om, crying as if her heart would break. As I was leaving I said
to myself: 'It will all come out right; everything always comes out
right for the Ingmarssons.' I didn't wonder at her parents doing
what they did. If Ingmar Ingmarsson had proposed to a daughter of
mine, I shouldn't have given myself a moment's peace till she said
yes."

Ingmar from his bedroom could hear every word that was spoken.

"Mother is doing this on purpose," he thought. "She's been
wondering about that trip to town to-morrow. Mother fancies I'm
going after Brita, to fetch her home. She doesn't suspect that I'm
too big a coward to do it."

"The next time I saw Brita," the old woman went on, "was after she
had come here to you. I couldn't ask her just then how she liked it
here, seeing the house was full of visitors; but when I had gone a
ways into the grove she came running after me.

"'Kaisa!' she called, 'have you been up at Bergskog lately?'

"'I was there day before yesterday,' I replied.

"'Gracious me! were you there day before yesterday? And I feel as
if I hadn't been at home in years!' It wasn't easy to know just
what to say to her, for she looked as if she couldn't bear the
least little thing and would be ready to cry at whatever I might
say. 'You can surely go home for a visit?' I said. 'No; I don't
think I shall ever go home again.' 'Oh, do go,' I urged. 'It's
beautiful up there now; the woods are full of berries; the bushes
are thick with red whortleberries.' 'Dear me!' she said, her eyes
growing big with surprise, 'are there whortleberries already?'
'Yes, indeed. Surely you can get off a day, just to go home and eat
your fill of berries?' 'No, I hardly think I want to,' she said.
'My going home would make it all the harder to come back to this
place.' 'I've always heard that the Ingmars are the best kind of
folks to be with,' I told her. 'They are honest people.' 'Oh, yes,'
she said, 'they are good in their way.' 'They are the best people
in the parish,' I said, 'and so fair-minded.' 'It is not considered
unfair then to take a wife by force.' 'They are also very wise.'
'But they keep all they know to themselves.' 'Do they never say
anything?' 'No one ever says a word more than what is absolutely
necessary.'

"I was just about to go my way, when it came to me to ask her where
the wedding was going to be held--here or at her home. 'We're
thinking of having it here, where there is plenty of room.' 'Then
see to it that the weddi