yet Jan had not betrayed by so much as a word that he had any
knowledge of the great thing that had come to her. He had vowed
to himself never to speak of this until Glory Goldie's return. If
the little girl did not discover that he knew about her grandeur,
her pleasure in overwhelming him would be all the greater.

But in this world of ours it is the unexpected that happens mostly.
There came a day when Jan was forced to unseal his lips and tell
what he knew. Not on his own account. Indeed not! For he would have
been quite content to go about in his shabby clothes and let folks
think him nothing but a poor crofter to the end of his days. It was
for the little girl's own sake that he felt compelled to reveal the
great secret.

It happened one day, early in August, when he had gone down to the
pier to watch for her. For you see, going down to meet the boat
every day that he might see her come ashore, was a pleasure he had
been unable to deny himself. The boat had just put in and he had
seen that Glory Goldie was not on board. He had supposed that she
would be finished with everything now and could leave for home. But
some new hindrance must have arisen to detain her, as had been the
case all summer. It was not easy for one who had so many demands
upon her time to get away.

Anyhow it was a great pity she did not come to-day, thought Jan,
when there were so many of her old acquaintances at the pier. There
stood both Senator Carl Carlson and August Där Nol. Björn
Hindrickson's son-in-law was also on hand, and even Agrippa
Prästberg had turned out.