she wanted to speak with him about Glory Goldie, and
he was rather miffed when she began to talk about something quite
different.

"I wonder, Jan, if you remember the old owner of Falla, my father,
who was master there before Eric came?"

"Why shouldn't I remember him, when I was all of twelve at the time
of his death?"

"He had a good son-in-law," said the old mistress.

"He had that," agreed Jan.

The old mistress was silent a moment, and sighed once or twice
before she continued: "I want to ask your advice about something,
Jan. You are not the sort that would go about tittle-tattling what
I say."

"No, I can hold my tongue."

"Yes, I've noticed that this year."

New hopes arose in Jan. It would not be surprising, thought he, if
Glory Goldie had turned to the old mistress of Falla and asked her
to tell him and Katrina of the great thing that had come to her.
For the old seine-maker had been taken down with rheumatic fever
shortly after their interrupted conversation, and for weeks he had
been too ill to see him. Now he was up and about again, but very
feeble. The worst of it was that after his illness his memory
seemed to be gone. He had waited for him to say something more
about Glory Goldie's letter, but as he had failed to do so, and
could not even take a hint, he had asked him straight out. And the
old man had declared he had not received any letter. To convince
Jan he had pulled out the table drawer and thrown back the lid of
his clothes-chest, to let him see for himself that there was no
such letter.

Of course he had forgotten what he did with it, Jan concluded. So,
no wonder the little girl had turned to the mistress of Falla. Pity
she hadn't done it in the first place! Now that the old mistress
was hesitating so long he felt certain in his own mind that he was
right. But when she again returned to the subject of her father, he
was so surprised he could hardly follow her. She said:

"When father was nearing the end he summoned Eric of Falla to his
bedside and thanked him for his loving care of a helpless old man
in his declining years. 'Don't think about that, Father,' said
Eric. 'We're glad to have you with us just as long as you care to
stay.' That's what Eric said. And he meant it, too!"

"He did that," confirmed Jan. "There were no fox-tricks about him!"

"Wait, Jan!" said the mistress, "we'll just speak of the old people
for the present. Do you remember the long silver-mounted stick
fath