oachable
way. He fought with no more street boys. Could Petter Nord not bear
the change in the weather?

Oh no, the matter was that he had found a fifty-crown note on one
of the shelves. He believed that it had got caught in a piece of
cloth, and without any one's seeing him he had pushed it under a
roll of striped cotton which was out of fashion and was never taken
down from the shelf.

The boy was cherishing great anger in his heart against Halfvorson.
The latter had destroyed a, whole family of mice for him, and now
he meant to be revenged. Before his eyes he still saw the white
mother with her helpless offspring. She had not made the slightest
attempt to escape; she had remained in her place with steadfast
heroism, staring with red, burning eyes on the heartless murderer.
Did he not deserve a short time of anxiety? Petter Nord wished to
see him come out pale as death from his office and begin to look
for the fifty crowns. He wished to see the same despair in his
watery eyes as he had seen in the ruby red ones of the white mouse.
The shopkeeper should search, he should turn the whole shop upside
down before Petter Nord would let him find the bank-note.

But the fifty crowns lay in its hiding-place all day without any
one's asking about it. It was a new note, many-colored and bright,
and had big numbers in all the corners. When Petter Nord was alone
in the shop, he put a step-ladder against the shelves and climbed
up to the roll of cotton. Then he took out the fifty crowns,
unfolded it and admired its beauties.

In the midst of the most eager trade he would grow anxious lest
something should have happened to the fifty crowns. Then he
pretended to look for something on the shelf, and groped about
under the roll of cotton till he felt the smooth bank-note rustle
under his fingers.

The note had suddenly acquired a supernatural power over him. Might
there not be something living in it? The figures surrounded by wide
rings were like magnetic eyes. The boy kissed them all and
whispered: "I should like to have many, very many like you."

He began to have all sorts of thoughts about the note, and why
Halfvorson did not inquire for it. Perhaps it was not Halfvorson's?
Perhaps it had lain in the shop for a long time? Perhaps it no
longer had any owner?

Thoughts are contagious.--At supper Halfvorson had begun to speak
of money and moneyed-men. He told Petter Nord about all the poor
boys who had amassed riches. He be