eyes, and a broad mouth, round which there lay for the
moment a good-natured seaman's grin. The shape of his head reminded one
somewhat of the big sort of seal which is called Klakkekal--his skin
about the neck looked dark and shaggy, and the tops of his fingers grew
together. He sat there with turned-down sea-boots on, and his thick grey
woollen stockings reached right up to his thigh. He wore besides, plain
freize clothes with bright glass buttons on his waistcoat. His spacious
skin jacket was open, and round his neck he had a cheap red woollen
scarf.

When Eilert came up, he made as if he would rise, and said good
naturedly, "Good day, Eilert--you've certainly had a hard time of it
to-day! Now you can sit down, if you like, and take a little grub. You
want it, I'm sure;" and with that he squirted out a jet of tobacco juice
like the spouting of a whale. With one foot, which for that special
purpose all at once grew extraordinarily long, he fished out of a
corner, in true Nordland style, the skull of a whale to serve as a chair
for Eilert, and shoved forward with his hand a long ship's drawer full
of first-rate fare. There was boiled groats with sirup, cured fish,
oatcakes with butter, a large stack of flatcakes, and a multitude of the
best hotel dishes besides.

The Merman bade him fall to and eat his fill, and ordered his daughter
to bring out the last keg of Thronhjem _aqua vitae_. "Of that sort the
last is always the best," said he. When she came with it, Eilert thought
he knew it again: it was his father's, and he himself, only a couple of
days before, had bought the brandy from the wholesale dealer at Kvaeford;
but he didn't say anything about that now. The quid of tobacco, too,
which the Draug turned somewhat impatiently in his mouth before he
drank, also seemed to him wonderfully like the lead on his own line. At
first it seemed to him as if he didn't quite know how to manage with the
keg--his mouth was so sore; but afterwards things went along smoothly
enough.

So they sat for some time pretty silently, and drank glass after glass,
till Eilert began to think that they had had quite enough. So, when it
came to his turn again, he said no, he would rather not; whereupon the
Merman put the keg to his own mouth and drained it to the very dregs.
Then he stretched his long arm up to the shelf, and took down another.
He was now in a better humour, and began to talk of all sorts of things.
But every time he laughed,