The school-master’s name was Baard, and he once had a brother whose name was Anders.  They thought a great deal of each other; they both enlisted; they lived together in the town, and took part in the war, both being made corporals, and serving in the same company.  On their return home after the war, every one thought they were two splendid fellows.  Now their father died; he had a good deal of personal property, which was not easy to divide, but the brothers decided, in order that this should be no cause of disagreement between them, to put the things up at auction, so that each might buy what he wanted, and the proceeds could be divided between them.  No sooner said than done.  Their father had owned a large gold watch, which had a wide-spread fame, because it was the only gold watch people in that part of the country had seen, and when it was put up many a rich man tried to get it until the two brothers began to take part in the bidding; then the rest ceased.  Now, Baard expected Anders to let him have the watch, and Anders expected the same of Baard; each bid in his turn to put the other to the test, and they looked hard at each other while bidding.  When the watch had been run up to twenty dollars, it seemed to Baard that his brother was not acting rightly, and he continued to bid until he got it almost up to thirty; as Anders kept on, it struck Baard that his brother could not remember how kind he had always been to him, nor that he was the elder of the two, and the watch went up to over thirty dollars.  Anders still kept on.  Then Baard suddenly bid forty dollars, and ceased to look at his brother.  It grew very still in the auction-room, the voice of the lensmand one was heard calmly naming the price.  Anders, standing there, thought if Baard could afford to give forty dollars he could also, and if Baard grudged him the watch, he might as well take it.  He bid higher.  This Baard felt to be the greatest disgrace that had ever befallen him; he bid fifty dollars, in a very low tone.  Many people stood around, and Anders did not see how his brother could so mock at him in the hearing of all; he bid higher.  At length Baard laughed.

“A hundred dollars and my brotherly affection in the bargain,” said he, and turning left the room.  A little later, some one came out to him, just as he was engaged in saddling the horse he had bought a short time before.

“The watch is yours,” said the man; “Anders has withdrawn.”

The moment Baard heard this there passed through him a feeling of compunction; he thought of his brother, and not of the watch.  The horse was saddled, but Baard paused with his hand on its back, uncertain whether to ride away or no.  Now many people came out, among them Anders, who when he saw his brother standing beside the saddled horse, not knowing what Baard was reflecting on, shouted out to him:—­

“Thank you for the watch, Baard!  You will not see it run the day your brother treads on your heels.”