THE SMUGGLER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 30, 23 November 1894, Page 11

THE SMUGGLER.

(By Carl Ekstbom, in an exchange.) (Continued.")

About eight daya after the conversation between Klemen and Bievert in the cave, we find Olsen and Halvor engrossed in quite as grave a consultation about quite the same matter ; the object in view, however, in this caße, being to le*d the excisemen off the scent. The two men were sitting in Even's room, an* 1 on the table between was good cheer of all sorts, both liquid and solid, which Martha, at her father's bidding, bad jußt served up.

Halvor had arrived on horseback a couple of hours before, and finding that Olsen was out, after he had cared for his horße, hastened to seek Martha. He found her in her little room, occupied with some needlework, and aa an old acquaintance of the house, sat down, without invitation, upon a box, and began, in his usual half-cirelees tone, to tell Martha how dear she was to him and what a fiae life of it she should have in Boras, if she would only be his wife. Martha had heard all this many times before, and bad then

only laughed at the proposal ; to-day, however, f >r th* fi st time, she was conscious of repugnance, almost loathing towards th ■ Norwegian. Thongh not absolutely certain, we rather think, th it this n-iw feeling was awakened by her father's proposi'ioD, already known to thu reader, that she should marry Mevert, and, by this connection with the exciße tfficer, render the smuggling carried on by her father and Halvor easier and more secure. Whatever 'he reason may have been Martha felt at this moment that she would rather marry a Lap than this elegant young smuggler.

"Come, my dainty little Martha," s iii Halvor, winding up his eloquent declaration, "s»y yes — and you will not drag out your life any longer in this wilderness, but follow me to town, which will Boon be at your feet, and where you shall be housed like any princess Come, dear Martha ; come now, Bay yes."

Martha, who now saw that it was necessary to answer in earnest, looked up from her work, and fixed upon the rash suitor a calm and icy look.

"No," said she; "yours I most curely shall never be ; I would rather drag out my life, as you express it, in this wilderness. You now hear my firm determination, Halvor, and you have perhaps already understood that I am not <De to recall it."

Halvor bit his lip with vexation. He, youog and rich, and of higher social position, to be despised by an ignorant innkeeper's daughter 1 This was too much !

With the habit of dissimulation which was part of his very occupation, he did not in apy way betray his vexation and sorrow — he latter feeling indeed had not moved him in the least — but said in bis most sneering tone.

"Ah ! I understand, you prefer Funasdale. Yep, I guess there's some one tbere who will not be slow to open the custom-house wide enough fox you, and will aßk you to be so go d as to step into the revenue officer'B house, and coDßideT it as our own. Ha, ha, ha 1"

Martha well understood the mean allusion to Steverf, and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. But she controlled herself promptly, and replied in her usual quite firm tone, which, nevertheless, was not without a dash of contempt.

"It is Sievert yon mean, Halvor. I know him but little— no one knows better than yourself that he is an unwe'eome visitor to this honst— but this much I can tell yon, that all I have heard of him from honest people is good. It is not, indeed, every one who has such a reputation."

Martha could not refrain from deal ; ng this well-deserved blow at Halvor. And it was appreciated, for again be bit his lip with Teiation.

The unpleasant interview was interrupted by OlseL-'s entrance. He greeted Halvor with cordiality, and cabt an interrogative look at Martha who, however, showed no indication of what had just passed between her and the visitor, and thtn ordered the above mentioned repast which Halvor specially attacked with great zeal, as be had not tasted a morsel eince leaviDg Roras.

Let as now go for a moment into the large room and listen to the conversation between the Bweedish smuggler and his bosom friend on the other side of the fell.

" Make yourself easy," answered Even Olsen to a remark of his comrade. " The girl shall be yours, so sure as lam lord and master of his hh n u9e. I know she is obstinate, but she shall never dare defy my authority. But about all this we shall have plenty of time to talk later on. Rather tell me how our other business stands. I have heard from Ostersund, and can tell you that if the parcels do not arrive before the middle of October, he will not have them, bo do aa you like,"

" Everything is ready, and it will be a pretty easy matter to get the gcoda here ; it may be much more difficult to get such a large quantity away from here.

" That is my affair," answered Even Olsen, with wounded pride " I know my time, be sure of that."

We may omit the rest of what passed between our couple about ihe time f> r the arrival of 'he goods at Malmageu, and similar matters. The two associates separated only ac midnight ; and when the hoofa of Halvor's horse were no loagor b^ani, Even returned home rubbing Lis hands with satisfaction at the fiaal agreement they had come to.

"A thousand rixdollars 1 " muttered h« to himself, as he slowly ondr^eii and crept uoderne-tth the suit goatskin coverlet. " A thousand nxdollars are well the earning, but it is I alone who bear the ri-k. Everything will go off well — there are only ghosts to be afraid of."

He laughed self-cornplacen'ly, but an odd noise in the chimnry made him stop short all at once. Even O sen, however, was not a man to be long intimid-ited : he got up forthwith, lit a candle, and cloßely examined the fireplace, in which be was surprised to see an unusual quantity of soot.

•' Wnat is the meaning of this ?" said he. " What has made all that soot fall ? Ah, [ had forgotten to cljae the chimney dumper, and the wind is very high."

So he cloetd the chimney, went to bed and fell into a deep and heavy ale; p.

At the fame time a little figure crept ciutiously up out of the chimney, glided forth upon the roof, from the low eaves of which he sprang upon the ground.

"That was a light equtez 1 , and do mistake," panted out tha little man, and sbakiog off the soot »s well as be could. " I thought I should be both roastei an^i smoked alive, the wretchts 1 But I have them in my power. Ah 1 just wait but a little longer ; haughty Even O seD, you shall learn to do something elsa than drink wiae an I eat steaks i"

•'I'm very sorry for the girl," continaed the little man to himself, as Le cautiously made his way down the hill again. "She has given the poor old Lap a bit of food bo often, that I would willingly do all I could in acknowledgment. But what could Ido ? He struck me with his wbip ; and he must be punished for tbat. Ah 1 you will remember that whip, Even Olsen I"

We need scarcely say that the little man was Klemen, Sievert'a trusted Bpy. With quicker step than his age would seem to warrant, he took his way to Funasdale, where he knew bis arrival would ba more welcome than the visit of a prince to Sievert, who would now be able to earn promotion.

It was a night in the middle of October in the same year in which the tvents previously narrated occurred. The sky was black with clouds, and tie rain and the mountain hail lashed every acctisible object. It waesucb a wild Light as wolves may revel in, bat in which no m»n willingly stirs abroad.

At the house at M&lmagen all was still and quiet. Martha had gone to bed, but when she bad retired her father was still sitting cp and smoking, to all appearance greatly at his ease. She had, bowever, Bcarcely got fairly inside her room when Eren Olsen pnt out the candle and lit instead a dark lantern.

" Everything favours us," muttered he, rubbiDg his bands with satisfaction. " Tcey ought soon to be heie, I Bhould think."

As he said this, he took a pistol from his pocket, and with a chuckle, laid his ha d upon the trigger. " And if the excise hounds coma upon us, let them look to themselves," he said resolutely. " The first who shows his nose is a dead man, come of it what may." He got up from the bench and approached the table, where, after tnmbling for a minnte, he found the bottle, and took a draught from it. It was evident that the man, whose nerves were usually so strong, felt more agitated at this moment than ha would allow himself to believe. Olsen suddenly began to listen : he thought he heard a wellknown knock at the strongly-bolted outer door. He took the dark lantern aod went cautiously to the door and listened. But it suddenly struck him that it might perhaps be some traveller seeking shelter from the night and the storm. Should this, unfortunately be the case, it would not do to pretend that no one was in the house, for then the traveller would doubtless seek the shelter of the hayloft, and thus perhaps witness much which was not intended for the eyes of the uninitiated. So he asked loudly, bnt with a slight tremor in hia voice, "Are you a traveller seeking shelter 7" "Yes," answered a well-known voice from without. The bolt flew back, and the next instaat Halvor, drenched with the rain, stood inside the house.

(_7o be concluded )