oment the
words were uttered. Mildrid turned pale and stared at Beret, who
stared back at her. Beret wondered if her sister had never thought of
this till now, and said so. Yes; she had thought of it, but as of
something very far off. The fear of what Hans Haugen might think of
her, the shame of her own weakness and stupidity, had so occupied her
mind that they had left no room for anything else. But now things
suddenly changed round, and she could think of nothing but her
parents.

Beret again tried to comfort her. Whenever father and mother saw
Hans, they would feel that Mildrid was right--they would never make
her unhappy who had given them their greatest happiness. Grandmother
would help her. No one could say a word against Hans Haugen, and _he_
would never give her up! Mildrid heard all this, but did not take it
in, for she was thinking of something else, and to get time to think
it out rightly, she asked Beret to go and prepare the dinner. And
Beret walked slowly away, looking back several times.

Mildrid wanted to be left alone a little to make up her mind whether
she should go at once and tell her parents. It seemed a terrible
matter to her in her excited, exhausted state. She felt now that it
would be a sin if she saw Hans again without their knowledge. She had
done very wrong in engaging herself to him without having their
consent; but she had been in a manner surprised into that; it had come
about almost without her will. Her duty now, though, was clearly to go
and tell them.

She rose to her feet, with a new light in her eyes. She would do what
was right. Before Hans stood there again, her parents should know all.
"That's it!" she said, aloud, as if some one were there, and then
hurried down to the soeter to tell Beret. But Beret was nowhere to
be seen. "Beret! Beret!" shouted Mildrid, but only the echoes gave
answer. Excited Mildrid was already, but now she got frightened too.
Beret's great eyes, as she asked: "What do you think father and mother
will say to this?" seemed to grow ever greater and more threatening.
Surely _she_ could never have gone off to tell them? Yet it would be
just like her hasty way to think she would settle the thing at once,
and bring comfort to her sister. To be sure that was it! And if Beret
reached home before her, father and mother would get a wrong idea of
everything!

Off Mildrid went, down the road that led to the valley. She walked
unconsciously faster and faster, carr