Knut Hamsun

“ Twenty-five thousand!"
"Ay," said Isak.
"Well," said Geissler, and waved his hand as if dismissing all impertinent offers of insignificant sums from his mind, "well, it won't do any harm to the district if I do stop the working there a bit — on the contrary, it'll teach folk to stick to their land. But they'll feel it in the village. They made a pile of money there last summer; fine clothes and fine living for all — but there's an end of that now. Ay, it might have been worth their while, the good folks down there, to have kept in with me; things might have been different then. ”

“ Children! thought Geissler, maybe, in his lofty mind; he felt his power now, felt strong enough to be short and abrupt with folk. The others had certainly done their best to take him down a peg; they imagined they were dealing with a man in need of money, and threw out hints of some fifteen or twenty thousand — ay, children. They did not know Geissler. And now here he stood.
They came down no more that day from the fjeld, thinking best, no doubt, not to show themselves over-anxious. Next morning they came down, packhorses and all, on their way home. And lo — Geissler was not there. ”

“ Right and proper to be on her guard — ay, but only to give in at last. Inger is so deep in love — desperately, mercilessly; her heart is full of kindliness towards him, she only cares to be close and precious to him. ”

“ Now, as a matter of fact, Geissler had no great deal of things to look after, but he liked to make it appear so. As for a mowing-machine and a harrow, he could buy them in any of the towns, and send up from there.
He stayed talking a long while with Axel Ström about the other settlers near; of Storborg, the trading station; of Axel's brother, newly married, who had come to Breidablik, and had started draining the moors and getting the water out. Axel complained that it was impossible to get a woman anywhere to help; he had none but an old creature, by name Oline ”

“ But there was a far weightier matter Axel badly wanted to talk over with Geissler; Barbro's affair had come to light, somehow, and an investigation was in progress. Come to light? Of course it had. Barbro had been going about, evidently with child and plain to see, and she had left the place by herself all unencumbered and no child at all. ”

“ Isak had just come into the courtyard with his forge, and Aronsen — and there is a horse and cart just pulled up.
"Goddag," says Geissler, greeting Inger as well. And there they stand, all looking one at another — couldn't be better....
Geissler back again. Years now since he was there, but he is back again, aged a little, greyer a little, but bright and cheerful as ever. And finely dressed this time, with a white waistcoat and gold chain across. A man beyond understanding! ”

“ A great one he must be for knowing things, all manner of things. Anyway, when the gentlemen up at the mine had Geissler's answer, there was nothing for it but they must bestir themselves and come all the way down to Sellanraa again. The engineer and the two mining experts came with them. ”