Datasets:

PedroDKE
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LibriS2S

f000001,0.000,2.800,"in october two thousand thirteen."
f000002,2.800,17.040,"Several years had gone by: in the little house of Tede Haien now lived a vigorous workman with his wife and child; the young dikemaster Hauke Haien lived with his wife Elke Volkerts on the farm of her father."
f000003,17.040,33.360,"In summer the mighty ash tree murmured as before in front of the house; but on the bench that now stood beneath it, the young wife was usually seen alone in the evening, sitting with some sewing in her hands; there was no child yet from this marriage."
f000004,33.360,55.520,"The husband had other things to do than to sit in front of his house door, for, in spite of his having helped in the old man's management before, there was still a multitude of labors to be done which, in those other times, he had not found it wise to touch upon; but now everything had to be cleared up gradually, and he swept with a stiff broom."
f000005,55.520,64.280,"Besides that, there was the management of the farm, enlarged by his own land, especially as he was trying to save a second hired man."
f000006,64.280,83.000,"So it came about that, except on Sundays, when they went to church, the two married people saw each other usually only during dinner, which Hauke ate with great haste, and at the rise and close of day; it was a life of continuous work, although one of content."
f000007,83.000,85.840,"Then a troublesome rumor started."
f000008,85.840,111.800,"When one Sunday, after church, a somewhat noisy company of young landowners from the marshes and the higher land had stayed over their cups at the inn, they talked, when it came to the fourth and fifth glass, not about the king and the government, to be surethey did not soar so high in those daysbut about communal and higher officials, specially about the taxes demanded of the community."
f000009,111.800,119.800,"And the longer they talked, the less there was that found mercy in their eyes, particularly not the new dike taxes."
f000010,119.800,133.840,"All the sluices and locks had always held out before, and now they have to be repaired; always new places were found on the dike that required hundreds of cartloads of earththe devil take the whole affair!"
f000011,133.840,145.520,"That's all on account of your clever dikemaster, cried one of the people of the higher land, who always goes round pondering and sticks his finger into every pie!"
f000012,145.520,151.880,"Yes, he is tricky and wants to win the favor of the dikemaster general; but we have caught him!"
f000013,151.880,157.920,"Why did you let him be thrust on you? said the other; now you have to pay in cash."
f000014,157.920,159.960,"Ole Peters laughed."
f000015,159.960,171.680,"Yes, Marten Fedders, that's the way it is here, and it can't be helped: the old one was made dikemaster on account of his father, the new one on account of his wife."
f000016,171.680,177.120,"The laughter which ran round the table showed how this sally was appreciated."
f000017,177.120,189.120,"But as it had been spoken at the public table of an inn, it did not stay there, and it was circulated in the village of the high land as well as that of the marshes below; and so it reached Hauke."
f000018,189.120,198.560,"Again the row of illmeaning faces passed by his inner eye, and he heard the laughter round the tavern table more jeering than it really was."
f000019,198.560,206.720,"Dogs! he shouted, and his eyes looked grimly to the side, as if he wanted to have these people whipped."
f000020,206.720,213.360,"Then Elke laid her hand upon his arm: Let them be; they all would like to be what you are."
f000021,213.360,217.520,"That's just it, he replied angrily."
f000022,217.520,222.960,"And, she went on, didn't Ole Peters better himself by marriage?"
f000023,222.960,229.000,"He did, Elke; but what he married with Vollina wasn't enough to be dikemaster on."
f000024,229.000,239.320,"Say rather: he wasn't enough, and Elke turned her husband round so that he had to look into the mirror, for they stood between the windows in their room."
f000025,239.320,247.440,"There is the dikemaster! she said; now look at him; only he who can manage an office has it."
f000026,247.440,258.000,"You're not wrong, he replied pensively, and yetWell, Elke, I have to go to the eastern lock; the gates won't close again."
f000027,258.000,263.000,"He went; but he was not gone long, before the repairing of the lock was forgotten."
f000028,263.000,280.040,"Another idea, which he had only half thought out and carried round with him for years, which, however, had been pushed back by the urgent affairs of his office, now took hold of him again and more powerfully than before, as if he had suddenly grown wings."
f000029,280.040,291.800,"Before he was really aware of It himself, he found himself on the seadike a good way south toward the city; the village that lay on this side had some time ago vanished to the left."
f000030,291.800,298.080,"He was still walking on, fixing his eyes constantly on the seaward side of the broad foreland."
f000031,298.080,305.600,"If some one had walked beside him, he must have seen what concentrated mental work was going on behind those eyes."
f000032,305.600,312.000,"At last he stood still: the foreland here dwindled into a narrow strip along the dike."
f000033,312.000,315.720,"It will have to work! he said to himself."
f000034,315.720,322.880,"Seven years in the officethey shan't say any more that I am dikemaster only because of my wife."
f000035,322.880,329.760,"He was still standing there, and his eyes swept sharply and thoughtfully on all sides over the green foreland."
f000036,329.760,338.320,"Then he walked back until, here too, the broad plain that lay before him ended in a narrow strip of green pastureland."
f000037,338.320,354.760,"Through this, close by the dike, shot a strong arm of the sea which divided almost the whole foreland from the mainland and made it an island; a crude wooden bridge led to it, so that one could go back and forth with cattle or teams of hay or grain."
f000038,354.760,368.400,"It was low tide now, and the golden September sun was glistening on the strip of wet clay, about a hundred feet broad, and on the deep channel in the middle of it through which the sea was even now driving its waters."
f000039,368.400,375.800,"That can be damned! said Hauke to himself, after he had watched this playing of the water for a while."
f000040,375.800,392.440,"Then he looked up, and on from the dike upon which he stood, past the channel, he drew an imaginary line along the edge of the isolated land, round toward the south and back again to the east over the eastern continuation of the channel, up to the dike."
f000041,392.440,402.360,"But the line which he had drawn invisibly was a new dike, new also in the construction of its outline, which as yet existed only in his head."
f000042,402.360,424.920,"That would make dammedin land of about a thousand acres, he said smiling to himself; not so large; but Another calculation came into his mind: the foreland here belonged to the community, or rather, a number of shares to the single members, according to the size of their property in the municipality or other legal income."
f000043,424.920,441.920,"He began to count up how many shares he had received from his father and how many from Elke's father, and how many he had already bought during his marriage, partly with a dim foreboding of future gain, partly because of his increased sheep stock."
f000044,441.920,454.120,"It was a considerable lot; for he had also bought all of Ole Peter's shares when the latter had been disgusted because his best ram had been drowned, once when the foreland had been partly flooded."
f000045,454.120,462.760,"What excellent pasture and farm land that must make and how valuable it would be if it were all surrounded by his new dike!"
f000046,462.760,486.400,"Like intoxication this idea rose into his brain; but he pressed his nails into the hollows of his hands and forced his eyes to see clearly and soberly what lay there before him: a great plain without a dike exposed to who knew what storms and floods in the next years, and at its outermost edge a herd of dirty sheep now wandering and grazing slowly."
f000047,486.400,491.200,"That meant a heap of work, struggle, and annoyance for him!"
f000048,491.200,502.520,"In spite of all that, as he was walking on the footpath down from the dike across the fens toward his hill, he felt as if he were carrying home a great treasure."
f000049,502.520,508.400,"In the hall Elke came to meet him: How about the lock? she asked."
f000050,508.400,518.160,"He looked down at her with a mysterious smile: We shall soon need another lock, he said; and sluices and a new dike."
f000051,518.160,525.480,"I don't understand, returned Elke, as they walked into the room; what do you want to do, Hauke?"
f000052,525.480,539.640,"I want, he began slowly and then stopped for a second, I want the big foreland that begins opposite our place and stretches on westward to be diked in and made into a solid enclosure."
f000053,539.640,551.040,"The high floods have left us in peace for almost a generation now; but when one of the bad ones comes again and destroys the growth down therethen all at once there'll be an end to all this glory."
f000054,551.040,556.080,"Only the old slackway has let things stay like this till today."
f000055,556.080,562.080,"She looked at him with astonishment: Why, you are scolding yourself! she said."
f000056,562.080,566.800,"I am, Elke; but till now there were so many other things to do."
f000057,566.800,570.400,"Yes, Hauke; surely, you have done enough."
f000058,570.400,577.480,"He had sat down in the armchair of the old dikemaster, and his hands were clutching both arms fast."
f000059,577.480,581.320,"Have you the courage for it? his wife asked him."
f000060,581.320,584.160,"I have that, Elke, he spoke hastily."
f000061,584.160,595.200,"Don't be too hasty, Hauke; that work is a matter of life and death; and almost all the people will be against you, they won't thank you for your labor and trouble."
f000062,595.200,596.640,"He nodded."
f000063,596.640,599.640,"I know that! he said."
f000064,599.640,608.600,"And if it will only succeed, she cried again, ever since I was a child I heard that the channel can't be stopped up, and that therefore one shouldn't touch it."
f000065,608.600,616.480,"That was an excuse for the lazy ones! said Hauke; why shouldn't one be able to stop up the channel?"
f000066,616.480,623.080,"That I have not heard; perhaps because it goes right through; the rush of the water is too strong."
f000067,623.080,652.360,"A remembrance came over her and an almost mischievous smile gleamed out of her serious eyes: When I was a child, she told, I heard our hired men talk about it once; they said, if a dam was to hold there, some live thing would have to be thrown into the hole and diked up with the rest; when they were building a dike on the other side, about a hundred years ago, a gipsy child was dammed in that they had bought from its mother for a lot of money."
f000068,652.360,656.240,"But now I suppose no one would sell her child."
f000069,656.240,663.520,"Hauke shook his head: Then it is just as well that we have none; else they would do nothing less than demand it of us."
f000070,663.520,670.720,"They shouldn't get it! said Elke and folded her arms across her body as if in fear."
f000071,670.720,675.600,"And Hauke smiled; but she asked again: And the huge cost?"
f000072,675.600,677.680,"Have you thought of that?"
f000073,677.680,687.160,"I have, Elke; what we will get out of it will far surpass the cost; even the cost of keeping up the old dike will be covered a good bit by the new one."
f000074,687.160,694.640,"We do our own work and there are over eighty teams of horses in the community, and there is no lack of young strong arms."
f000075,694.640,701.400,"At least you shan't have made me dikemaster for nothing, Elke; I want to show them that I am one!"
f000076,701.400,707.120,"She had been crouching in front of him and looking at him full of care; now she rose with a sigh."
f000077,707.120,715.480,"I have to go back to my day's work, she said, and gently stroked his cheek; you do yours, Hauke."
f000078,715.480,722.480,"Amen, Hike! he said with a serious smile; there is work enough for us both."
f000079,722.480,729.200,"There was truly work enough for both, but the heaviest burden was now on the man's shoulder."
f000080,729.200,744.400,"On Sunday afternoons, often too in the evenings, Hauke sat together with a good surveyor, deep in calculations, drawings and plans; when he was alone, he did the same and often did not stop till long after midnight."
f000081,744.400,762.840,"Then he would slip into their common sleepingroomfor the stuffy beds fixed to the wall in the livingroom were no longer used in Hauke's householdand his wife would lie with her eyes closed, pretending to sleep, so that he would get his rest at last, although she was really waiting for him with a beating heart."
f000082,762.840,774.440,"Then he would sometimes kiss her forehead and say a low word of love, and then lie down to sleep, though sleep often did not come to him before the first crowing of the cock."
f000083,774.440,787.800,"In the winter storms he ran out on the dike with pencil and paper in his hand, and stood and made drawings and took notes while a gust of wind would tear his cap from his head and make his long, light hair fly round his heated face."
f000084,787.800,800.280,"Soon, as long as the ice did not bar his way, he rowed with a servant out into the sea and with plumb line and rods measured the depths of the currents about which he was not yet sure."
f000085,800.280,814.720,"Often enough Elke trembled for his life, but when he was safely back, he could hardly have noticed anything, except by the tight clasp of her hand or by the bright lightning that gleamed from her usually so quiet eyes."
f000086,814.720,824.720,"Have patience, Elke, he said once when it seemed to him as if his wife would not let him alone; I have to have the whole thing clear to myself before I propose it."
f000087,824.720,828.520,"Then she nodded and let him be."
f000088,828.520,838.440,"There were no less rides into the city, either, to see the dikemaster general, and all these and the labors for house and farm were always followed by work late into the night."
f000089,838.440,848.600,"His intercourse with other people outside of his work and business vanished almost entirely; even with his wife it grew less and less."
f000090,848.600,854.880,"These are bad times, and they will last long yet, said Elke to herself and went to her work."
f000091,854.880,863.440,"At last, when sun and spring winds had broken the ice everywhere, the last work in preparation had been done."
f000092,863.440,882.440,"The petition to the dikemaster general, to be seconded by a higher official, contained the proposal that the foreland should be diked for the promoting of the general weal, particularly of the dikedin district, as well as the ruler's treasury, as this would receive in a few years the taxes from about a thousand acres."
f000093,882.440,901.600,"This was neatly copied and put into a firm envelope together with the corresponding drafts and plans of all the positions, present and future, of the locks and sluices and everything else that belonged to the project; and this was sealed with the official seal of the dikemaster."
f000094,901.600,907.760,"Here it is, Elke, said the young dikemaster; now give it your blessing."
f000095,907.760,913.000,"Elke laid her hand into his: We want to stand by each other, she said."
f000096,913.000,915.160,"Yes, we do."
f000097,915.160,921.120,"Then the petition was sent into the city by a messenger on horseback."
f000098,921.120,944.920,"I must call your attention to the fact, dear sir, the schoolmaster interrupted his account, fixing his eyes pleasantly upon me, that what I have told you up to this point I have gathered during my activity of almost forty years in this district from the traditions of intelligent people or from the tales of their grandchildren and greatgrandchildren."
f000099,944.920,962.120,"What I am about to tell you now, so that you may find the right connection between what has gone before and the final outcome of my story, used to be and is still the talk of the whole marsh village, as soon as the spinningwheels begin to whir round All Saints' Day."
f000100,962.120,981.680,"If one stood on the dike, about five or six hundred feet to the north of the dikemaster's farm, one could, at that time, look a few thousand feet out over the sea, and somewhat farther from the opposite shore one could see a little island, which they called Jeverssand, or Jevers Island."
f000101,981.680,1000.480,"Our forefathers of that generation had used it as a pasture for sheep, for at that time grass was still growing on it; but even that had stopped, because the low island had several times been flooded by the sea, and in midsummer too, so that the growth of grass was stunted and made useless as a sheep pasture."
f000102,1000.480,1014.200,"So it happened that the island had no more visitors except gulls and other birds and occasionally a sea eagle; and on moonlight nights from the dike one could only see the light or heavy mists pass over it."
f000103,1014.200,1029.600,"And people believed that, when the moon shone upon the island from the east, they could recognise a few bleached skeletons of drowned sheep and that of a horse, although, to be sure, no one could understand how it had come there."
f000104,1029.600,1051.280,"It was at the end of March that the day laborer from the house of Tede Haien and Iven Johns, the hired man of the young dikemaster, stood beside each other at that place and without stirring stared at the island which could scarcely be recognised in the dim moonshine; but something out of the ordinary seemed to hold them there."
f000105,1051.280,1060.320,"The laborer put his hands into his pockets and shuddered: Come, Iven, he said; there's nothing good in that; let us go home."
f000106,1060.320,1068.480,"The other laughed, even though horror sounded through his laughter: Oh, bosh, it's a live creature, a big one!"
f000107,1068.480,1071.880,"Who the devil has chased it on to the clay out there?"
f000108,1071.880,1074.880,"Look, now it's stretching its neck our way!"
f000109,1074.880,1078.200,"No, it's drooping its head; it is feeding."
f000110,1078.200,1081.200,"I'd have thought, there was nothing to feed on there!"
f000111,1081.200,1082.760,"What can it be?"
f000112,1082.760,1086.480,"That's not our business! replied the other."
f000113,1086.480,1092.200,"Good night, Iven, if you don't want to go with me; I'm going home!"
f000114,1092.200,1095.120,"Oh, yes; you've got a wife, you can go into your warm bed!"
f000115,1095.120,1097.840,"But I've got a lot of March air in my room!"
f000116,1097.840,1103.280,"Good night, then, the laborer called back, as he marched home on the dike."
f000117,1103.280,1111.960,"The hired man looked round a few times after his fleeing companion; but the desire to see something gruesome held him fast."
f000118,1111.960,1119.440,"Then a dark, stocky figure came toward him on the dike from the village; it was the servant boy of the dikemaster."
f000119,1119.440,1124.600,"What do you want, Carsten? the hired man called to him."
f000120,1124.600,1130.400,"I?nothing, said the boy; but our master wants to speak to you, Iven Johns."
f000121,1130.400,1133.960,"The man's eyes were drawn back to the island again."
f000122,1133.960,1137.280,"All right, I'm coming right off, he said."
f000123,1137.280,1141.080,"What are you looking at so? asked the boy."
f000124,1141.080,1145.520,"The man raised his arm and pointed silently to the island."
f000125,1145.520,1157.240,"Oh, look! whispered the boy; there goes a horsea white horsethe devil must be riding thathow can a horse get to Jevers Island?"
f000126,1157.240,1161.560,"Don't know, Carsten; if it's only a real horse!"
f000127,1161.560,1166.280,"Yes, yes, Iven; look, now it's feeding just like a horse!"
f000128,1166.280,1171.720,"But who has brought it therewe have no boats in the village big enough!"
f000129,1171.720,1178.960,"Perhaps it's only a sheep; Peter Ohm says by moonlight ten circles of peat look like a whole village."
f000130,1178.960,1180.760,"No, look!"
f000131,1180.760,1184.560,"Now it's jumping aroundit must be a horse, after all!"
f000132,1184.560,1193.000,"Both stood silent for a while, their eyes fixed on what they saw indistinctly going on upon yonder island."
f000133,1193.000,1203.840,"The moon stood high in the heavens and shone upon the wide sea that was just beginning, as the tide rose, to wash with its waters over the glistening flats of clay."
f000134,1203.840,1217.960,"Only the low murmur of the water, not the sound of a single animal was heard here in the vast open; on the marshes behind the dike, too, all was deserted, and cows and oxen were still in their stalls."
f000135,1217.960,1226.680,"Nothing stirred; only the thing that they took for a horsea white horseseemed to be moving on Jevers Island."
f000136,1226.680,1236.360,"It is growing lighter, the hired man broke into the silence; I can see the white sheeps' skeletons shimmer distinctly!"
f000137,1236.360,1244.760,"I too, said the boy and stretched his neck; but then, as if it came over him suddenly, he pulled the man by the sleeve."
f000138,1244.760,1251.720,"Iven, he gasped, the horse skeleton, that used to lie there toowhere is that?"
f000139,1251.720,1253.200,"I can't see it!"
f000140,1253.200,1256.280,"I don't see it either."
f000141,1256.280,1259.240,"Strange! said the man."
f000142,1259.240,1261.680,"Not so strange, Iven!"
f000143,1261.680,1268.600,"Sometimes, I don't know in what nights, the bones are supposed to rise and act as if they were alive!"
f000144,1268.600,1274.200,"Is that so? said the man; that's an old wives' story!"
f000145,1274.200,1277.960,"May be, Iven, said the boy."
f000146,1277.960,1280.680,"But I thought you were sent to get me."
f000147,1280.680,1283.200,"Come, we have to go home."
f000148,1283.200,1285.080,"It always stays the same, anyway."
f000149,1285.080,1291.680,"The man could not get the boy away until he had turned him round by force and pushed him on to the way."
f000150,1291.680,1303.040,"Listen, Carsten, said the former, when the ghostly island lay a good way behind him, you are supposed to be a good sport; I believe you would like to inspect these doings yourself."
f000151,1303.040,1307.400,"Yes, replied Carsten, still shuddering a little."
f000152,1307.400,1309.760,"Yes, I'd like to do that, Iven."
f000153,1309.760,1312.440,"Do you really mean that?"
f000154,1312.440,1324.560,"Then, said the man after he had given his hand to the boy emphatically, we'll take our boat tomorrow evening; you row to Jeverssand; I'll stay on the dike in the meantime."
f000155,1324.560,1328.000,"Yes, replied the boy, that'll work!"
f000156,1328.000,1329.720,"I'll take my whip with me."
f000157,1329.720,1331.080,"Do that."
f000158,1331.080,1338.200,"Silently they came near the house of their employers, to which they slowly climbed up the high hill."
f000159,1338.200,1348.120,"At the same hour on the following night the hired man sat on the big stone in front of the stable door, when the boy came to him, snapping his whip."
f000160,1348.120,1351.880,"What a strange sound! said the former."
f000161,1351.880,1357.840,"I should saytake care! returned the boy; I have stuck nails into the string, too."
f000162,1357.840,1361.240,"Then come, said the other."
f000163,1361.240,1368.080,"As on the night before, the moon stood in the eastern sky and looked down with a clear light."
f000164,1368.080,1375.640,"Soon both were out on the dike again and looked over to Jevers Island, that looked like a strip of mist in the water."
f000165,1375.640,1385.440,"There it goes again, said the man; I was here in the afternoon, and then it wasn't there; but I saw the white horse skeleton lying there distinctly!"
f000166,1385.440,1392.160,"The boy stretched his neck: That isn't there now, Iven, he whispered."
f000167,1392.160,1396.640,"Well, Carsten, how is it? said the man."
f000168,1396.640,1399.000,"Are you still keen on rowing over?"
f000169,1399.000,1407.760,"Carsten stopped to think a moment; then he struck the air with his whip: Go ahead and slip the mooring, Iven."
f000170,1407.760,1416.120,"But over yonder it seemed as if the creature moving there were stretching its neck and raising its head toward the mainland."
f000171,1416.120,1422.400,"They were not seeing it any more; they were already walking down the dike to the place where the boat was moored."
f000172,1422.400,1426.720,"Now get in, said the man, after he had slipped the mooring."
f000173,1426.720,1428.840,"I'll wait till you are back."
f000174,1428.840,1432.960,"You'll have to land on the eastern side; that's where one always could land."
f000175,1432.960,1444.680,"And the boy nodded silently and rowed away into the moonlit night with his whip; the man wandered back to the foot of the dike and climbed on to it again at the place where they had stood before."
f000176,1444.680,1453.800,"Soon he saw how the boat was moored at a steep, dark place, where a broad creek flowed out, and how a stocky figure leaped ashore."
f000177,1453.800,1457.080,"Didn't it seem as if the boy were snapping his whip?"
f000178,1457.080,1461.360,"But then, too, it might be the sound of the rising flood."
f000179,1461.360,1472.080,"Several hundred feet to the north he saw what they had taken for a white horse; and nowyes, the figure of the boy came marching straight up to it."
f000180,1472.080,1481.240,"Now it raised its head as if it were startled; and the boynow one could hear it plainlysnapped his whip."
f000181,1481.240,1482.880,"Butwhat was he doing?"
f000182,1482.880,1487.000,"He was turning round, he was going back the same way he had come."
f000183,1487.000,1497.600,"The creature over there seemed to graze on unceasingly; no sound of neighing could be heard; sometimes it seemed as if strips of water were drawn across the apparition."
f000184,1497.600,1500.520,"The man gazed as if spellbound."
f000185,1500.520,1509.320,"Then he heard the arrival of the boat at the shore he was on, and soon in the dusk he saw the boy climb toward him up the dike."
f000186,1509.320,1513.360,"Well, Carsten, he asked, what was it?"
f000187,1513.360,1515.800,"The boy shook his head."
f000188,1515.800,1518.320,"It was nothing! he said."
f000189,1518.320,1526.920,"From the boat I saw it a short way off; but then, when I was on the islandthe devil knows where that animal has hid himself!"
f000190,1526.920,1541.960,"The moonlight was bright enough; but when I came to that place there was nothing there but the pale bones of a half dozen sheep, and a little farther away lay the horse skeleton, too, with its white, long skull and let the moon shine into its empty sockets."
f000191,1541.960,1548.040,"Hm! replied the man; are you sure you saw right?"
f000192,1548.040,1560.120,"Yes, Iven, I stood in the place; a forlorn bird that had cowered behind the skeleton for the night flew up screaming so that I was startled and snapped my whip after it a few times."
f000193,1560.120,1562.920,"And that was all?"
f000194,1562.920,1566.400,"Yes, Iven; I don't know any more."
f000195,1566.400,1574.600,"It is enough, too, said the man, then he pulled the boy toward him by the arm and pointed over to the island."
f000196,1574.600,1577.720,"Do you see something over there, Carsten?"
f000197,1577.720,1580.680,"It's true, there it goes again."
f000198,1580.680,1589.840,"Again? said the man; I've been looking over there all the time, and it hasn't been away at all; you went right up to the monster."
f000199,1589.840,1598.200,"The boy stared at him; all at once horror was in his usually so pert face, and this did not escape the man."
f000200,1598.200,1608.120,"Come, said the latter, let's go home: from here it looks alive and over there is nothing but bonesthat's more than you and I can grasp."
f000201,1608.120,1612.960,"But keep quiet about it, one mustn't talk of these things."
f000202,1612.960,1622.480,"They turned round and the boy trotted beside him; they did not speak, and by their side the marshes lay in perfect silence."
f000203,1622.480,1628.720,"But when the moon had vanished and the nights were black, something else happened."
f000204,1628.720,1638.200,"At the time when the horse market was going on Hauke Haien had ridden into the city, although he had had nothing to do with the market."
f000205,1638.200,1643.960,"Nevertheless, when he came home toward evening, he brought home a second horse."
f000206,1643.960,1653.320,"It had rough hair, however, and was lean, so that one could count every rib and its eyes looked tired and sunken deep into the sockets."
f000207,1653.320,1664.000,"Elke had stepped out in front of the house door to meet her husband: Heaven help us! she cried, what shall we do with that old white horse?"
f000208,1664.000,1672.200,"For when Hauke had ridden up to the house with it and stopped under the ash tree, she had seen that the poor creature was lame, too."
f000209,1672.200,1682.000,"The young dikemaster, however, jumped laughing down from his brown horse: Never mind, Elke; it didn't cost much, anyway."
f000210,1682.000,1689.000,"The clever woman replied: You know, the greatest bargain turns out to be the most expensive."
f000211,1689.000,1695.760,"But not always, Elke; this animal is at most four years old; look at it more carefully."
f000212,1695.760,1700.280,"It is starved and has been abused; our oats shall do it good."
f000213,1700.280,1704.200,"I'll take care of it myself, so that they won't overfeed it."
f000214,1704.200,1710.760,"Meanwhile the animal stood with bowed head; its long mane hung down its neck."
f000215,1710.760,1722.400,"Elke, while her husband was calling the hired men, walked round it with curious eyes; but she shook her head: A horse like this has never yet been in our stable."
f000216,1722.400,1728.720,"When the servant boy came round the corner, he suddenly stood still with frightened eyes."
f000217,1728.720,1734.200,"Well, Carsten, called the dikemaster, what has struck you?"
f000218,1734.200,1736.400,"Don't you like my white horse?"
f000219,1736.400,1740.280,"Yesoh, yes, master, why not?"
f000220,1740.280,1744.440,"Then take the animal into the stable; don't feed it."
f000221,1744.440,1746.560,"I'll come myself right off."
f000222,1746.560,1758.160,"The boy took hold of the halter of the white horse carefully and then hastily, as if for protection, seized the bridle of the brown horse also put into his trust."
f000223,1758.160,1761.720,"Hauke then went into the room with his wife."
f000224,1761.720,1766.120,"She had warm beer ready for him, and bread and butter were there, too."
f000225,1766.120,1772.240,"He had soon finished; then he got up and walked up and down the room with his wife."
f000226,1772.240,1780.480,"Let me tell you, Elke, he said, while the evening glow played on the tiles of the wall, how I came to get the animal."
f000227,1780.480,1796.680,"I spent about an hour at the dikemaster general's; he has good news for methere will be some departures, here and there, from my drawings; but the main thing, my outline, has been accepted, and the next days may bring the command to begin the new dike."
f000228,1796.680,1799.800,"Elke sighed involuntarily."
f000229,1799.800,1803.680,"After all? she said, anxiously."
f000230,1803.680,1811.320,"Yes, wife, returned Hauke; it will be hard work; but for that, I think, the Lord has brought us together!"
f000231,1811.320,1816.880,"Our farm is in such good order now, you can take a good part of it on your own shoulders."
f000232,1816.880,1821.440,"Think ahead ten yearsthen we'll own quite a different property."
f000233,1821.440,1831.040,"During his first words she had pressed her husband's hand into hers as a sign of assurance; but his last words could give her no pleasure."
f000234,1831.040,1834.680,"For whom all the property? she said."
f000235,1834.680,1838.640,"You would have to take another wife then; I shall bring you no children."
f000236,1838.640,1843.640,"Tears shot into her eyes; but he drew her close into his arms."
f000237,1843.640,1853.400,"We'll leave that to the Lord, he said; but now and at that time too, we are young enough to have joy for ourselves in the fruits of our labors."
f000238,1853.400,1858.680,"She looked at him a long time with her dark eyes while he held her."
f000239,1858.680,1864.640,"Forgive me, Hauke, she said; sometimes I am a woman in despair."
f000240,1864.640,1872.920,"He bent down to her face and kissed her: You are my wife and I am your husband, Elke."
f000241,1872.920,1875.160,"And nothing can alter that."
f000242,1875.160,1883.760,"Then she clasped her arms tightly round his neck: You are right, Hauke, and what comes, will come for us both."
f000243,1883.760,1886.640,"Then she freed him, blushing."
f000244,1886.640,1891.720,"You wanted to tell me about the white horse, she said in a low voice."
f000245,1891.720,1893.960,"So I did, Elke."
f000246,1893.960,1900.320,"I told you, my head and heart were full of joy over the good news that the dikemaster general had given me."
f000247,1900.320,1911.280,"So I was riding back again out of the city, when on the dam, behind the harbor, I met a shabby fellowI couldn't tell if he was a vagabond, a tinker, or what."
f000248,1911.280,1919.080,"This fellow was pulling the white horse after him by the halter; but the animal raised his head and looked at me with dull eyes."
f000249,1919.080,1926.680,"It seemed to me as if he wanted to beg me for somethingand, indeed, at that moment I was rich enough."
f000250,1926.680,1931.760,"Hallo, good sir,' I hailed him, 'where do you want to go with your jade?'"
f000251,1931.760,1935.000,"The fellow stopped, and the white horse, too."
f000252,1935.000,1938.600,"Sell him,' he said, and nodded to me slyly."
f000253,1938.600,1940.320,"But spare me!'"
f000254,1940.320,1941.920,"I called cheerfully."
f000255,1941.920,1947.840,"I think I shall!' he said; 'it's a good horse and worth no less than a hundred dollars.'"
f000256,1947.840,1950.320,"I laughed into his face."
f000257,1950.320,1955.280,"Well,' he said, 'don't laugh so hard; you don't need to pay it."
f000258,1955.280,1960.480,"But I have no use for it, it'll perish with me; with you it would soon look different.'"
f000259,1960.480,1967.720,"Then I jumped down from my brown horse and looked into the white horse's mouth and saw that it was still a young animal."
f000260,1967.720,1970.160,"How much do you want for it?'"
f000261,1970.160,1973.920,"I cried, for again the horse seemed to look at me beseechingly."
f000262,1973.920,1980.280,"Sir, take it for thirty dollars,' said the fellow, 'and I'll give you the halter to the bargain.'"
f000263,1980.280,1986.680,"And then, wife, I took the fellow's stretchedout brown hand, which looked almost like a claw."
f000264,1986.680,1990.800,"And so we have the white horse, and I think a good enough bargain."
f000265,1990.800,2006.640,"The only strange thing was that, when I rode away with the horses, I soon heard laughter behind me, and when I turned round my head, saw the Slovak standing with his legs apart, his arms on his back, and laughing after me like a devil."
f000266,2006.640,2014.120,"Oh, horror, cried Elke; I hope that white horse will bring you nothing from his old master."
f000267,2014.120,2016.920,"May he thrive for your good, Hauke!"
f000268,2016.920,2021.120,"Thrive he shall, at least as far as I can make him!"
f000269,2021.120,2026.280,"And the dikemaster went into the stable, as he had told the boy a while ago."
f000270,2026.280,2036.720,"But not only on the first night did he feed the white horsefrom that time on he always did it himself and did not leave the animal out of sight."
f000271,2036.720,2043.440,"He wanted to show that he had made a firstrate bargain; anyway, he did not want to allow any mistake."
f000272,2043.440,2058.040,"And already after a few weeks the animal's condition improved: gradually the rough hair vanished; a smooth, bluespotted skin appeared, and one day when he led it round on the place, it walked nimbly on its steady legs."
f000273,2058.040,2061.000,"Hauke thought of the adventurous seller."
f000274,2061.000,2067.320,"That fellow was a fool, or a knave who had stolen it, he murmured to himself."
f000275,2067.320,2083.760,"Then soon, when the horse merely heard his footsteps, it threw back its head and neighed to greet him; and now he saw too that it had, what the Arabs demand of a good horse, a spare face, out of which two fiery brown eyes were gleaming."
f000276,2083.760,2093.680,"He would lead it into its stable and put a light saddle on it; and scarcely did he sit on the saddle, when the animal uttered a neigh like a shout of delight."
f000277,2093.680,2108.720,"It sped away with him, down the hill to the road and then to the dike; but the rider sat securely, and when they had reached the top, it went more quietly, easily, as if dancing, and thrust its head to the side of the sea."
f000278,2108.720,2124.720,"He patted and stroked its smooth neck, but it no longer needed these endearments, the horse seemed altogether to be one with the rider, and after he had ridden a distance northwards out on the dike, he turned it easily and reached the farm again."
f000279,2124.720,2130.280,"The men stood at the foot of the hill and waited for the return of their master."
f000280,2130.280,2138.760,"Now, John, he cried, as he leaped down from his horse, you ride it to the fens where the others are; it'll carry you like a cradle."
f000281,2138.760,2153.480,"The white horse shook its head and neighed aloud over the sunny marshes, while the hired man was taking off the saddle and the boy ran with it to the harnessroom; then it laid its head on its master's shoulder and suffered him to caress it."
f000282,2153.480,2164.160,"But when the hired man wanted to swing himself on its back, it leaped to the side with a sudden bound and then stood motionless, turning its beautiful eyes on its master."
f000283,2164.160,2172.240,"Hallo, Iven, cried Hauke, has he hurt you? and he tried to help his man up from the ground."
f000284,2172.240,2180.920,"The latter was busily rubbing his hip: No, sir, I can manage still; but let the devil ride that white horse!"
f000285,2180.920,2182.440,"And me!"
f000286,2182.440,2184.400,"Hauke added, laughing."
f000287,2184.400,2187.000,"Then bring him to the fens by the bridle."
f000288,2187.000,2193.840,"And when the man obeyed, somewhat humiliated, the white horse meekly let itself be led."
f000289,2193.840,2200.080,"A few evenings later the man and the boy stood together in front of the stable door."
f000290,2200.080,2217.600,"The sunset gleam had vanished behind the dike, the land it enclosed was already wrapped in twilight; only at rare intervals from far off one could hear the lowing of a startled bull or the scream of a lark whose life was ending through the assault of a weasel or a water rat."
f000291,2217.600,2227.960,"The man was leaning against the doorpost and smoking his short pipe, from which he could no longer see the smoke; he and the boy had not yet talked together."
f000292,2227.960,2234.480,"Something weighed on the boy's soul, however, but he did not know how to begin with the silent man."
f000293,2234.480,2241.320,"Iven, he said finally, you know that horse skeleton on Jeverssand."
f000294,2241.320,2244.960,"What about it? asked the man."
f000295,2244.960,2247.880,"Yes, Iven, what about it?"
f000296,2247.880,2255.120,"It isn't there any more? neither by day nor by moonlight; I've run up to the dike about twenty times."
f000297,2255.120,2262.000,"The old bones have tumbled to pieces, I suppose, said Iven and calmly smoked on."
f000298,2262.000,2268.360,"But I was out there by moonlight, too; nothing is moving over there on Jeverssand, either!"
f000299,2268.360,2275.840,"Why, yes! said the man, if the bones have fallen apart, it won't be able to get up any more."
f000300,2275.840,2278.160,"Don't joke, Iven!"
f000301,2278.160,2281.000,"I know now; I can tell you where it is."
f000302,2281.000,2286.480,"The man turned to him suddenly: Well, where is it, then?"
f000303,2286.480,2289.480,"Where? repeated the boy emphatically."
f000304,2289.480,2295.640,"It is standing in our stable; there it has been standing, ever since it was no more on the island."
f000305,2295.640,2301.400,"It isn't for nothing that our master always feeds it himself; I know about it, Iven."
f000306,2301.400,2306.400,"For a while the man puffed away violently into the night."
f000307,2306.400,2312.520,"You're not right in your mind, Carsten, he said then; our white horse?"
f000308,2312.520,2315.480,"If ever a horse was alive, that one is."
f000309,2315.480,2321.080,"How can a wideawake youngster like you get mixed up with such an old wives' belief!"
f000310,2321.080,2328.760,"But the boy could not be converted: if the devil was inside the white horse, why shouldn't it be alive?"
f000311,2328.760,2331.480,"On the contrary, it was all the worse."
f000312,2331.480,2343.200,"He started, frightened, every time that he stepped into the stable toward night, where the creature was sometimes kept in summer and it turned its fiery head toward him so violently."
f000313,2343.200,2348.800,"The devil take you! he would mutter; we won't stay together much longer!"
f000314,2348.800,2358.960,"So he secretly looked round for a new place, gave notice and, about All Saints' Day, went to Ole Peters as hired man."
f000315,2358.960,2364.680,"Here he found attentive listeners for his story of the dikemaster's devil's horse."
f000316,2364.680,2380.760,"Fat Mrs. Vollina and her dullwitted father, the former dike overseer, Jess Harders, listened in smug horror and afterwards told it to all who had a grudge against the dikemaster in their hearts or who took pleasure in that kind of thing."