"It is authentic enough, I fancy," said Tidemand. "My agent wired me twice yesterday to sell, and I sold what I could, sold even below the day's quotations; but what did that amount to? I lost heavily yesterday, I tell you." "Well, don't do anything hastily now; let us consider this carefully. But why did you not come to me yesterday? I had a right to expect that from you." "I ought hardly to have brought you such a piece of news this evening, even, but--" "Once and for all," Ole interrupted him, "understand that I will help you all I possibly can. With everything I have, you understand. And that is not so very little, either." Pause. "I thank you, Ole--for everything. I knew I shouldn't go to you in vain. You could help me a good deal if you would take over some of my obligations--I mean those that are non-speculative, of course." "Nonsense--anybody will take such things! I am taking rye. We will date the papers day before yesterday--for the sake of the old man." Tidemand shook his head. "I am not going to pull you under, too." Ole looked at him; the veins in his temples were swelling. "You are a damn fool!" he exclaimed angrily. "Do you for a moment think you can so easily pull me under?" And Ole swore, with blazing eyes, right into Tidemand's face: "By God, I'll show you how easily you can pull _me_ under!" But Tidemand was immovable; not even Ole's anger made him yield. He understood Ole; his means were perhaps not so insignificant, but it was no use making out that he could do everything. Ole boasted only because he wanted to help him, that was all. But from to-morrow on the bottom would simply drop out of the market; it wasn't right to sell rye even to one's enemies at yesterday's prices. "But what are you going to do? Are you going into a receiver's hands?" asked Ole in a temper. "No," answered Tidemand, "I think I can skin through without that. The ice in England and Australia is quite a help now; not much, but crowns are money to me now. I shall have to retrench, to sell what I can in order to raise cash. I thought that perhaps you would care to buy--you might use it when you are going to marry, you know, and we don't need it at all; we are never there any more--" "What are you talking about?" "Well, I thought that you might want to buy my country estate now--You are going to be married soon, so--" "Your country house? Are you going to sell it?" "What good is it to us?" Pause. Ole noticed that Tidemand's composure began to fail him. "All right. I'll take it. And whenever you want it back it will be for sale. I have a premonition that it will not be mine so very long." "Well, God only knows. Anyway, I am doing what I can and should. I am glad the place will be yours. It is beautiful; it is not my fault we have not been there this summer. Well, this will help some; as for the rest, we'll see. I trust I can manage without closing up; that would be hard indeed. And worst for the sake of the children!"