But before I end this Introduction I must add a few
words ofexplanation.
Ah, there stood a chest, andon top of it sat the
legless wanderer.
In a few minutes the topic seemed to be exhausted,
andall three lay down to sleep. I listened; the music was mixed with shouts and
laughter. The dog was silent, eitherfrom fear or amazement. Theres more to driving a
horse thanjust to say giddap!
Southeast squalls and womens quarrels are apt to
end in water, theJutlanders say. It was toward evening; I had to think of the
night.
How strange, I thought afterwards, is not this
little caravan!
Whitish red thunder-clouds were piling up abovethe
horizon both in the east and the west.
The ladys feet moved like drumsticks and hit the
clay floor withquick taps. When we werent fighting she was always with Peter and
dideverything she could for him. Aboy a little less than half grown walked close
behind them.
Anyonewho really loves dancing is never at a loss
for a ballroom.
None other than thecross-bearer, the woman with the
man on her back. The dog was silent, eitherfrom fear or amazement. But let no
onethink I am lying in this matter, too, or that I am guilty of the
usualprudery.
Alackaday, the happy desert is both mine andthine,
is everybodys and nobodys.
Certainly the gypsy woman made a very passable
Gerda. So it was, he nodded laughing, the roof was high and the walls
werewide.
Whenthe Bastille had been levelled with the ground,
they danced on the site.
How can you askthat Cecil shall wait for
you?
I moved quickly to the other side of thewindow in
order to see what became of her.
The mother, with a low-voiced Welcome, Esben! The
wind had gone down, but the sky was hidden by black, low-scuddingclouds. I soonsaw
him scraping the ground, and knew that the bog was dried out.
It was a genuine gypsy dance which I had the good
luck to be a spectatorof.
I stood still now and then inorder to see whether
the light moved.
But, as Ihave said, I didnt mean it seriously. I
thanked her for the attention, but this attention was directedentirely to the big
dog. I did not fear the latter, still less the former; so I walkedon. Reader, do not
take umbrage at such a direct and indelicate question! Morten then led Niels by a
secluded way to the farmhouse and concealedhim there until night. Who dares say
tohis brother, Thou art deserving of death!
I felt cheered andwent close to the window to get a
good view of the ballroom and thedancers.
The outlines of the oriental house were nowplain.
For life is to these people more than anything else a journey.