She had grown tall, not as tall as her mother, but beyond the height of most women, lithe in her movements, refined, and fearless; she was her mother and not her mother in continually changing flashes. Even the young merchant, who persisted in following them, could no longer attract wholly to himself the eyes of the loungers; these two, mother and daughter, presented a more strange appearance. They walked rapidly along with greetings for none, because they were seldom saluted by others than sailors; but they came back still more rapidly, because they had learned that Ödegaard had just started from home for the steamer that was then about sailing. Petra, in especial, was in great haste; she must, she must, have a chance to speak with him and bear him her greetings and thanks before he went away; it was very wrong of him to leave her thus. She saw none of those whose eyes were fixed on her; she saw only the smoke of the steamer curling above the house-tops, and it seemed to her to be passing away. When they reached the wharf, the steamer was just putting off; and choked with tears she hastened down the avenue. As it had taken the steamer some time to turn in the harbor, she arrived in time to run down on the beach,
