,2168.640,"At this point both escaped the crowd, and while Elke went up to her room, Hauke stood in front of the stable door on the hill and saw how the dark mass of people was gradually wandering up to the parish tavern where a hall was ready for the dancers."
f000271,2168.640,2185.200,"Darkness was slowly spreading over the wide land; it was growing calmer and calmer round about, only in the stable behind him the cattle were stirring; from up on the high land he believed that he could already hear the piping of the clarinets in the tavern."
f000272,2185.200,2196.360,"Then round the corner of the house he heard the rustling of a dress, and with small steady steps someone was walking along the path that led through the fens up to the high land."
f000273,2196.360,2205.160,"Now he discerned the figure walking along in the twilight, and saw that it was Elke; she, too, was going to the dance at the inn."
f000274,2205.160,2210.240,"The blood shot up to his neck; shouldn't he run after her and go with her?"
f000275,2210.240,2219.640,"But Hauke was no hero with women; pondering over this problem, he remained standing still until she had vanished from his sight in the dark."
f000276,2219.640,2238.680,"Then, when the danger of catching up with her was over, he walked along the same way until he had reached the inn by the church, where the chattering and shouting of the crowds in front of the house and in the hall and the shrill sounds of the violins and clarinets surged round him and bewildered his senses."
f000277,2238.680,2246.240,"Unobserved he made his way into the Guildhall; but it was not large and so crowded that he could not look a step ahead of him."
f000278,2246.240,2251.120,"Silently he stood by the doorpost and looked into the restless swarm."
f000279,2251.120,2266.280,"These people seemed to him like fools; he did not have to worry that anyone was still thinking of the match of this afternoon and about who had won the game only an hour ago; everybody thought only of his girl and spun round with her in a circle."
f000280,2266.280,2270.800,"His eyes sought only the one, and at lastthere!"
f000281,2270.800,2281.480,"She was dancing with her cousin, the young dike overseer; but soon he saw her no longer, only other girls from the marshes or the high land who did not concern him."
f000282,2281.480,2289.400,"Then suddenly the violins and clarinets broke off, and the dance was over; but immediately another one began."
f000283,2289.400,2297.840,"An idea shot through Hauke's headhe wondered if Elke would keep her word and if she would not dance by him with Ole Peters."
f000284,2297.840,2303.960,"He had almost uttered a scream at this thought; thenyes, what should he do then?"
f000285,2303.960,2308.800,"But she did not seem to be joining in this dance, and at last it was over."
f000286,2308.800,2314.360,"Another one followed, however, a twostep which had just come into vogue here."
f000287,2314.360,2321.240,"The music started up madly, the young fellows rushed to their girls, the lights flickered along the walls."
f000288,2321.240,2330.640,"Hauke strained his neck to recognise the dancers; and there in the third couple, was Ole Petersbut who was his partner?"
f000289,2330.640,2335.680,"A broad fellow from the marshes stood in front of her and covered her face!"
f000290,2335.680,2341.080,"But the dance was raging on, and Ole and his partner were turning out of the crowd."
f000291,2341.080,2342.960,"Vollina!"
f000292,2342.960,2348.160,"Vollina Harders! cried Hauke almost aloud, and drew a sigh of relief."
f000293,2348.160,2350.400,"But where was Elke?"
f000294,2350.400,2355.920,"Did she have no partner or had she rejected all because she did not want to dance with Ole?"
f000295,2355.920,2361.560,"And the music broke off again, and a new dance began; but she was not in sight!"
f000296,2361.560,2365.840,"There came Ole, still with fat Vollina in his arms!"
f000297,2365.840,2373.400,"Well, well, said Hauke; Jess Harders with his twentyfive acres will soon have to retire too!"
f000298,2373.400,2375.440,"But where is Elke?"
f000299,2375.440,2385.280,"He left the doorpost and crowded farther into the hall; suddenly he was standing in front of her, as she sat with an older girl friend in a corner."
f000300,2385.280,2391.480,"Hauke! she called, looking up to him with her narrow face; are you here?"
f000301,2391.480,2393.360,"I didn't see you dance."
f000302,2393.360,2397.080,"I didn't dance, he replied."
f000303,2397.080,2403.280,"Why not, Hauke? and half rising she added: Do you want to dance with me?"
f000304,2403.280,2407.160,"I didn't let Ole Peters do it; he won't come again!"
f000305,2407.160,2425.080,"But Hauke made no move in this direction: Thank you, Elke, he said; I don't know how to dance well enough; they might laugh at you; and then he stopped short and looked at her with his whole heart in his grey eyes, as if he had to leave it to them to say the rest."
f000306,2425.080,2429.920,"What do you mean, Hauke? she said in a low voice."
f000307,2429.920,2436.120,"I mean, Elke, the day can't turn out any better for me than it has done already."
f000308,2436.120,2439.920,"Yes, she said, you have won the game."
f000309,2439.920,2444.200,"Elke! he reproached her almost inaudibly."
f000310,2444.200,2452.760,"she said; what do you want? and she cast down her eyes."
f000311,2452.760,2462.320,"But when Elke's friend was being drawn away to the dance by a young man, Hauke said louder: I thought Elke, I had won something better!"
f000312,2462.320,2475.560,"A few seconds longer her eyes searched the floor; then she raised them slowly, and a glance met his so full of the quiet power of her nature that it streamed through him like summer air."
f000313,2475.560,2481.880,"Do as your heart tells you to, Hauke! she said; we ought to know each other!"
f000314,2481.880,2489.600,"Elke did not dance any more that evening, and then, when both went home, they walked hand in hand."
f000315,2489.600,2503.280,"Stars were gleaming in the sky above the silent marshes; a light east wind was blowing and bringing severe cold with it; but the two walked on, without many shawls or coverings, as if it had suddenly turned spring."
f000316,2503.280,2503.520,"end of section four."