"
"You said he'd helped you once yourself. And I often wish I were back
there with him again. Hugo's a great deal better than you are."
She was all irresponsible in her words, going, perhaps, further than she
meant. But she was changed out of knowledge to us all, and spoiled and
shameless now. Fru Falkenberg shameless! Nay, perhaps not; who could say?
Yet she was not ashamed to come out in the kitchen of an evening and say
nice things to Nils about how young and strong he was. I was jealous
again, no doubt, and envied Nils for his youth, for I thought to myself:
Is every one gone mad? Surely we older ones are far to be preferred! Was
it his innocence that attracted her? Or was she merely trying to keep up
her spirits a little--trying to be younger than she was? But then one day
she came up to the reservoir where Grindhusen and I were at work, and sat
watching us for a while. It was easy work then for half an hour; the
granite turned pliable, and yielded to our will; we built away like
giants.
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