“You will have some difficulty in coming to an understanding with my sister, sir,” replied Joel, ironically. “When you talk business to her she replies with sentiment.”
“That is all idle talk, young man,” replied Sandgoist. “When my explanation is concluded you will see that however advantageous the transaction may be to me it will be equally so to her. I may also add that it will be equally so to her mother, Dame Hansen, who is personally interested in the matter.”
Joel and Hulda exchanged glances. Were they about to learn the secret Dame Hansen had so long concealed from them?
“I do not ask that this ticket shall be sold to me for what Ole Kamp paid for it,” continued Sandgoist. “No! Right or wrong, it has certainly acquired an increased financial value, and I am willing to make a sacrifice to become the owner of it.”
“You have already been told that Hulda has refused much better offers than yours,” replied Joel.
“Indeed!” exclaimed Sandgoist. “Much better offers, you say. How do you know?”
“Whatever your offer may be, my sister refuses it, and I approve of her decision.”
“Ah! am I dealing with Joel or Hulda Hansen, pray?”
“My sister and I are one,” retorted Joel. “It would be well for you to become satisfied of this fact, as you seem to be ignorant of it.”
Sandgoist shrugged his shoulders, but without being at all disconcerted, for like a man who is sure of his arguments, he replied:
“When I spoke of the price I was willing to pay for the ticket, I ought to have told you that I could offer inducements which Hulda Hansen can hardly reject if she takes any interest in the welfare of her family.”
“Indeed?”
“Yes, and it would be well for you, young man, to understand, in your turn, that I did not come to Dal to beg your sister to sell me this ticket. No, a thousand times no.”
“For what, then?”
“I do not ask for it, I demand it. I will have it.”
“And by what right?” exclaimed Joel, “and how dare you, a stranger, speak in this way in my mother’s house?”
“By the right every man has to speak as he pleases, and when he pleases, in his own house,” retorted Sandgoist.
“In his own house?”
Joel, in his indignation, stepped threateningly toward Sandgoist, who, though not easily frightened, sprung hastily out of his armchair. But Hulda laid a detaining hand upon her brother’s arm, while Dame Hansen, burying her face in her hands, retreated to the other end of the room.
“Brother, look at her!” whispered the young girl.
Joel paused suddenly. A glance at his mother paralyzed him. Her very attitude revealed how entirely Dame Hansen was in this scoundrel’s power.
Sandgoist, seeing Joel’s hesitation, recovered his self-possession, and resumed his former seat.
“Yes, in his own house,” he continued in a still more arrogant voice. “Ever since her husband’s death, Dame Hansen has been engaging in unsuccessful speculations. After losing the small fortune your father left at his death, she was obliged to borrow money of a Christiania banker, offering this house as security for a loan of fifteen thousand marks. About a year ago I purchased the mortgage, and this house will consequently become my property—and very speedily—if I am not paid when this mortgage becomes due.”
“When is it due?” demanded Joel.
“On the 20th of July, or eighteen days from now,” replied Sandgoist. “Then, whether you like it or not, I shall be in my own house here.”
“You will not be in your own house here until that date, even if you are not paid at that time,” retorted Joel, “and I forbid you to speak as you have been doing in the presence of my mother and sister.”
“He forbids me—me!” exclaimed Sandgoist. “But how about his mother—what does she say?”
“Speak, mother!” cried Joel, approaching Dame Hansen, and endeavoring to remove her hands from her face.
“Joel, my brother,” exclaimed Hulda. “I entreat you, for my sake, to be calm.”
Dame Hansen bowed her head upon her breast, not daring to meet her son’s searching eyes. It was only too true that she had been endeavoring to increase her fortune by rash speculations for several years past. The small sum of money at her disposal had soon melted away, and she had been obliged to borrow at a high rate of interest. And now the mortgage had passed into the hands of this Sandgoist—a heartless and unprincipled man—a well-known usurer, who was heartily despised throughout the country. Dame Hansen, however, had seen him for the first time when he came to Dal to satisfy himself in regard to the value of the property.
This was the secret that had weighed so heavily upon her. This, too, explained her reserve, for she had not dared to confide in her children. This was the secret she had sedulously kept from those whose future she had blighted.
Hulda scarcely dared to think of what she had just heard. Yes, Sandgoist was indeed a master who had the power to enforce his will! The ticket he wished to purchase would probably be worth nothing a fortnight hence, and if she did not consent to relinquish it certain ruin would follow—their house would be sold over their heads, and the Hansen family would be homeless and penniless.
Hulda dared not even glance at Joel, but Joel was too angry to pay any heed to these threats. He could think only of Sandgoist, and if the man continued to talk in this way the impetuous youth felt that he should not be able to control himself much longer.
Sandgoist, seeing that he had once more become master of the situation, grew even more arrogant and imperious in his manner.
“I want that ticket, and I intend to have it,” he repeated. “In exchange for it I offer no fixed price, but I promise to extend
