Fru Falkenberg, no doubt, had come to hate
the sight of me by now, reminding her, as it must, of her home, and so she
had got him to turn me off. But hadn't I been the very one to show
delicacy of feeling towards her at the station, turning away instead of
recognizing her? Had I ever so much as lifted my cap to her when I passed
her in the street? Surely I had been considerate enough to deserve
consideration in return?
And now--here was this young engineer turning me off at a moment's notice,
and that with unnecessary vehemence. I saw it all in my mind: he had been
worrying himself for days over this dismissal, shirking it all the time,
until at last he managed to screw his courage up by drinking hard all
night. Was I doing him an injustice? It might be so; and I tried to combat
the thought myself. Once more I called to mind that he was young and I was
old, and my heart no doubt, full of envy on that account. So I gave him no
sarcastic answer now, but simply said:
"Ay, well, then, I can unpack the things I was taking along.
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