The Birds (18 page)

Jørgen came toward him: “I think you’ll have to go out on the lake!”

Mattis jumped up: “Was there a call?”

Just then Hege came in. Smart.

Jørgen looked somehow surprised, perplexed by something he’d heard.

“I’m not quite sure—yes I think there must have been—someone calling who wants to be rowed across.”

Mattis felt the excitement pulsating through him.

“So it’s come at last,” he said softly.

Jørgen stood looking at him, full of urgency.

So now it had come, the night journey Mattis had been dreading and had pictured in his mind time and time again. The sort of thing a ferryman had to be prepared for.

“I’m sure that’s right, what you heard, Jørgen,” he said. “I knew I’d have to make a trip at night sooner or later. Hege said the same.”

As usual he looked across at Hege. She had her back to him, went quickly over to the window and looked out at the moonlight.

“Yes, I’m afraid you ferrymen always have to be on call,” said Jørgen. “When someone shouts, you just have to go.”

Mattis nodded. He got ready with a certain amount of ceremony, put on a warm sweater, and one or two other things. Then he stood in front of Jørgen and Hege’s back: “You must expect me when I arrive, that’s about all I can say. But it’ll be quite sometime, I’m sure.”

“Yes, you’ll have to make a trip across,” said Jørgen, “even if there’s no one down on this side.”

Mattis strode out.

He was frightened. But he was determined not to run away before Jørgen’s eyes. He was going out on the lake, he’d show him.

Outside, a blood-red autumn moon glowed above the green grass. Beautiful beyond description. Mattis noticed it, but he couldn’t stop now, he got straight into the boat. There was no one standing there, and there was no one to be heard – he was going entirely on what Jørgen had said when he set out. Clever Jørgen was bound to be right.

A gentle wind was blowing. Small waves gurgled among the pebbles and glittered in the moonlight.

But supposing the boat doesn’t make it? It was touch and go when Jørgen came. Since then nobody but me’s been in it.

He’ll just have to bail, my passenger, whoever he is. And he’s no ordinary person, he thought.

You don’t know what they may be like, the sort of people who hail the ferry at night. But whoever he is, I’ll row him straight, I’ll show him. I’ll show them all! said Mattis defiantly, and set off.

Out on the lake the red moon looked smaller. But it was so lovely here that you almost wanted to be a night-ferryman for the rest of your life, and sleep during the day.

Mattis rested on his oars, letting the glistering blades hover above the water. He listened in the direction of the shore. Then he started rowing again. He rowed slowly, was waiting to hear where the calls were coming from.

There were no calls. But it was bound to be over by the western hills, he told himself. He began rowing in that direction. And time went by. Before he realized it the hillside was almost on top of him. He’d rowed right across without hearing a sound.

With the hillside up above, a sinking feeling came over him, rather as it did before a storm. But he rowed right up to the shore, and the boat rubbed against the sandy bottom.

I must let him know I’m here now.

No, I don’t dare. Surely I’ve done enough, rowing across in the pitch dark.

But the voice of all ferrymen said: I’m afraid you must, Mattis. Tell him you’ve come. That’s your job now.

“Ho-y!” It was uttered in a trembling voice, with a peculiar little catch in the middle. He was beginning to break out in a cold sweat, too. He sat hunched up in the boat instead of standing up strong and straight and shouting.

There aren’t many who’d change places with me now, he thought.

The hillside was silent.

Give another shout, Mattis, or—

“Hoy!” he said miserably.

In among the trees a night bird shrieked.

That was enough in the mood Mattis was in now. He plunged his oars into the water and rowed away from the shore leaving a trail of foam behind him. He was shaking with fear, rowing blindly. It was
only when he was far out that he stopped, and waited for the panic to subside. He sat for a bit gasping for breath.

Well, there was certainly no one there who wanted the ferry. We’ve been fooled, both Jørgen and me, he thought. But who is it that’s doing it?

On the journey back across he rowed slowly and gently, bewildered and deep in thought. Around him the night was as beautiful as ever.

At this late hour Hege came out on the steps to meet him, all alone. Hadn’t she gone to bed? What was going on? Here she was, fully dressed.

“Anything the matter, Hege?”

She shook her head.

“I’m glad you’ve come back at last,” she said.

She must have been sitting up worrying about him. A feeling of warmth swept through him.

He followed her into the main room where there was a light on. And there he stood in complete surprise: he hadn’t noticed it out in the moonlight, but now he could see the expression of naked happiness on Hege’s face.

“Mattis,” she said, for no particular reason.

“What is it?”

“Don’t know,” she said.

He felt a sense of peace and gratitude, he’d got a good sister who sat up waiting for him till he was safely back from his adventure on the lake.

“You could have gone to bed, you know,” he said, “it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked.”

“What?” Hege stammered.

“What’s the matter now, then?” he asked, too. She was so strange all of a sudden, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m glad you sat up waiting for me all the same,” he said gratefully.

She nodded to him, but the strange expression remained.

“You must never leave me!” he said suddenly.

She gave no reply. He didn’t feel it was necessary, either.

IN THE MORNING Mattis noticed the way Hege followed Jørgen with her eyes, more closely than before. When Jørgen was in the room, she saw nothing else. Mattis didn’t like this, and went up to the lumberjack as he was about to leave.

“You must have made a mistake last night, I went out on a fool’s errand.”

“Oh,” said Jørgen.

And he set off for the forest.

That was the end of it. Jørgen was unapproachable somehow. Hege sat in the background. She had stopped knitting and was keeping a watchful eye on the two men. But the moment Jørgen left, her fingers returned to their usual busy movements.

Everything was just as it always had been, and yet it wasn’t as it always had been. Mattis sat thinking about it and reached this conclusion.

I need some candy, he thought after a bit.

He wanted to go right away, he really needed them after all he’d been through, but when he mentioned the subject of money and the store, Hege said no.

“I do the shopping myself now. I’ve been doing it for some time, you know that.”

Yes, it was true, she had. He’d been busy ferrying every day.

“You’ve got your job as ferryman now,” Hege went on, “and that’s more than enough for you. And people only ask you all sorts of questions when you go to the store.”

“No, they don’t!”

“Don’t they? Well they might—and it’s no business of theirs, do you hear?”

There was such a tone of finality in her voice that he didn’t utter a word of protest. And she’d been so strangely happy when he arrived back home safe and sound last night. In fact, there was a look of happiness on her face today, too.

A little later she produced a packet of sandwiches.

“Jørgen’s forgotten his lunch,” she said anxiously. “I’d better take it to him.”

“I’ll do that,” said Mattis. “I know exactly where he is.”

“No, you must get on with your ferrying,” said Hege. “You can’t just leave it like that.”

Then Mattis came out with what was on his mind: “It’s awful, the way you can never take your eyes off Jørgen. Not for a single day.”

Hege stood still for a moment.

“What do you mean,” she said, to gain time.

“I don’t like it,” Mattis went on. “You must take your eyes off Jørgen.”

Hege laughed.

“Haven’t you got your eyes fixed on anything, then, Mattis?” she said, winking. “What about Anna and Inger?”

Oh, that’s different, he was about to say, but said it in another way instead: “Well, in that case you can look at Jørgen to your heart’s content.” His happiness was returning. How clever and good she is, he thought: she’d really noticed about him and Anna and Inger.

Hege set off for the forest with the sandwiches, and Mattis for his part went to do some ferrying.

Down on the shore Mattis had a lot of new thoughts – they were about eyes under stones: there’s lid upon lid and stone upon stone, but it can never be hidden.

The surface of the lake was broad. He looked out across it. Dimly he thought: Help, Mattis.

Why!

He gave a start.

No, no, he mumbled meaninglessly, and seized the oars.

Lead in the wing, he thought, and there’s stone upon stone, over the eyes.

JØRGEN DIDN’T LEAVE – and this had its compensations. He earned good money working in the forest, and he paid Hege well. Mattis was happy and unhappy at the same time; deep down inside him there was a gnawing fear. Both the good things and the bad were his own doing, since he was the one who’d brought the lumberjack to the house in the first place. He wondered if Jørgen would come and sit with them on Sunday, but Jørgen stayed up in his room in the attic, or sat down on the shore somewhere all alone. Hege didn’t go after him. Mattis watched her carefully to see if she would.

The next Sunday arrived. Jørgen was in his room as usual.

Mattis was bursting to talk.

“Hege,” he began in a fumbling voice. He had to find out more about her and Jørgen.

And she really let him have it: “I’m fed up with you staring at me!” she burst out. For once there was genuine fury in her voice. “I can’t take a step without you staring!” she said.

Her words went through him like a knife. Fed up with him? She’d actually said she was fed up with him.

She regretted it almost as soon as it was said – as usual when she loses her temper. She softened again: “Please try and forget it, Mattis. It’s not true, I’m not fed up with you.”

“How can I forget it if you’ve said it?” Mattis replied, horrified.

Hege stood in front of him, frightened: “Sometimes you have to ask people to forget things you’ve said all the same. Haven’t you ever felt like that? I didn’t want to—”

“I know what it is,” said Mattis suddenly.

“What is it you know? How can you know anything when there’s nothing to know?” Hege answered quickly. “I’m not fed up with you.”

She is sharp alright, he thought, but he’d been sharper this time, he’d been talking about Jørgen and well she knew it, she couldn’t fool him. He’d been turning it all over in his mind while he’d been out ferrying these last few days. If she was fed up with him, it was because of Jørgen. And now he had to find out about it, there was nothing else to do!

“Come down, Jørgen!” he called up to the attic suddenly, in a voice that was dangerously loud.

Hege shouted: “Mattis! What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

“Come down, Jørgen!”

Hege thought her brother had taken leave of his senses, she grabbed him by the arm to try and get him out of the room. At the same time she uttered threatening words in a low, angry voice: “Shut up! Have you gone mad! What in the world are you thinking of? Come on, we’re going outside. Can’t you leave Jørgen in peace!”

“Jørgen!”

“It’s nothing,” Hege shouted up to the attic.

“I can hear him coming now,” said Mattis, refusing to let himself be dragged outside.

Yes, Jørgen was on the ladder now.

Hege let go of Mattis, rushed into her room and shut the door behind her.

Jørgen came in and asked: “What is it, Mattis? Here I am.”

Jørgen was in his Sunday best, a fine-looking fellow and a terrific lumberjack. Mattis didn’t answer his question, he stood rather taken aback by his own impetuous behavior.

“What sort of a game is this?” said Jørgen rather sharply, coming nearer.

There was nothing to do but to have another go: “I’m afraid you can’t stay here any longer,” said Mattis, the color rising in his cheeks. The words were out before he realized what was happening – they’d run through his mind countless times already.

“Really? What have I done then?” said Jørgen. He didn’t sound very angry either, it was almost as though he expected it.

“You mustn’t take my sister away!” Mattis blurted out.

Jørgen stood unmoved.

“I’m not going to take your sister anywhere. Nor am I going to leave the house, just when I’ve settled in.”

Mattis was momentarily at a loss.

“Hege isn’t like she used to be, and it’s your fault.”

“What do you mean? What’s Hege been telling you?”

“Hege isn’t—” Mattis began, but he stopped. He was going to say isn’t kind anymore, but he changed it to: “Isn’t like she used to be, that’s all!”

The lumberjack forgot himself, and gave a little laugh,

His laughter had an instantaneous effect on Mattis. He became absolutely furious, all kinds of thoughts chased through his brain, and before he realized what was happening he was giving the smug fellow a piece of his mind: “There is no need for you to laugh! What do you know about the things I know? What do you know about the bird that was up on the path here – more wonderful than you’ll ever know. But it was there. And it was for Hege’s sake. I know a lot about Hege, a lot. And then you come along!”

Mattis almost collapsed at the force of his own words, and they were probably intended to crush Jørgen so completely that he’d never dare show his face here again.

But it didn’t work that way.

“Yes, then I come along,” Jørgen answered calmly. “By the way, where’s Hege got to?”

Mattis pointed to her door.

“What are you doing?” he rapped out, seeing Jørgen making straight for her room.

“Wait a second, Mattis, we might just as well talk about this thing properly.”

And with that Jørgen went into Hege’s room, and Mattis’s outburst had been all for nothing. Inside the room a few hasty words were exchanged – then the door opened and Jørgen and Hege both came out, Jørgen obviously acting as Hege’s protector. Hege looked shyly at her brother this time.