Page:Tales from the Fjeld.djvu/221

Rh that's why all meat is eaten," as he heard the molten lead bubbling and frizzling in our clerk's throat.

Then they went out by the way they got in, and began to knock and thunder at the front door. The wife woke up and asked who was there.

"It is I; open the door, I say," said the husband.

Then she gave our clerk a nudge in the ribs. "It is the master; the master is back," she said. But no! he did not mind her, and never so much as stirred. Then she put her knees to his side, and tumbled him on to the floor, and jumped up and took him by the legs, and dragged him to the heap of wood behind the stove, and there she hid him. Till she had done that she had no time to open the door to her husband.

"Were you gone after christening water that you were gone so long?" asked the man.

"Oh!" she answered, "I dozed off again to sleep, and I did not think it could ever be you either."

"Well!" said her husband, "now you must bring out some food for me and the boy; we are a'most starved."

"I've got no food ready," said the goody. "How can you think of such a thing? I never thought you would be back either to-day or to-morrow. Why, you know you were to go to the river to land timber."

"One can't hang a hungry man up on the wall like a clock," said the lad, "and self-help is the best help; shall I bring in the food we packed up, master?"

Yes; they did that, and they sat down to eat out of the knapsack; but when they got up to put a log or two on the fire, there lay our clerk among the pile of wood.