I am not angry with you; I should just as soon
think of being angry with--with that calf,"
she added for want of another comparison.

"You think I don't know much," he
stammered. "And I don't." The sad smile again
settled on his countenance.

A feeling of guilt sent the blood throbbing
through her veins. She saw that she had done
him injustice. He evidently possessed more
sense, or at least a finer instinct, than she had
given him credit for.

"Halvard," she faltered, "if I have offended
you, I assure you I didn't mean to do it; and a
thousand times I beg your pardon."

"You haven't offended me, Brita," answered
he, blushing like a girl. "You are the first one
who doesn't make me feel that I am not so wise
as other folks."

She felt it her duty to be open and confiding
with him in return; and in order not to seem
ungenerous, or rather to put them on an equal
footing by giving him also a peep into her
heart, she told him about her daily work, about
the merry parties at her father's house, and
about the lusty lads who gathered in their halls