“’Twould be a pity not to have the saw roofed in before the autumn rains,” said their father.

If only Inger had been as in the old days!  But Inger was not so strong as she had been, it seemed, and that was natural enough after her long spell within walls.  That her mind, too, seemed changed was another matter.  Strange, how little thought, how little care, she seemed to take now; shallow and heedless—­was this Inger?

One day she spoke of the child she had killed.

“And a fool I was to do it,” she said.  “We might have had her mouth sewed up too, and then I needn’t have throttled her.”  And she never stole off now to a tiny grave in the forest, where once she had patted the earth with her hands and set up a little cross.

But Inger was not altogether heartless yet; she cared for her other children, kept them clean and made new clothes for them; she would sit up late at night mending their things.  It was her ambition to see them get on in the world.

The corn was stacked, and the potatoes were taken up.  Then came the winter.  No, the sawmill did not get roofed in that autumn, but that could not be helped—­after all, ’twas not a matter of life or death.  Next summer would be time and means enough.

Chapter XIII

The winter round of work was as before; carting wood, mending tools and implements.  Inger kept house, and did sewing in her spare time.  The boys were down in the village again for the long term at school.  For several winters past they had had a pair of ski between them; they managed well enough that way as long as they were at home, one waiting while the other took his turn, or one standing on behind the other.  Ay, they managed finely with but one pair, it was the finest thing they knew, and they were innocent and glad.  But down in the village things were different.  The school was full of ski; even the children at Breidablik, it seemed, had each a pair.  And the end of it was that Isak had to make a new pair for Eleseus, Sivert keeping the old pair for his own.

Isak did more; he had the boys well clad, and gave them everlasting boots.  But when that was done, Isak went to the storekeeper and asked for a ring.

“A ring?” said the man.

“A finger ring.  Ay, I’ve grown that high and mighty now I must give my wife a ring.”

“Do you want a silver one, or gold, or just a brass ring dipped to look like gold?”

“Let’s say a silver ring.”

The storekeeper thought for a while.

“Look you, Isak,” he said.  “If you want to do the proper thing, and give your wife a ring she needn’t be ashamed to wear, you’d better make it a gold ring.”

“What!” said Isak aloud.  Though maybe in his inmost heart he had been thinking of a gold ring all the time.

They talked the matter over seriously, and agreed about getting a measurement of some sort for the ring.  Isak was thoughtful, and shook his head and reckoned it was a big thing to do, but the storekeeper refused to order anything but a gold ring.  Isak went home again, secretly pleased with his decision, but somewhat anxious, for all that, at the extravagant lengths he had gone to, all for being in love with his wife.