Читать книгу Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie - O. E. Rölvaag - Страница 29

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The next day he did not drive himself so hard; but he turned off a good day's work, just the same.

Per Hansa was again in a good humour that afternoon as he and Ole sauntered home from the field; he felt that during this interval he would easily get ahead of Tönseten. Ole's tired feet dragged at every step; his voice was hoarse from steadily shouting at the oxen.

They had not got far on their way home when Store-Hans came running out to meet them; he began shouting as soon as he caught sight of them, and arrived all out of breath.

"Dad . . . quick . . . people are coming!" . . .

The news sounded so incredible that Ole stopped short in his tracks and stared at his brother with his mouth wide open, but the father only laughed as he looked indulgently at the boy.

"Of course people are coming!" he said with a chuckle. . . . "And you'll grow up to be a man, too, some day--at about the same rate, I guess! You've both got a long distance yet to travel."

But Store-Hans was too excited to be thrown off the track by his father's kindly sarcasm.

"Look! . . . look there!" he cried, pointing toward the southwest. . . . "Mother thinks they may be Indians!" . . .

Per Hansa took in the whole western horizon in one swift glance . . . "Huh!" he grunted . . . and immediately began to walk faster. The longer he looked, the more haste he made. At last he was taking such mighty strides that the boys had to run in order to keep up with him.

Beret was standing just beyond the wagon, holding And-Ongen in her arms.

"They have come," she said in a calm voice; but her sad, resigned face was pale and drawn.

"Well, don't stand there! . . . Go and look after the cooking as if nothing had happened!" . . . He spoke rapidly, with a metallic ring in his voice.

In an instant he was over at the new house, which as yet was only half thatched. The boys followed close at his heels; he spoke to them in quick, low tones; all his words had the same hard, metallic ring.

"Hans, run over to Sam's and tell him what's up. . . . Hurry, now!"

"Yes." . . . The boy hesitated.

"Hurry, I said!"

"Yes, sir!" . . . Store-Hans found his legs and was off like lightning.

Per Hansa turned to Ole. "You go and get Old Maria. You'll find her in the big chest--and something to load her with in the till. Stand the gun and everything just inside the door here. . . . And listen"--his face was hard set--"when I whistle, I want her--but not before! . . . Are you afraid?"

"N-n-no." . . . Ole ran to execute the order.

Per Hansa began to work away at the thatching as if nothing unusual were going on; but his eyes were steadily fixed on the approaching train. Little by little, as he watched, he grew calmer; the look of anxiety slowly faded away from his features, to be replaced by the half-sly, half-roguish expression of his lighter moods. . . . No war party, this--nothing but harmless families roaming over the plain!

Just then Ole arrived with the rifle.

"Never mind," said Per Hansa. He was laughing now. "Go back and hide those things where you found them. . . . That fellow Store-Hans is a regular little rascal--the way he nearly scared us out of our wits!"

"But don't you want the gun, Father?"

"No, I guess not. . . . Go and put her back--then come and run an errand for me."

The boy ran inside, and returned in a moment empty-handed. Per Hansa was sitting on the edge of the roof; he kept looking off to the westward as he gave his orders:

"Run over and tell Sörrina that the Indians are coming, but don't frighten the life out of her. Tell her it's only a wandering tribe--just peaceful people like ourselves. . . . And tell her they are likely to camp for the night over here on the hill; if she is afraid, she can stay with us. . . . Don't get off a lot of wild talk, now. Be sensible!"

Almost before he had heard the words, Ole was gone. . . . Per Hansa came down to the ground, heaved an armful of sod up on the roof, and then climbed back unconcernedly to his work.

The band of Indians crawled slowly toward them out of the west. Per Hansa counted the teams--fourteen in all, he made it--but he couldn't be certain of the exact number; they drove close together and were headed straight in the direction of the settlement. . . . No doubt about it any longer--here lay an old Indian trail!

He was kneeling on the roof awhile later, trying to fit a strip of sod in place, when suddenly a figure stood below him; it had appeared so swiftly and silently that Per Hansa was startled in spite of himself. . . . The next moment he saw that it was Sam Solum, frightened and excited, gun in hand. He had run so fast that Store-Hans had been left far behind.

"You must be going hunting to-night," Per Hansa observed, dryly.

"Haven't you seen 'em? . . . Don't you know . . .?" Sam had to stop to catch his breath.

"Seen who?"

"The Indians! . . . They're right on top of us!"

"I see you look like the scared fool you are, all right! . . . What are you ramming around with that rattletrap of a gun of yours for? Put it out of sight as quick as you can! Then come here and help me with the thatching. . . . Store-Hans, you'd better go and stay with mother."

Sam did as he was bid, without half understanding; he took his gun inside the house, stood it against the wall, and came out again; in front of the door he paused, staring open-mouthed at the approaching train. . . . Seated above him on the roof, Per Hansa glanced alternately westward and down at the puzzled youth.

"I supposed we ought to warn Kjersti--she's always so skittish," he said with a grin. "Why don't you go down and tell her that our red neighbours are coming? . . . But don't scare the wits out of the poor woman!"

Sam hesitated; the task obviously wasn't to his liking.

. . . "Or should we wait, and let the Indians take her scalp?"

At these words Sam jumped, then suddenly broke into a run.

Per Hansa laughed heartily as he watched him go.

"Hey, there! Don't tear off as if your pants had caught fire!" he shouted. "You needn't be in such an awful sweat about Kjersti, either!"

But Kjersti herself had seen the enemy; she must have been on the lookout, as usual. . . . At that moment she hove in sight on the slope of the hill, leading her cow.

At the same time Ole arrived, with Sörine and the girl close behind him; but Sörine, unfortunately, hadn't thought of her cow, which was grazing off on the prairie to the westward, some distance from Hans Olsa's house.

Soon they were all gathered in a little knot--the three women, Ole, and the Solum boy; but Store-Hans felt that it would be safer with his father, and had gone over to where Per Hansa was still working. . . . Kjersti was moaning and wailing because her Syvert was away at a time when the Lord sent such tribulations upon her; Mother Sörine was comforting her as best she could, saying that, after all, Indians were only people--human beings . . . just human beings! . . . Beret listened in stony silence to it all.

At last Per Hansa took a quick slide down from the roof and went over to the agitated group.

"What have we here--a sewing circle? . . . By George! It seems to me that three nice modest girls like you oughtn't to be standing around and making eyes at strange menfolk! They've got their own women with 'em, too. . . . Maybe the squaws would have a word or two to say about that!"

Per Hansa's sally broke the tension; Beret immediately resumed her preparations for supper, and Mother Sörine began to help her, Kjersti found a pail and milked her cow; and Per Hansa himself went back to his roof and laid a few more strips of sod before supper was ready.