Un billet de loterie. English

  CHAPTER XI.

  Joel then proceeded to relate Ole Kamp's whole history. Sylvius Hogg,deeply moved, listened to the recital with profound attention. He knewall now. He even read Ole's letter announcing his speedy return. ButOle had not returned, and there had been no tidings from the missingone. What anxiety and anguish the whole Hansen family must havesuffered!

  "And I thought myself an inmate of a happy home!" he said to himself.

  Still, after a little reflection, it seemed to him that the brotherand sister were yielding to despair while there was still some roomfor hope. By counting these May and June days over and over againtheir imaginations had doubled the number, as it were.

  The professor, therefore, concluded to give them his reasons for thisbelief, not feigned, but really sensible and plausible reasons thatwould also account for the delay of the "Viking."

  Nevertheless his face had become very grave, for the poor girl'sevident grief touched him deeply.

  "Listen to me, my children," said he. "Sit down here by me, and let ustalk the matter over calmly."

  "Ah! what can you say to comfort us?" cried Hulda, whose heart wasfull to overflowing.

  "I shall tell you only what I really and truly think," replied theprofessor. "I have been thinking over all that Joel just told me, andit seems to me that you are more anxious and despondent than you haveany real cause to be. I would not arouse any false hopes, but we mustview matters as they really are."

  "Alas! Mister Sylvius," replied Hulda, "my poor Ole has gone down withthe 'Viking,' and I shall never see him again!"

  "Sister, sister!" exclaimed Joel, "be calm, I beseech you, and hearwhat Mister Sylvius has to say."

  "Yes, be calm, my children, and let us talk the matter over quietly.It was between the fifteenth and twentieth of May that Ole expected toreturn to Bergen, was it not?"

  "Yes; and it is now the ninth of June."

  "So the vessel is only twenty days overdue, if we reckon from thelatest date appointed for the return of the 'Viking.' That is enoughto excite anxiety, I admit; still, we must not expect the samepunctuality from a sailing-vessel as from a steamer."

  "I have told Hulda that again and again, and I tell her so yet,"interrupted Joel.

  "And you are quite right, my boy. Besides, it is very possiblethat the 'Viking' is an old vessel, and a slow sailer, like mostNewfoundland ships, especially when heavily laden. On the other hand,we have had a great deal of bad weather during the past few weeks, andvery possibly the vessel did not sail at the date indicated in Ole'sletter. In that case a week's delay in sailing would be sufficient toaccount for the non-arrival of the 'Viking' and for your failure toreceive a letter from your lover. What I say is the result of seriousreflection. Besides, how do you know but the instructions given to thecaptain of the 'Viking' authorize him to take his cargo to some otherport, according to the state of the market?"

  "In that case, Ole would have written," replied Hulda, who could noteven be cheered by this hope.

  "What is there to prove that he did not write?" retorted theprofessor. "If he did, it is not the 'Viking' that is behind time, butthe American mail. Suppose, for instance, that Ole's ship touched atsome port in the United States, that would explain why none of hisletters have yet reached Europe."

  "The United States, Mister Sylvius!"

  "That sometimes happens, and it is only necessary to miss one mailto leave one's friends without news for a long time. There is, at allevents, one very easy thing for us to do; that is to make inquiries ofsome of the Bergen shipowners. Are you acquainted with any of them?"

  "Yes," replied Joel, "Messrs. Help Bros."

  "Help Bros., the sons of old Help?"

  "Yes."

  "Why, I know them, too; at least, the younger brother, Help, Junior,they call him, though he is not far from my own age, and one of myparticular friends. He has often dined with me in Christiania. Ah,well, my children, I can soon learn through him all that can beascertained about the 'Viking.' I'll write him this very day, and ifneed be I'll go and see him."

  "How kind you are, Mister Sylvius!" cried Hulda and Joel in the samebreath.

  "No thanks, if you please; I won't allow them. Did I ever thank youfor what you did for me up there? And now I find an opportunity to doyou a good turn, and here you are all in a flutter."

  "But you were just talking of returning to Christiania," remarkedJoel.

  "Well, I shall go to Bergen instead, if I find it necessary to go toBergen."

  "But you were about to leave us, Mister Sylvius," said Hulda.

  "Well, I have changed my mind, that is all. I am master of my ownactions, I suppose; and I sha'n't go until I see you safely outof this trouble, that is, unless you are disposed to turn meout-of-doors--"

  "What can you be thinking of, Mister Sylvius?"

  "I have decided to remain in Dal until Ole's return. I want to makethe acquaintance of my little Hulda's betrothed. He must be a brave,honest fellow, of Joel's stamp, I am inclined to think."

  "Yes, exactly like him," replied Hulda.

  "I was sure of it!" exclaimed the professor, whose cheerfulness hadreturned, at least apparently.

  "Ole is Ole, Mister Sylvius," said Joel, "and that is equivalent tosaying that he is the best-hearted fellow in the world."

  "I believe you, my dear Joel, and what you say only makes me the moreanxious to see him. I sha'n't have to wait long. Something tells methat the 'Viking' will soon come safely into port."

  "God grant it!"

  "And why should He not hear your prayer? Yes, I shall certainly attendHulda's wedding, as you have been kind enough to invite me to it. TheStorthing will have to do without me a few weeks longer, that is all.It would have been obliged to grant me a much longer leave of absenceif you had let me fall into the Rjukanfos as I deserved."

  "How kind it is in you to say this, Mister Sylvius, and how happy youmake us!"

  "Not as happy as I could wish, my friends, as I owe my life to you,and I don't know--"

  "Oh! please, please say no more about that trifle."

  "Yes, I shall. Come now, who drew me out of the frightful jaws of theMaristien? Who risked their own lives to save me? Who brought me tothe inn at Dal, and cared for me, and nursed me without any assistancefrom the Faculty? Oh! I am as stubborn as an old cart-horse, I assureyou, and I have made up my mind to attend the marriage of Hulda to OleKamp, and attend it I shall!"

  Hopefulness is contagious, and how could any one resist suchconfidence as Sylvius Hogg displayed? A faint smile crept over poorHulda's face. She longed to believe him; she only asked to hope.

  "But we must recollect that the days are passing very rapidly,"continued Sylvius Hogg, "and that it is high time we began ourpreparations for the wedding."

  "They are already begun, Mister Sylvius," replied Hulda. "In fact,they were begun more than three weeks ago."

  "So much the better; but in that case, we must take good care not toallow anything to interrupt them."

  "Interrupt them!" repeated Joel. "Why, everything is in readiness."

  "What, the wedding-dress, the bodice with its silver clasps, the beltand its pendants?"

  "Even the pendants."

  "And the radiant crown that will make you look like a saint, my littleHulda?"

  "Yes"

  "And the invitations are written?"

  "All written," replied Joel, "even the one to which we attach mostimportance, yours."

  "And the bride-maid has been chosen from among the sweetest maidens ofthe Telemark?"

  "And the fairest, Mister Sylvius," added Joel, "for it is MademoiselleSiegfrid of Bamble."

  "From the tone in which he uttered those words, and the way in whichhe blushed as he uttered them, I judge that Mademoiselle SiegfridHelmboe is destined to become Madame Joel Hansen of Dal," said theprofessor, laughing.

  "Yes, Mr. Sylvius," replied Hulda.

  "Good! so there is a fair prospect of yet another wedding," exclaimedSylvius Hogg. "And as I feel sure that I shall
be honored with aninvitation, I can do no less than accept it here and now. It certainlylooks as if I should be obliged to resign my seat in the Storthing,for I really don't see how I am to find time to attend its sessions.But never mind, I will be your best man, Joel, after first serving inthat capacity at your sister's wedding. You certainly are making me dojust what you like, or rather what I like. Kiss me, little Hulda! Giveme your hand, my boy, and now let me write to my friend Help, Junior,of Bergen."

  The brother and sister left the apartment of which the professor hadthreatened to take permanent possession, and returned to their dailytasks with rather more hopeful hearts.

  Sylvius Hogg was left alone.

  "Poor child! poor child!" he murmured. "Yes, I have made her forgether sorrow for a few moments. But the delay has been a long one; andthe sea is very rough at this season of the year. What if the 'Viking'has indeed gone down, and Ole should never return!"

  A moment afterward the professor was busily engaged in writing to hisBergen friend. He asked for the fullest possible particulars in regardto everything connected with the "Viking" and her cruise, and inquiredif some event, unforeseen or otherwise, had made it necessary to sendthe vessel to a different port from that for which it was originallydestined. He also expressed a strong desire to hear as soon aspossible how the shipping merchants and sailors of Bergen explainedthe delay. In short, he begged his friend Help to give him allpossible information in regard to the matter by return mail.

  This urgent letter also explained Sylvius Hogg's interest in the mateof the "Viking," the invaluable service rendered him by the youngman's betrothed, and the pleasure it would afford him to be able togive some encouragement to Dame Hansen's children.

  As soon as this letter was finished Joel took it to Moel so it wouldgo on the following day. It would reach Bergen on the eleventh, so areply to it ought to be received on the evening of the twelfth or themorning of the thirteenth at the very latest.

  Nearly three days of dreary waiting! How interminable they seemed!Still, by dint of reassuring words and encouraging arguments, theprofessor contrived to alleviate the painful suspense. Now he knewHulda's secret, was there not a topic of conversation ever ready? Andwhat a consolation it was to Joel and his sister to be able to talk ofthe absent one!

  "I am one of the family now," Sylvius Hogg repeated again and again."Yes, I am like an uncle that has just arrived from America or someforeign land."

  And as he was one of the family, they must have no more secrets fromhim.

  Of course he had not failed to notice the children's constrainedmanner toward their mother, and he felt satisfied that the reserve theparent displayed had its origin in something besides the uneasinessshe felt on Ole Kamp's account. He thought he might venture toquestion Joel; but the latter was unable to give any satisfactoryreply. The professor than ventured to sound Dame Hansen on thesubject, but she was so uncommunicative that he was obliged to abandonall hope of obtaining any knowledge of her secret until some futureday.

  As Sylvius Hogg had predicted, the letter from Help, Junior, reachedDal on the morning of the thirteenth. Joel started out before daylightto meet the postman, and it was he who brought the letter into thelarge hall where the professor was sitting with Dame Hansen and herdaughter.

  There was a moment's silence. Hulda, who was as pale as death, wasunable to utter a word so violent was the throbbing of her heart, butshe seized the hand of her brother, who was equally agitated, and heldit tightly.

  Sylvius Hogg opened the letter and read it aloud.

  To his great regret the missive contained only some veryvague information; and the professor was unable to conceal hisdisappointment from the young people who listened to the letter withtears in their eyes.

  The "Viking" had left Saint-Pierre-Miquelon on the date mentioned inOle Kamp's last letter. This fact had been established by the reportsreceived from other vessels which had reached Bergen since the"Viking's" departure from Newfoundland. These vessels had seen nothingof the missing ship on their homeward voyage, but they had encounteredvery bad weather in the neighborhood of Iceland. Still they hadmanaged to weather the gales; so it was possible that the "Viking" hadbeen equally fortunate, and had merely been delayed somewhere, or hadput into some port for repairs. The "Viking" was a stanch craft, verysubstantially built, and commanded by Captain Frikel, of Hammersfest,a thoroughly competent officer. Still, this delay was alarming, and ifit continued much longer there would be good reason to fear that the"Viking" had gone down with all on board.

  The writer regretted that he had no better news to give the youngHansens, and spoke of Ole Kamp in the most complimentary terms.He concluded his letter by assuring the professor of his sincerefriendship, and that of his family, and by promising to send himwithout delay any intelligence that might be received at any Norwegianport, in relation to the "Viking."

  Poor Hulda sunk half fainting into a chair while Sylvius Hogg wasreading this letter, and she was sobbing violently when he concludedits perusal.

  Joel, with his arms folded tightly upon his breast, listened insilence, without daring to glance at his sister.

  Dame Hansen, as soon as the reading was concluded, went up to herroom. She seemed to have been expecting the blow.

  The professor beckoned Hulda and her brother to his side. He wanted totalk with them calmly and sensibly on the subject, and he expressed aconfidence that was singular, to say the least, after Help, Junior'sletter. They had no reason to despair. Were there not countlessexamples of protracted delays while navigating the seas that liebetween Norway and Newfoundland? Yes, unquestionably. And was not the"Viking" a strong craft, well officered, and manned by an excellentcrew, and consequently in a much better condition than many of thevessels that had come safely into port? Most assuredly.

  "So let us continue to hope," he added, "and wait. If the 'Viking'had been wrecked between Iceland and Newfoundland the numerous vesselsthat follow the same route to reach Europe would certainly have seensome trace of the disaster. But no, not a single floating plankor spar did they meet on the whole of this route, which is so muchfrequented at the conclusion of the fishing season. Still, we musttake measures to secure information of a more positive nature. If wereceive no further news of the 'Viking' during the coming week, norany letter from Ole, I shall return to Christiania and ask the NavalDepartment to make careful inquiries, and I feel sure that the resultwill prove eminently satisfactory to all concerned."

  In spite of the hopeful manner assumed by the professor, Joel andHulda both felt that he did not speak as confidently as he had spokenbefore the receipt of the letter from Bergen--a letter whose contentsgave them little if any grounds for hope. In fact, Sylvius Hogg nolonger dared to venture any allusion to the approaching marriage ofHulda and Ole Kamp, though he said to himself again and again:

  "No, no, it is impossible! Ole Kamp never cross the threshold of DameHansen's house again? Ole not marry Hulda? Nothing will ever make mebelieve such a misfortune possible."

  He was perfectly sincere in this conviction. It was due to the energyof his character, to a spirit of hopefulness that nothing could crush.But how could he hope to convince others, especially those whom thefate of the "Viking" affected so directly?

  A few days were allowed to elapse. Sylvius Hogg, who was now entirelywell, took a long walk every day, and persuaded Hulda and her brotherto accompany him. One day all three of them went up the valley ofVesfjorddal half-way to the falls of the Rjukan. The next day theywent to Moel and Lake Tinn. Once they were even absent twenty-fourhours. This time they prolonged their excursion to Bamble, where theprofessor made the acquaintance of Farmer Helmboe and his daughterSiegfrid. What a cordial welcome the latter gave to her friend Hulda,and what words of tenderness she found to console her!

  Here, too, Sylvius Hogg did all in his power to encourage these worthypeople. He had written to the Navy Department, and the government wasinvestigating the matter. Ole would certainly return at no distantday. He might drop in upon them, indeed,
at any moment. No; thewedding would not have to be postponed more than six weeks! The goodman seemed so thoroughly convinced of all this, that his auditors wereinfluenced rather by his firm conviction than by his arguments.

  This visit to the Helmboe family did the young Hansens good, and theyreturned home much calmer than they went away.

  At last the fifteenth of June came. The "Viking" was now exactly onemonth overdue; and as the distance from Newfoundland to the coast ofNorway is comparatively short, this delay was beyond all reason, evenfor a sailing-vessel.

  Hulda seemed to have abandoned all hope; and her brother could notfind a single word to say by way of encouragement. In the presenceof these poor, unhappy creatures, the professor realized the utterfutility of any well-meant attempt at consolation. Hulda and Joelcrossed the threshold only to stand and gaze in the direction of Moel,or to walk up the road leading to Rjukanfos. Ole Kamp would probablycome by the way of Bergen, but he might come by way of Christianiaif the destination of the "Viking" had been changed. The sound of anapproaching kariol, a hasty cry, the form of a man suddenly roundinga curve in the road made their hearts beat wildly; but all for naught.The good people of Dal were also eagerly watching. Not unfrequentlythey went half-way to meet the postman. Everybody was deeplyinterested, for the Hansen family was exceedingly popular in theneighborhood; and poor Ole was almost a child of the Telemark. But noletter came from Bergen or Christiania giving news of the absent one.

  Nothing new occurred on the sixteenth. Sylvius Hogg could scarcelyrestrain his restlessness. He began to understand that he must proceedto act in person, so he announced to his friends that if no news wasreceived on the following day he should go to Christiania and satisfyhimself that nothing had been left undone. Of course, it was hardfor him to leave Hulda and Joel, but there was no help for it; and hewould return as soon as his task was accomplished.

  On the seventeenth a greater part of the most wretched day they hadever spent together passed without bringing any new developments. Ithad rained incessantly since early morning; the wind was blowing agale, and the rain dashed fiercely against the window on the side ofthe house nearest the Maan.

  Seven o'clock came. They had just finished dinner, which had beeneaten in profound silence, as if in a house of mourning. Even SylviusHogg had been unable to keep up the conversation. What could he saythat he had not already said a hundred times before?

  "I shall start for Christiania to-morrow morning," he remarked atlast. "Joel, I wish you would procure a kariol and drive me to Moel."

  "Very well, Mr. Sylvius. But wouldn't you like me to accompany youfurther?"

  The professor shook his head, with a meaning glance at Hulda, for hedid not want to see her separated from her brother.

  Just then a sound, which was as yet scarcely audible, was heard on theroad in the direction of Moel. They all listened breathlessly. Soonall doubts vanished. It was the sound of an approaching kariol comingswiftly toward Dal. Was the occupant some traveler who intended tospend the night at the inn? This was scarcely probable, as touristsrarely arrived at so late an hour.

  Hulda sprung up trembling in every limb. Joel went to the door, openedit and looked out.

  The noise grew louder It was certain the clatter of horse's hoofsblended with, the roll of kariol wheels; but the storm without was soviolent that Joel was obliged to close the door.

  Sylvius Hogg tramped up and down the room in a perfect fever ofimpatience. Joel and his sister held each other tightly by the hand.

  The kariol could not be more than twenty yards from the house now.Would it pause or go by?

  The hearts of all three throbbed to suffocation.

  The kariol stopped. They heard a voice calling; but it was not thevoice of Ole Kamp!

  Almost immediately some one rapped at the door.

  Joel opened it.

  A man stood upon the threshold.

  "Is Mr. Sylvius Hogg here?" he asked.

  "I am he," replied the professor. "Who are you, my friend?"

  "A messenger sent to you by the Secretary of the Navy at Christiania."

  "Have you a letter for me?"

  "Yes, sir; here it is."

  And the messenger handed him a large envelope sealed with theGovernment seal.

  Hulda's limbs tottered under her, and her brother sprung forward andplaced her in a chair. Neither of them dared to ask Sylvius Hogg toopen the letter.

  At last he broke the seal and read the following:

  "MR. PROFESSOR,--In reply to your last letter, I inclose a paperpicked up at sea on the 3d instant by a Danish vessel. Unfortunatelythis discovery dispels any lingering doubt as to the fate of the'Viking'--"

  Sylvius Hogg, without taking time to read the rest of the letter, drewthe paper from the envelope. He looked at it; he turned it over.

  It was a lottery ticket bearing the number 9672.

  On the other side of the ticket were the following lines:

  "May 3d.

  "DEAREST HULDA,--The 'Viking' is going down. I have only this ticketleft of all I hoped to bring back to you. I intrust it to God's hands,hoping that it may reach you safely; and as I shall not be there, Ibeseech you to be present at the drawing. Accept the ticket withmy last thought of you. Hulda, do not forget me in your prayers.Farewell, my beloved, farewell!

  "OLE KAMP."