y believe you, Joel?"

"Yes, you can. Now, to reassure you, shall I start for Bergen
to-morrow morning, or this very evening?"

"No, no, you must not leave me! No, you must not!" sobbed Hulda,
clinging to her brother as if he was the only friend she had left in
the world.

They started toward the inn. Joel sheltered his sister from the rain
as well as he could, but the wind soon became so violent that they
were obliged to take refuge in the hut of the ferryman, which stood a
few hundred yards from the bank of the Maan.

There they were obliged to remain until the wind abated a little, and
Joel was glad of an opportunity to have a longer conversation with his
sister.

"How does mother seem?" he inquired.

"Even more depressed in spirits than usual," replied Hulda.

"Has any one been here during my absence?"

"Yes, one traveler, but he has gone away."

"So there is no tourist at the inn now, and no one has asked for a
guide?"

"No, Joel."

"So much the better, for I would much rather not leave you. Besides,
if this unpleasant weather continues, it is not likely that many
tourists will visit the Telemark this season. But tell me, was it
yesterday that your guest left Dal?"

"Yes, yesterday morning."

"Who was he?"

"A man who resides in Drammen, and whose name is Sandgoist."

"Sandgoist?"

"Do you know him?"

"No."

Hulda had asked herself more than once if she should tell her brother
all that had occurred in his absence. When Joel heard how coolly their
guest had conducted himself, and how he seemed to have come merely to
appraise the house and its contents, what would he think? Would not
he, too, fear that his mother must have had grave reasons for acting
as she had? What were these reasons? What could there be in common
between her and Sandgoist? Joel would certainly desire to know, and
would be sure to question his mother, and as Dame Hansen, who was
always so uncommunicative, would doubtless persist in the silence she
had maintained hitherto, the relations between her and her children,
which were so unnatural and constrained now, would become still more
unpleasant.

But would Hulda be able to keep anything from Joel? A secret from him!
Would it not be a violation of the close friendship that united them?
No, this friendship must never be broken! So Hulda suddenly resolved
to tell him all.

"Have you ever heard any one speak of this Sandgoist when you were in
Drammen?" she asked.

"Never