Mysteries - Knut Hamsun [148]
Dagny stopped. A curiously veiled glance crept into those blue eyes of hers; for a moment she stood as if frozen.
“For Miss Gude?” she said.
“Yes. If you would be so kind? But maybe it could wait, there’s no hurry—”
“But certainly! ” she said of a sudden. “Just let me have it, you can trust me; Miss Gude will get your letter.” After pocketing the letter, she nodded abruptly and said, “Well, thanks for a pleasant evening. I have to go now.”
With that she gave him another look and walked away.
He was left standing there. Why had she broken off so quickly? She hadn’t looked angry as she left; on the contrary. And yet she had left so abruptly! There she turned onto Parsonage Road—now she was gone....
When he could see her no longer, he went back to the hotel. She had been wearing a snow-white hat. And she had given him such a strange look....
XXII
WHAT A VEILED GLANCE she had given him! He couldn’t figure it out. But if he had crossed her again, he would make it up to her the next time they met. How heavy his head was feeling! But there was nothing at all to be anxious about, that much was certain, thank God!
He sat down on the sofa and began turning the pages of a book, but he didn’t read. He got up and walked nervously over to the window. Without admitting it to himself, he hardly dared look out on the street for fear his eyes might possibly meet another unusual sight. His knees began to quake; what was the matter with him? He moved back to the sofa and let the book fall on the floor. His head was throbbing, he felt downright sick. He was probably running a temperature; those two successive nights he had lain out in the woods were getting to him at last, penetrating him from top to toe. He had begun to feel shivery already while sitting in the doctor’s garden.
Well, it would no doubt pass! He wasn’t in the habit of giving up because of a slight cold; tomorrow he would be all right again! He rang for some cognac, but it had no effect on him; it didn’t even make him tipsy, though he drank several large glasses. The worst thing was that his head began to fail him, he couldn’t think clearly.
How badly he had been shaken in the course of an hour! What now, why were the curtains flapping so noisily when there was no wind? Did it mean something? He got up and looked at himself in the mirror: he looked sick and distraught. His hair had turned grayer and his eyes were red-rimmed.... “Do you still feel anxious? You shouldn’t.” Lovely Dagny! Imagine, a pure-white hat....
There is a knock on the door and the hotel keeper steps in. He is bringing him his bill at last, a long, two-page bill. However, he smiles and is extremely polite.
Nagel at once gets his wallet and begins to look through it, meanwhile asking how much he owes, trembling with misgivings ; the hotel keeper tells him. For that matter, it could easily wait until tomorrow or some other day, there was no hurry.
Well, God knows if he would be able to pay, perhaps he wouldn’t. Nagel can’t find any money. What, he didn’t have any money? He tosses the wallet on the table and begins searching his pockets, at a complete loss what to do and looking desperately everywhere. Finally he even goes through his trouser pockets, pulls out some change and says, “Here’s some money, but I suspect it won’t be enough, no, it probably won’t; count it yourself.”
“No,” says the hotel keeper too, “it’s not enough.”
Nagel breaks out in a sweat. He wants to give the hotel keeper these few kroner for the present; he even goes through his vest pockets, in case he might have some more change there. There was none. But he could surely borrow some money, maybe someone would oblige him with a small loan? Who knows, if he asked someone, maybe he would be helped out!
The hotel keeper no longer looks pleased, even his politeness deserts him; he picks up Nagel’s wallet, still lying on the table, and begins going through it himself.
“Go right ahead!” Nagel says. “You can see for yourself, there are only some papers. I just don’t understand.”
The hotel keeper unclasps the