CHAPTER XIV.

The day that Sylvius Hogg left Bergen proved an eventful one at the inn.

After the professor’s departure the house seemed deserted.  It almost seemed as if the kind friend of the young Hansens had taken away with him, not only the last hope, but the life of the family, and left only a charnel-house behind him.

During the two days that followed no guests presented themselves at the inn.  Joel had no occasion to absent himself, consequently, but could remain with Hulda, whom he was very unwilling to leave alone with her own thoughts.

Dame Hansen seemed to become more and more a prey to secret anxiety.  She seemed to feel no interest in anything connected with her children, not even in the loss of the “Viking.”  She lived a life apart, remaining shut up in her own room, and appearing only at meal-time.  When she did address a word to Hulda or Joel it was only to reproach them directly or indirectly on the subject of the lottery-ticket, which neither of them felt willing to dispose of at any price.  Offers for the ticket continued to pour in from every corner of the globe.  A positive mania seemed to have seized certain brains.  Such a ticket must certainly be predestined to win the prize of one hundred thousand marks—­there could be no doubt of it, so said every one.  A person would have supposed there was but one ticket in the lottery, and that the number of it was 9672.  The Manchester man and the Bostonian were still at the head of the list.  The Englishman had outbid his rival by a few pounds, but he, in turn, was soon distanced by an advance of several hundred dollars.  The last bid was one of eight thousand marks—­and it could be explained only as the result of positive madness, unless it was a question of national pride on this part of an American and an Englishman.

However this may have been Hulda refused all these offers, and her conduct excited the bitter disapproval of Dame Hansen.

“What if I should order you to sell this ticket?  Yes, order you to sell it,” she said to her daughter one day.

“I should be very sorry, mother, but I should be obliged to refuse.”

“But if it should become absolutely necessary, what then?”

“But how can that be possible?” asked Joel.

Dame Hansen made no reply.  She had turned very pale on hearing this straightforward question, and now withdrew, muttering some incoherent words.

“There is certainly something wrong,” remarked Joel.  “There must be some difficulty between mother and Sandgoist.”

“Yes, brother, we must be prepared for some serious complications in the future.”

“Have we not suffered enough during the past few weeks, my poor Hulda?  What fresh catastrophe threatens us?”

“How long Monsieur Sylvius stays!” exclaimed Hulda, without paying any apparent heed to the question.  “When he is here I feel less despondent.”