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'The sea is bewitched, said Frithiof from the wheel-house. 'There are two steamers! Another siren sounded on our bow, and the little steamer rolled in the wash of something that had passed unseen. 'We're evidently in the middle of a fleet, said Keller quietly. 'If one doesn't run us down, the other will. Phew! What in creation is that?
So Frithiof threw his sword aside, and they wrestled together, unarmed, until Atlé was brought to the ground. Then spake Frithiof: "And if I had my sword thou wouldst not long be a living man." "Fetch it, then," replied Atlé. "I swear by the gods that I will not move until thou dost return."
Then went Frithiof away in wrath. There was another suitor for the hand of Ingebjorg, good old King Ring, who, having lost his wife, thought that the Lily of the North would make a tender mother for his little son.
He had grown-up children, and as the aunts were always ill, friendly relations were soon established between the two families. Among the doctor's children was a young girl and before long Frithiof was head over ears in love with her.
'No, it is a following sea, said Frithiof; 'and with a following sea you shall not get good steerage-way. The sea was as smooth as a duck-pond, except for a regular oily swell.
Let us hope that Ingeborg changed her dress occasionally, and that Balder's temple was not full of fleas; that Thorsten Vikingsson placed before his guests something better than fladbröd and rancid butter; and that Björn and Frithiof acted as honestly towards strangers as towards each other.
The warning, however, came too late, for Frithiof already loved the fair maiden, and vowed that he would have her for his bride at any cost. Soon after this the king died, leaving his kingdom to his two sons and giving instructions that his funeral mound should be erected in sight of that of his dear friend Thorsten, so that their spirits might not be separated even in death.
By this time Zuyland, Keller, and myself had caught something of Frithiof's excitement, for any emotion on shipboard is most contagious. The captain ran out of his cabin, spoke to Frithiof, looked at the log-line, jumped on the bridge, and in a minute we felt the steamer swing round as Frithiof turned her. ''Going back to Cape Town? said Keller.
He was a sharp man and saw at once how matters stood. Frithiof returned his call but was received coldly. This was the end of their friendly relations. Frithiof came of age. Frantic attempts were now made to carry the fortress by storm. The aunts cringed before the new master and tried to prove to him that they could not be dispensed with, by treating him as if he were a child.
Finally he burgled his own safe and stole the contents. There was an orthodox, church-going inspector on the premises now; the previous one had been dismissed on account of his intemperate habits. When at last, through the clergyman's influence, the proprietor of the inn lost his license Frithiof took to drinking with his own farm labourers. Scandal followed on scandal.
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