"It must have been in fun, I'm sure. Did you hear it yourself? When was
it?"
The traveller himself did not dare to make more of it.
"My room's next to his," he said, "so I couldn't help hearing it last
night. They were arguing; I don't say it was a quarrel--lord, no! as
delicate as could be. She only said he was different now from what he had
been; that he'd changed somehow. And he said it wasn't his fault, he
couldn't do as he liked here in town. Then she asked him to get rid of
somebody she didn't like--one of his men, a lumberman, I suppose. And he
promised he would."
"Well, there you are--just nothing at all," said the shopkeeper.
But the traveller had heard more, I fancy, than he cared to say. I could
tell as much by his looks.
And had I not noticed myself how the engineer had changed? He had talked
out loud so cheerfully at the station that first day; now he could be
obstinately silent when he did go so far as to take Fruen for a walk down
to the bridge. I could see well enough how they stood looking each their
separate ways.
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