"Heard what sort of a man it is?" asked Axel. "Nay," said Sivert. "But he's bringing up houses all ready made, to fix up in no time." "Ho! A rich man, then?" "Ay, seems like. And a wife and three children with him; and horse and cattle." "Why, then, 'twill be a rich man enough. Any more about him?" "No. He's three-and-thirty." "And what's his name?" "Aron, they say. Calls his place Storborg." "Storborg? H'm. 'Tis no little place, then." [Footnote: "_Stor_" = great] "He's come up from the coast. Had a fishery there, so they say." "H'm--fishery. Wonder if he knows much about farming?" says Axel. "That all you heard? Nothing more?" "No. He paid all down in cash for the title-deeds. That's all I heard. Must have made a heap of money with his fishery, they say. And now he's going to start here with a store." "Ho! A store?" "Ay, so they say." "H'm. So he's going to start a store?" This was the one really important piece of news, and the two neighbours talked it over every way as they drove up. It was a big piece of news--the greatest event, perhaps, in all the history of the place; ay, there was much to say of that. Who was he going to trade with, this new man? The eight of them that had settled on the common lands? Or did he reckon on getting custom from the village as well? Anyway, the store would mean a lot to them; like as not, it would bring up more settlers again. The holdings might rise in value--who could say? They talked it over as if they would never tire. Ay, here were two men with their own interests and aims, as great to them as other men's. The settlement was their world; work, seasons, crops were the adventures of their life. Was not that interest and excitement enough? Ho, enough indeed! Many a time they had need to sleep but lightly, to work on long past meal-times; but they stood it, they endured it and were none the worse; a matter of seven hours lying pinned down beneath a tree was not a thing to spoil them for life as long as their limbs were whole. A narrow world, a life with no great prospects? Ho, indeed! What of this new Storborg, a shop and a store here in the wilds--was not that prospect enough? They talked it over until Christmas came.... Axel had got a letter, a big envelope with a lion on it; it was from the State. He was to fetch supplies of wire, a telegraph apparatus, tools and implements, from Brede Olsen, and take over inspection of the line from New Year's Day. Chapter IV Teams of horses driving up over the moors, carting up houses for the new man come to settle in the wilds; load after load, for days on end. Dump the things down on a spot that is to be called Storborg; 'twill answer to its name, no doubt, in time. There are four men already at work up in the hills, getting out stone for a wall and two cellars.