“What I really came up for was to get the whole thing settled,” he said to Isak.  “I’ve been thinking of making a start here, and that very soon.  Get a lot of men to work, and run the thing properly.  What do you think?”

Isak felt sorry for the man, and would not say anything against it.

“It’s a matter that concerns you as well, you know.  There’ll be a lot of bother, of course; a lot of men about the place, and a bit rowdy at times, perhaps.  And blasting up in the hills—­I don’t know how you’ll like that.  On the other hand, there’ll be more life in the district where we begin, and you’ll have a good market close at hand for farm produce and that sort of thing.  Fix your own price, too.”

“Ay,” said Isak.

“Besides your share in the mine—­you’ll get a high percentage of earnings, you know.  Big money, Isak.”

Said Isak:  “You’ve paid me fairly already, and more than enough....”

Next morning Geissler left, hurrying off eastward, over toward Sweden.  “No, thanks,” he said shortly, when Isak offered to go with him.  It was almost painful to see him start off in that poor fashion, on foot and all alone.  Inger had put up a fine parcel of food for him to take, all as nice as she could make it, and made some wafers specially to put in.  Even that was not enough; she would have given him a can of cream and a whole lot of eggs, but he wouldn’t carry them, and Inger was disappointed.

Geissler himself must have found it hard to leave Sellanraa without paying as he generally did for his keep; so he pretended that he had paid; made as if he had laid down a big note in payment, and said to little Leopoldine:  “Here, child, here’s something for you as well.”  And with that he gave her the silver box, his tobacco box.  “You can rinse it out and use it to keep pins and things in,” he said.  “It’s not the sort of thing for a present really.  If I were at home I could have found her something else; I’ve a heap of things....”

But Geissler’s waterwork remained after Geissler had gone; there it was, working wonders day and night, week after week; the fields turned green, the potatoes ceased to flower, the corn shot up....

The settlers from the holdings farther down began to come up, all anxious to see the marvel for themselves.  Axel Stroem,—­the neighbour from Maaneland, the man who had no wife, and no woman to help him, but managed for himself,—­he came too.  He was in a good humour that day; he told them how he had just got a promise of a girl to help through the summer—­and that was a weight off his mind.  He did not say who the girl was, and Isak did not ask, but it was Brede’s girl Barbro who was to come.  It would cost the price of a telegram to Bergen to fetch her; but Axel paid the money, though he was not one of your extravagant sort, but rather something of a miser.