The Emperor of Portugallia Part 2

It seemed to be a good beginning. One mother after the other came forward and sat down on a chair at the table, each holding her child so that the light would fall upon its bared left arm; and the s.e.xton, chattering all the while, then made the three tiny scratches in the smooth baby skin, without so much as a peep coming from the youngster. Afterward the mother took her baby over to the fireplace to let the vaccine dry in. Meantime she thought of what the s.e.xton had said of her child--that it was large and beautiful and would some day be a credit to the family; that it would grow up to be as good as its father and grandfather--or even better.

Everything pa.s.sed off thus peacefully and quietly until it came to Katrina's turn at the table with her Glory Goldie.

The little girl simply would not be vaccinated. She screamed and fought and kicked. Katrina tried to hush her and the s.e.xton spoke softly and gently to her; but it did no good. The poor little thing was uncontrollably frightened.

Katrina had to take her away and try to get her quieted. Then a big, st.u.r.dy boy baby let himself be vaccinated with never a whimper. But the instant Katrina was back at the table with her girl the trouble started afresh. She could not hold the child still long enough for the s.e.xton to make even a single incision.

Now there was no one left to vaccinate but Glory Goldie of Ruffluck. Katrina was in despair because of her child's bad behaviour. She did not know what to do about it, when Jan suddenly emerged from the shadow of the door and took the child in his arms.

Then Katrina got up to let him take her place at the table.

"You just try it once!" she said scornfully, "and let's see whether you'll do any better." For Katrina did not regard the little toil-worn servant from Falla whom she had married as in any sense her superior.

Before sitting down, Jan slipped off his jacket. He must have rolled up his s.h.i.+rt sleeve while standing in the dark, at the back of the room, for his left arm was bared.

He wanted so much to be vaccinated, he said. He had never been vaccinated but once, and there was nothing in the world he feared so much as the smallpox.

The instant the little girl saw his bare arm she became quiet, and looked at her father with wide, comprehending eyes. She followed closely every movement of the s.e.xton, as he put in the three short red strokes on the arm. Glancing from one to the other, she noticed that her father was not faring so very badly.

When the s.e.xton had finished with Jan, the latter turned to him, and said:

"The li'l' la.s.sie is so still now that maybe you can try it."

The s.e.xton tried, and this time everything went well. The little girl was as quiet as a mouse the whole time--the same knowing look in her eyes. The s.e.xton also kept silence until he had finished; then he said to the father:

"If you did that only to calm the child, we could just as well have made believe--"

"No, s.e.xton," said Jan, "then you would not have succeeded. You never saw the like of that child! So don't imagine you can get her to believe in something that isn't what it pa.s.ses for."

THE BIRTHDAY

On the little girl's first birthday her father was out digging in the field at Falla; he tried to recall to mind how it had been in the old days, when he had no one to think about while at work in the field; when he did not have the beating heart in him, and when he had no longings and was never anxious.

"To think that a man can be like that!" he mused in contempt of his old self. "If I were as rich as Eric of Falla or as strong as Borje, who digs here beside me, it would be as nothing to having a throbbing heart in your breast. That's the only thing that counts."

Glancing over at his comrade, a powerfully built fellow who could do again as much work as himself, he noticed that to-day the man had not gone ahead as rapidly as usual with the digging.

They worked by the job. Borje always took upon himself more work than did Jan, yet they always finished at about the same time. That day, however, it went slowly for Borje; he did not even keep up with Jan, but was left far behind.

But then Jan had been working for all he was worth, that he might the sooner get back to his little girl. That day he had longed for her more than usual. She was always drowsy evenings; so unless he hurried home early, he was likely to find her asleep for the night when he got home.

When Jan had completed his work he saw that Borje was not even half through. Such a thing had never happened before in all the years they had worked together, and Jan was so astonished he went over to him.

Borje was standing deep down in the ditch, trying to loosen a clump of sod. He had stepped on a piece of gla.s.s, and received an ugly gash on the bottom of his foot, so that he could hardly step on it.

Imagine the torture of having to stand and push the spade into the soil with an injured foot!

"Aren't you going to quit soon?" asked Jan.

"I'm obliged to finish this job to-day," replied the comrade. "I can't get any grain from Eric of Falia till the work is done, and we're all out of rye-meal."

"Then go'-night for to-day," said Jan.

Borje did not respond. He was too tired and done up to give even the customary good-night salutation.

Jan of Ruffluck walked to the edge of the field; but there he halted.

"What does it matter to the little girl whether or not you come home for her birthday?" he thought. "She's just as well off without you. But Borje has seven kiddies at home, and no food for them.

Shall you let them starve so that you can go home and play with Glory Goldie?"

Then he wheeled round, walked back to Borje, and got down into the ditch to help him. Jan was rather tired after his day's toil and could not work very fast. It was almost dark when they got through.

"Glory Goldie must be asleep this long while," thought Jan, when he finally put in the spade for the last bit of earth.

"Go'-night for to-day," he called back to Borje for the second time.

"Go'-night," returned Borje, "and thanks to you for the help. Now I must hurry along and get my rye. Another time I'll give you a lift, be sure of that!"

"I don't want any pay ... Go'-night!"

"Don't you want anything for helping me?" asked Borje. "What's come over you, that you're so stuck-up all at once?"

"Well, you see, it's--it's the la.s.sie's birthday to-day."

"And for that I got help with my digging?"

"Yes, for that and for something else, too! Well--good bye to you!"

Jan hurried away so as not to be tempted to explain what that _something else_ was. It had been on the tip of his tongue to say: "To-day is not only Glory Goldie's birthday, but it's also the birthday of my heart."

It was as well, perhaps, that he did not say it, for Borje would surely have thought Jan had gone out of his mind.

CHRISTMAS MORN

Christmas morning Jan took the little girl along with him to church; she was then just one year and four months old.

Katrina thought the girl rather young to attend church and feared she would set up a howl, as she had done at the vaccination bee; but inasmuch as it was the custom to take the little ones along to Christmas Matins, Jan had his own way.

So at five o'clock on Christmas Morn they all set out. It was pitch dark and cloudy, but not cold; in fact the air was almost balmy, and quite still, as it usually is toward the end of December.

Before coming to an open highway, they had to walk along a narrow winding path, through fields and groves in the Ashdales, then take the steep winter-road across Snipa Ridge.

The big farmhouse at Falla, with lighted candles at every window, stood out as a beacon to the Ruffluck folk, so that they were able to find their way to Borje's hut; there they met some of their neighbours, bearing torches they had prepared on Christmas Eve.

Each torch-bearer led a small group of people most of whom followed in silence; but all were happy; they felt that they, too, like the Wise Men of old, were following a star, in quest of the new-born King.

When they came to the forest heights they had to pa.s.s by a huge stone which had been hurled at Svartsjo Church, by a giant down in Frykerud, but which, luckily, had gone over the steeple and dropped here on Snipa Ridge. When the church-goers came along, the stone lay, as usual, on the ground. But they knew, they did, that in the night it had been raised upon twelve golden pillars and that the _trolls_ had danced and feasted under it.

It was not so very pleasant to have to walk past a stone like that!

Jan looked over at Katrina to see whether she was holding the little girl securely. Katrina, calm and unconcerned, walked along, chatting with one of their neighbours. She was quite oblivious, apparently, to the terrors of the place.