CHAPTER VIII
ON GLORY PEAK
It was again high summer, and the sun shone bright on all the mountaintops when, one morning, an ear-splitting call played on three goathorns rang suddenly out from the inclosure belonging to Hoel saeter. Onecall was thin and fine, the other two were heavier.
That triple signal meant "Forward, march!" Lisbeth Longfrock, Ole, andPeter were going to take their trip to Glory Peak to see the spot thathad been visited by the king.
The boys now owned goat horns to blow on, and they were good ones, too;for Lisbeth Longfrock had kept her word about Crookhorn's horns and hadgiven one to each boy.
After Crookhorn's running off with the herd of horses, things had notgone any better with that proud-minded goat. When she finally camehome, late in the autumn, with the last of the horses, she was soconceited that there was no getting her to live in the barn with theother goats. They had to put her in the cow house; but not even the cowhouse was good enough for her after her summer experiences. Every timeshe got an opportunity, out she bounded, trotting over to the door ofthe stable as if she belonged in there. The stable boy insisted that hehad even heard her neigh. One day, when the men were feeding thehorses, they saw her dash in, and, with her usual self-important air,attempt to squeeze her way into the stall of the military horse. Butthat she should not have done. It was dark, and the military horsefailed to see that it was only Crookhorn at his heels; so up went hishind legs and out went a kick that landed plump on Crookhorn's craniumand sent her flying against the stable wall. That was the last ofCrookhorn.
It cannot be said that any one, except perhaps Lisbeth Longfrock,sorrowed particularly over her; but Lisbeth could not help rememberingthat Crookhorn had given them milk for their coffee that winter up atPeerout Castle. At any rate, if not much sorrowed for, the queer,ambitious creature was held in honorable esteem after her death. Suchhorns as hers Ole had never seen. Not only were they extremely large,but they gave out a peculiarly fine sound. Any one would know at oncethat they were not the horns of an ordinary goat. There had always beensomething about Crookhorn that no one understood, Ole said. Yes, Peterhad noticed that too. Afterward, when he had thought a little more onthe subject, he said he believed that horses' horns would have exactlythe same sound as those of this remarkable goat, if there were anyhorses with horns!
On the day of the visit to Glory Peak the goat horns, as musicalinstruments, were brand-new, being used that day for the first time. Infact, the trip had been put off until they were ready.
But new goat horns were not the only things the travelers were providedwith. All three wore their best clothes, and each carried a lunch bagfull of food on his back and a stout stick in his hand. The trip was solong that it would take a whole day.
Once more they blew their horns,--all three together. The animalslooked up in surprise at the unusual volume of sound, and the milkmaidcame to the cow-house door with a smiling face. Then off the partystarted. The flocks were mingled together to-day, and driven straightahead,--no time for them to graze by the wayside with Glory Peak lyingso far away, blue against the sky. This excursion was a much longer onethan Lisbeth had ever before taken, and even Ole and Peter had been toGlory Peak but once.
* * * * *
It was drawing on toward dinner time when they came to the last gentleascent leading to the top of Glory Peak. There the juniper bushes and"old woman's switches" (dwarf birch) grew so high that the animals werequite lost to sight among them. Lisbeth and the boys could only see thecourse of their charges by a wavelike movement that passed over thetops of the bushes and by the sticking up of a pair of horns here andthere. Ole thought that this was a good place to leave the flocks for atime, while they themselves went on ahead. The animals were so tiredand hungry that they would stay there quietly for an hour or so; then,when rested, they would be sure to follow to the peak, for a goat wasnever satisfied until it had mounted to the highest possible point,where it could look about in all directions. Ole's plan was assentedto, and it proved to be a good one.
Ole led Lisbeth and Peter around a curve toward the north. He wanted toshow them exactly where the king and queen came up on the day of theirvisit. To be sure, they were not really king and queen that day, butthey were on the very point of being: they were crown prince and crownprincess. They had left their horses down on the mountain side wherethe road grew too steep for driving, and had walked the rest of theway. Oh, what a large company they had with them!--the countymagistrate, the district judge, and officers so richly dressed thatthey could scarcely move. Seven or eight of the principal farmers ofthe district were also in the company, and first among these wereNordrum, Jacob's master, and the master of Hoel Farm, who was thenliving. These two wore queer old-fashioned swallow-tailed coats. Allaround over the whole mountain top were crowds of other people gazingat the lively scene.
"The king looked wonderfully fine, didn't he?" asked Lisbeth.
"No. The county magistrate looked much finer, and so did the officers,and even the people who waited upon them. But it could easily be seenthat he was the king, for he was a head taller than any of the others."
"The king must be tremendously strong," said Peter.
"Strong! Of course he is! And he must have use for every bit of hisstrength, too, for he has to govern all the others."
"Was the queen also very large?" asked Lisbeth.
"No, she was not much larger than an ordinary woman. She was unusuallyearnest and modest-looking, father said. There was not so much fuss andfeathers with her as with the other women folk."
"No," said Peter; "the old frump that my father drove laughed even atthe magistrate, and found fault because his hands were too big."
"Humph!" said Ole; "that _was_ a joke. As if a grown-up fellow shouldnot have big fists! Anyhow, I don't see how she could have seen them,for the magistrate wore his white gloves, although it was high summer."
Ole resumed the part of showman.
"Next they came up over this way,--the whole company, close by thatvery stone there; and then the king ran on ahead of them. He wanted tobe the first to reach the top, as one might know. And now I will showyou exactly what he did. Follow me. I will be the king, and you,Lisbeth, may be the queen. Come along!"
Ole walked hastily over the last spur of the ground, the othersfollowing. Then, running the last few steps, they found themselvessuddenly on the very top of the mountain! Ole threw out his hand andstood a long time in silence.
The others stood still also, involuntarily, impressed by the wonderfulsight. Here and there over the endless expanse of mountain shoneglistening lakes and mountain pools, and away off in the distance rosesnow-clad peaks. On every open slope lay green saeters; and toward thesouth, as far as the eye could reach, were beautiful farming districtsand dark-green, forest-clad ridges.
Ole, in his character of king, threw out his hand again. "This is themost beautiful spot I have ever seen!" he cried. Then, after a shortpause, "Come, Sophie, and see!" Ole took Lisbeth's hand and drew herforward.
"Yes," assented Peter, "that is exactly the way the king did. I haveheard about it, too."
"Of course it was," said Ole. "Don't you think I know?"
"What else did he do?" asked Lisbeth.
"The king and queen then went around and spoke to all the other people,who began to take out long spyglasses and gaze in all directions andask the name of everything.
"The county magistrate, as the highest of the local officials, stoodnear the king and queen and pointed things out to them.
"'See that group of distant white peaks,' said the magistrate; 'andthere to the north is Snow-Cap, although I am not sure that you candistinguish it; and that little black thing farthest away' (Ole pointedas the magistrate had done) 'is the highest peak in Norway.'[15]
[15] The mountain referred to is Galdhoepiggen.
"After a while the company turned around, facing the south. When theysaw the view in that direction,--with the gr
eat shining lake lying sofar away down there, and the forests stretching farther and farther inthe distance,--even the king himself was astonished. He thought thatthe forests must reach almost to Sweden. He had never seen so vast anextent of forest at one view, king though he was. When they hadfinished looking at the surrounding landscape, Nordrum went to thatpatch of reindeer moss over there and gathered a whole handful of it. Agood many of the people wondered, of course, what he was going to dowith it. He went over to the king, showed it to him, and then said,'Should you like to see the moss that we mixed with birch bark to makebread during the war?'
"The king took a piece and chewed it. 'Yes, there is bird lime in it,'he said.
"Nobody else had moved or spoken since Nordrum picked the moss,--theywere so surprised. At last father heard one of the officers say, 'It isastonishing how tactless these farmers can be!'"
"What is _tactless_?" asked Lisbeth.
"Oh, I don't know; but no doubt it is something pleasant, for the kingclapped Nordrum on the shoulder and said: 'Thanks, my good man. We canall thank God that there are happier days in Norway now.'
"'That was what I was thinking of when I showed you the moss,' saidNordrum.
"Then they took the king to the great heap of stones that was piled upas a memorial of his visit, and asked him to scratch his name upon thestone slab beside it. And so he did, '_O. S._,' which stands for Oscarand Sophia; and then the number of the year, too,--see, here it is! Itwas all cut into the slab afterwards, exactly as the king himself hadscratched it."
The three looked at the letters. Yes, indeed, that was beautifulwriting, almost like print. How remarkably well the king must be ableto write on paper, when he could write like that on stone!
Just then the animals came crowding up over the edge of the mountaintop. They also went to the pile of stones and the big flat stone, likea table, that stood beside it. They began to lie down, for now, aftereating, they wanted to rest.
"What else did the king and the others do?" asked Lisbeth.
"There wasn't much more. Oh, yes! after the king had finished writing,he seemed to think that they needed something to eat; so he begansinging to the magistrate a line from an old song that they all knew.The king had a good voice and it rang out with jolly zest:
Oh, have you a drop in your bottle?
Then they laughed, and came forward with a basket, and set the table onthe stone here. And they had something to drink, and some little cakes,and after that they went away again. And now," concluded Ole, "I thinkthat we also need something to eat. Let us sit here at the king's tableand have our lunch, too."
They took their lunch bags from their backs and sat down on the big,thick stone table, while the animals lay around them chewing the cud.When the bags were opened many good things came out. There was butter,and pork, and pease bread, and, in Lisbeth's, cream waffles besides. Ineach bag there was also a bottle of milk, except in Ole's--he hadforgotten his. But that did not matter, for the others had plenty. Theyshared their food with each other, and when Ole wanted milk he merelysang,
Oh, have you a drop in your bottle?
And so he got rather more than his share, after all.
They did not talk much at the beginning of the meal, for it was so goodto get a chance to eat; but when they had eaten quite a while, andtheir jaws began to work more slowly, Peter said, as if he had beenpondering upon it, "I wonder what the king has to eat,--for every day,I mean."
"Loppered-cream[16] porridge, all day long," said Ole with conviction.
[16] Cream that has been allowed to stand until it has attained a jellylike consistency. Loppered milk is sometimes called bonnyclabber.
"Yes; but when he wants a little solid food, once in a while?" askedLisbeth.
Peter had just put a very delicious piece of pork on some pease bread.He looked at it with real enjoyment before eating it.
"I am sure that he has pork and pease bread," said he.
Lisbeth took the last waffle and bit a piece off. Then she said, "Yes;but the queen,--she certainly does not eat anything but cream waffles!"
* * * * *
While they sat there on the stone, eating and talking, they saw afigure far off on the mountain. It was coming in the direction of GloryPeak. So unusual is it to meet another person up on the mountain thatit gives one a strange feeling when it happens. Soon they could thinkof nothing except this stranger.
"It must be a man trying to find his horses," said Ole.
"Yes, it must be, surely," said Peter. "But what farmer could besending up for his horses now?"
"Let me see,--it must be Nordrum."
"Yes, that is true. They have only Old Blakken[17] at home now, andthey will have to begin their haymaking soon."
[17] A pet name for the dun-colored Norwegian horses.
"Yes; but this man is going on a wild-goose chase to-day. The Nordrummare is over on the other side of our saeter. I saw her a fortnightago."
"If we set him right he can find her to-morrow."
"Yes, easily."
They sat still and watched, for they knew it would be a long timebefore the figure could reach them. It is so strange to watch any onecoming toward you on the mountain. He walks and walks, and it can beseen from his motions that he is walking quickly, too, but he does notappear to be getting the least bit nearer. He continues to seem smalland far away, and to increase very slowly in size, because thedistances from point to point are so great.
The animals had risen and had begun to descend the peak in thedirection of the saeter; but they concluded to lie down again and awaitthe stranger's approach.
At last he reached them.
They had guessed aright. He was walking about trying to find theNordrum horses. The boys told him what they knew, and said thatalthough he could not get them that day, he could the next day, surely.
When the question of the horses was settled the man turned to Lisbeth.
"Isn't it you who are called Lisbeth Longfrock?"
"Yes," answered Lisbeth, "they do call me that."
"Then I bring you a greeting from Jacob, your brother. I have a letterwith me from him. He wants me to bring him an answer, but there is nohurry about it until to-morrow. I shall spend the night at Hoel Saeter,whether I find the horses to-day or not. But now I must look around alittle before evening comes on. I want to be sure that the horses arenot on this side of the saeter." So off he went.
Lisbeth was still sitting on the king's table. It was the first timeshe had ever received a letter. Indeed, even Ole and Peter had neverreceived any. They were entirely overwhelmed with respectful surpriseand took their stand at a suitable distance.
On the outside of the letter stood:
_Salve Titel._[18] To the Highly Respected Maiden, Lisbeth Jacob's-daughter Longfrock, at Hoel Saeter, on the West Mountain.
At Convenience, by Messenger.
Post Free.
[18] An expression from the Latin, often used in old-fashioned Norwegian correspondence. It meant, in a general way, "Pardon any error in the address."
Lisbeth broke the seal solemnly and opened the letter. Then she read,half aloud:
NORDRUM SAETER, 15th of this month.
_Salve Titel._
TO THE MAIDEN LISBETH LONGFROCK.
_Good Sister:_ Since time and opportunity permit, I now take my pen in hand to write to you and tell you that I have nothing to write about except that it is a long time since I last saw you. But I have a spare day due to me from Hans. I took care of his animals for him when he went to his mother's burial. It was really two days, but I only reckoned it as one, because it was his mother. And now I will take that day from him on the next Sunday of this month. In case you have a day due to you from Peter or Ole, I write to ask if you cannot take it from them. But if you have not, you can take a day, all the s
ame, because I am stronger; but I did not mean anything by it when I gave Peter a thrashing last winter. So I wanted to write to you and ask if we could not meet at Peerout Castle, for I have not been there since--
You are requested to come to the meeting in good season. Bring something to eat with you.
With much regard,
Respectfully,
Jacob Jacob's-son Nordrum, Esq.
P.S. Please answer.
That evening Lisbeth Longfrock sat with her tongue thrust into onecorner of her mouth, and wrote her response.
HOEL'S SAETER, 17th of this month.
TO BACHELOR JACOB JACOB'S-SON NORDRUM.
_Good Brother:_ I will now write a few words to you, and thank you for your welcome letter which I have duly received. I am glad to see that you are in good health. The same can be said of me, except for toothache. But I will gladly come, and the milkmaid says I may be away over night, because it is too far. And so Ole and Peter can each have a day from me. For I have not had any day from them. They wrestle almost all the time, but Peter is nearly as strong.
I must now close my poor letter to you, with many greetings from them. But first and foremost are you greeted by me.
Your affectionate sister,
Lisbeth Jacob's-daughter Longfrock.
P.S. Excuse the writing. Burn this letter, dear.