"I'm not complaining," answered he. "And you've only to be as you were before, all the time before, when you first came. That's all I mean." 'Tis not so easy to be always together and always agree. Axel went on: "When I bought that place after your father, 'twas thinking maybe you'd like better to be there, and so we could shift. What d'you think?" Ho, there he gave himself away; he was afraid of losing her and being left without help, with none to look to the place and the animals again--she knew! "Ay, you've said that before," she answered coldly. "Ay, so I have; but I've got no answer." "Answer?" said she. "Oh, I'm sick of hearing it." Axel might fairly consider he had been lenient; he had let Brede and his family stay on at Breidablik, and for all that he had bought the good crop with the place, he had carted home no more than a few loads of hay, and left the potatoes to them. It was all unreasonable of Barbro to be contrary now; but she paid no heed to that, and asked indignantly: "So you'd have us move down to Breidablik now, and turn out a whole family to be homeless?" Had he heard aright? He sat for a moment staring and gaping, cleared his throat as if to answer thoroughly, but it came to nothing; he only asked: "Aren't they going to the village, then?" "Don't ask me," said Barbro. "Or perhaps you've got a place for them to be there?" Axel was still loth to quarrel with her, but he could not help letting her see he was surprised at her, just a little surprised. "You're getting more and more cross and hard," said he, "though you don't mean any harm, belike." "I mean every word I say," she answered. "And why couldn't you have let my folks come up here?--answer me that! Then I'd have had mother to help me a bit. But you think, perhaps, I've so little to do, I've no need of help?" There was some sense in this, of course, but also much that was unreasonable altogether. If Bredes had come, they would have had to live in the hut, and Axel would have had no place for his beasts--as badly off as before. What was the woman getting at?--had she neither sense nor wit in her head? "Look here," said he, "you'd better have a servant-girl to help." "Now--with the winter coming on and less to do than ever? No, you should have thought of that when I needed it." Here, again, she was right in a way; when she had been heavy and ailing--that was the time to talk of help. But then Barbro herself had done her work all the time as if nothing were the matter; she had been quick and clever as usual, did all that had to be done, and had never spoken a word about getting help. "Well, I can't make it out, anyway," said he hopelessly. Silence. Barbro asked: "What's this about you taking over the telegraph after father?" "What? Who said a word about that?" "Well, they say it's to be." "Why," said Axel, "it may come to something; I'll not say no." "Ho!" But why d'you ask?"