Mysteries - Knut Hamsun [26]
Ah, what a delightful child he had! It was raining the day I met her on the street; she had a pail in her hand and was crying, having lost the money to buy dinner in the Steam Kitchen. My dear departed mother, did you see from your heaven that I didn’t have a single penny to cheer up the child with? That I tore my hair in the street because I didn’t have an øre? Then the band passed by. A pretty nurse turned around and gave me a glistening look; then she went quietly home, her head bowed, probably lamenting that glistening look she had given me. But at that moment a bearded man in a soft felt hat grabbed my arm, or I would have been run over. I’ll say I would have—.
Sh-sh! One-two-three; how slowly it strikes! Four—five—six—seven—eight; is it eight already? Nine—ten. It’s already ten o’clock! Then I must get up.3 Where did that clock strike? It couldn’t be in the café, could it? Well, it doesn’t matter, not at all, not at all. That scene in the café last night was quite amusing, wasn’t it? Miniman was trembling, I came in the nick of time. He would definitely have ended up drinking that beer with the cigar ash and matches in it. Well, so what? May I ask you, brazen brute that you are: so what? Why do I meddle in other people’s affairs? Why did I come to this town in the first place? Was it because of some cosmic disaster, because of Gladstone’s cold, for example? Heh-heh-heh, God help you, child, if you tell the truth: that actually you were on your way home but were suddenly so deeply moved at the sight of this town—small and miserable as it is—that you almost wept with a strange, mysterious joy when you saw all those flags. By the way, it was June 12, and the flags were flying in honor of Miss Kielland’s engagement. And two days later I met her in person.
Why did I have to meet her just that evening, when I was in such a distraught state of mind and didn’t care what I did? Whenever I think back over the whole thing, I feel thoroughly ashamed of myself:
“Good evening, miss! Forgive me, I’m a stranger here going for a walk, and I have no idea where I’ve ended up.”
Miniman is right, she immediately blushes, and when she answers she blushes even more.
“Well, where do you want to go?” she says, giving me the once-over.
I take off my cap and, standing there bareheaded, I come up with an answer, all the while holding the cap in my hand. “Would you, please, tell me how far it is to town, the exact distance.”
“That I don’t know,” she says, “not from here. But the first house you come to is the parsonage, and from there it’s a mile and a half to town.” With that she wants to go, without further ado.
“Thank you very much,” I say, “but if the parsonage is at the other end of the woods, permit me to walk with you if that’s where you’re going, or even farther. There’s no sun anymore, so let me carry your parasol. I won’t bother you, I won’t even talk if you like, as long as I may walk beside you and listen to the birds chirping. No, don’t go, not this minute! Why are you running away?”
But since she took to her heels anyway, refusing to listen to me, I ran after her so she could hear my excuse: “I’ll be damned if your lovely face hasn’t made a most powerful impression on me!”
But now she was rushing off at such a frantic pace that I lost sight of her in a couple of minutes. As for that heavy blond braid of hers, she simply held it in her hand as she ran. I never saw anything like it.
This is what happened. I wasn’t going to annoy her, I intended no harm; I bet she loves her lieutenant, it never occurred to me to force myself on her. But it’s okay, it’s quite okay; maybe her lieutenant will challenge me, heh-heh, he will join forces with the deputy, the deputy judge, and challenge me....
By the way, I wonder