The bridge groaned and swayed as the Jerusalem-farers pa.s.sed over it, and the water came up through the cracks in the planks and splashed the horses" legs.
They felt sad at having to leave their dear old bridge, for they knew it was something which belonged to all of them. Houses and farms, groves and meadows, were owned by different persons, but the bridge was their common property.
But was there nothing else that they had in common? Had they not the church in among the birches on the other side of the bridge?
Had they not the pretty white schoolhouse, and the parsonage?
And they had something more in common. Theirs was the beauty which they saw from the bridge: the lovely view of the broad and mighty river flowing peacefully on between its tree-clad banks, and all a-sparkle in the summer light; the wide view across the valley clear over to the blue hills. All this was theirs! It was as if burned into their eyes. And now they would never see it again.
When the h.e.l.lgumists came to the middle of the bridge, they began to sing one of Sankey"s hymns. "We shall meet once again," they sang, "we shall meet in that Eden above."
There was no one on the bridge to hear them. They were singing to the blue hills of their homeland, to the silvery waters of the river, to the waving trees. And from throats tightened by sobs and tears came the song of farewell:
"O beautiful homeland, with thy peaceful farms with their red and white tree-sheltered houses; with thy fertile fields and green meadows; thy groves and orchards; thy long valley, divided by the shining river, hear us! Pray G.o.d that we may meet again, that we may see thee again in Paradise!"
When the long procession of carts and wagons had crossed the bridge, it came to the churchyard. In the churchyard there was a large flat gravestone that was crumbling from age. It bore neither name nor date, but according to tradition, the bones of an ancestor of the Ljung family rested under it.
When Ljung Bjorn Olafsson, who was now going to Jerusalem, and his brother Pehr were children, they had once sat on that stone and talked. At first they were as chummy as could be; then all at once they got to quarrelling about something, became very much excited, and raised their voices. What they quarrelled about they had long since forgotten, but what they never could forget was, that while they were quarreling the hardest, they heard several distinct and deliberate rappings on the stone where they were seated. They broke off instantly. Then they took each other by the hand, and stole quietly away. Afterward, they could never see that stone without thinking of this incident.
And now, when Ljung Bjorn was driving past the churchyard, who should he see but his brother Pehr, sitting on that selfsame stone, with his head resting on his hands. Ljung Bjorn reined in his horse, and signalled to the others to wait for him. He got down from the cart, climbed over the cemetery wall, and went and sat on the stone beside his brother.
Pehr Olafsson immediately said: "So you sold the farm, Bjorn!"
"Yes," answered Bjorn. "I have given all I owned to G.o.d."
"But the farm was not yours," the brother mildly protested.
"Not mine?"
"No, it belonged to the family."
Ljung Bjorn did not reply, but sat quietly waiting. He knew that when his brother had seated himself on that stone, it was for the purpose of speaking words of peace. Therefore, he was not afraid of what Pehr might say.
"I have bought back the farm," said the brother.
Ljung Bjorn gave a start. "Couldn"t you bear to have it go out of the family?" he asked.
"I"m hardly rich enough to do such things for that reason."
Bjorn looked at his brother inquiringly.
"I did it that you might have something to come back to."
Bjorn was overwhelmed, and could hardly keep the tears back.
"And that your children may have a place to come back to--"
Bjorn put his arm around his brother"s neck.
"--and for the sake of my dear sister-in-law," said Pehr. "It will be good for her to know that she has a house and home waiting for her. The old home will always be open to any of you who may want to come back."
"Pehr, take my place in the cart and go to Jerusalem, and I"ll stay at home. You are far more worthy to enter the Promised Land than I am."
"No, no!" said the brother smilingly. "I understand how you mean it, but I guess I fit in better at home."
"I think you"re more fit for Heaven," said Bjorn, laying his head on his brother"s shoulder. "Now you must forgive me everything," he said.
Then they got up and clasped hands in farewell.
"This time there were no rappings," Pehr remarked.
"Strange you should have thought of coming here," said Bjorn.
"We brothers have had some difficulty in maintaining peace, when we"ve met of late."
"Did you think that I would want to quarrel to-day?"
"No, but I become angry when I think of having to lose you!"
They walked together down to the road. Presently Pehr went up to Bjorn"s wife, and gave her a hearty handclasp.
"I"ve bought the Ljung Farm," he said. "I tell you this now so that you may know you"ve always got a place to come to." Then he took the eldest of the children by the hand, and said: "Remember, now, that you have a house and land to come back to, should you want to return to the old country." He went from one child to the other, even to little Eric, who was only two years old and couldn"t understand what it all meant. "The rest of you youngsters must not forget to tell little Eric that he has a home to return to whenever he wants to come back."
And the Jerusalem-farers went on.
When the long line of carts and wagons had pa.s.sed the churchyard, the travellers came upon a large crowd of friends and relatives who had come out to bid them goodbye. They had a long halt here, for everybody wanted to shake hands with them, and say a few parting words.
And later, when they drove through the village, the road was lined with people who wished to witness their departure. There were people standing on every doorstep and leaning out of every window; they sat upon the low stone hedges all along the way, and those who lived farther off stood on mounds and hills waving a last farewell.
The long procession moved slowly past all these people until it came to the home of Councilman Lars Clementsson, where it halted.
Here Gunhild got down to say good-bye to her folks.
Gunhild had been staying at the Ingmar Farm since deciding to go with the others to Jerusalem. She had felt that this was preferable to living at home in constant strife with her parents, who could not become reconciled to the thought of her going.
As Gunhild stepped down from the cart she noticed that the place looked quite deserted. There was not a soul to be seen, either outside or at the windows. When she reached the gate she found it locked. She stepped over the stile into the yard. Even the front door of the house was fastened. Then Gunhild went round to the kitchen door; it was hooked on the inside! She knocked several times, but as no one came she pulled the door toward her, inserted a stick in the crack, and lifted the hook. So she finally got in.
There was no one in the kitchen, nor was there any one in the living-room, nor yet in the inner room.
Gunhild did not want to go away without letting her parents know that she had been to say good-bye to them. She went over to the big combination desk and bureau, where her father always kept his writing materials, and drew down the lid. She could not at first find the ink, so looked for it in drawers and pigeonholes. While searching, she came upon a small casket which she remembered well.
It was her mother"s--she had received it from her husband as a wedding present. When Gunhild was a little girl her mother had often shown it to her. The casket was enamelled in white, with a garland of hand-painted flowers. On the inside of the lid was a picture of a shepherd piping to a flock of white lambs. Gunhild now opened the box to take a last peep at the shepherd.
In this casket Gunhild"s mother had always kept her most cherished keepsakes-the worn-down wedding ring which had belonged to her mother, the old-fashioned watch which had been her father"s, and her own gold earrings. But when Gunhild opened the box, she found that all these things had been taken out, and in their place lay a letter. It was a letter that she herself had written. A year or two before, she had made a trip to Mora by boat across Lake Siljan. The boat had capsized. Some of her fellow-pa.s.sengers were drowned, and her parents had been told that she, too, had perished. It flashed upon Gunhild that her mother must have been made so happy on receiving a letter from her daughter telling of her safety, that she had taken everything else out of the casket, and placed the letter there as her most priceless treasure.
Gunhild turned as pale as death; her heart was being wrung. "Now I know that I"m killing my mother," she said, She no longer thought of writing anything, but hurried away. She got up into the cart, taking no notice of the many questions as to whether she had seen her parents. During the remainder of the drive she sat motionless, with her hands in her lap, and staring straight ahead. "I"m killing my mother," she was saying to herself. "I know that I"m killing my mother. I know that mother will die. I can never be happy again. I may go to the Holy Land, but I am killing my own mother."