7
There was a good deal of laughter as the boys divided the greens and arranged the loads on their backs. Then away they went, singing and shouting, the girls insisting on carrying some of the smaller branches with especially fine cones.
How Arne wished that he could be a member of the merry group! He wanted to get down to Nordheim fast, and it seemed to him that Herr Engstrand was taking a good deal of time over things that were not necessary.
But once the others were out of sight, the teacher said, “Now, Arne, full speed ahead down to your uncle’s saeter. The wind is getting higher. It feels to me as if it’s going to snow again, and we’ve got work to do, you and I.”
Arne was more puzzled than ever. What work could they possibly have to do up here? But Herr Engstrandwas skiing down the mountain with a speed that Arne found hard to follow. When he reached Uncle Jens’s saeter, Herr Engstrand was already there, playing his flashlight all around the little clearing.
From the high point near the cliff, the boy could see lights moving out on the open sea leading to the fjord. “Looks as if a ship’s in trouble out there,” he said anxiously. “Are we going on down, sir?”
“No, here’s where we stop, Arne. Let us make a big fire, you and I, and keep it going to give a signal to that ship. They can tell from the height that this is the cliff, and if I’m not mistaken, they’ll know the harbor is below here.”
“Oh, that’s the plan!” exclaimed Arne. It was such a good one, and yet so simple, he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it himself. Neither of them said much; but they worked fast, and a fire was soon started near the edge of the cliff.
“Now, Arne,” said Herr Engstrand, “we will pile our boughs on this and make a big blaze right away while we collect more.”
“So that’s why you wanted me to take such a big load!” said Arne. “And you took a lot more than I did, even.”
“I wanted to get this thing going right away. There!” He threw his bundle on the fire. “Pitch yours on, Arne.”
Arne threw his pine boughs on and watched with satisfaction as they burst into a great blaze.
“Now we must collect plenty of fuel, Arne. I have my small hatchet, of course. And you have your hunting knife. We must keep this fire burning high and bright. Then we’ll watch to see what happens out there.”
Arne did a good deal of thinking as he dragged in branches and twigs. This wasn’t a bit like the Herr Professor who had been so stern and strict and had seemed interested only in lessons. This was really smart—like something Gustav himself might have thought of. He’d like to tell Herr Professor so, but even now he could not quite get up his courage to do that. But when they had collected a large pile of wood and were standing by the fire watching those lights out at sea, he did manage to ask, “Herr Professor, how did you happen to think of doing this?”
“Well, Arne, I was a commando in the war,” Herr Engstrand said quietly.
“A commando!” gasped Arne.
“Yes. We learned to think of all sorts of ways to dothings in emergencies. More than once we guided a vessel safely to port just this way.”
“A commando! That’s what Gustav wanted to be. But he wasn’t quite old enough. He says they learned everything, just about.”
“Well, we did learn a lot of things. For one thing, we learned to obey orders fast and to the letter.” He paused for a moment and went on, more as if he were thinking aloud than speaking to his companion, “But schoolboys aren’t commandos, and I don’t suppose you can expect—” He broke off and looked at Arne with a quizzical expression.
Arne was standing very straight, his eyes eager and alert as he looked back at Herr Engstrand. “Oh, sir, but I think you can expect us to—” He stopped as if he had just remembered something. “From now on,” he said emphatically, “I’m sure you can expect that.”
“I believe I can, Arne,” said Herr Professor.
His voice was serious; but it was friendly, too, and now Arne did not find it very hard to muster courage to say, “All the boys would like to know about your being a commando. The girls, too. Couldn’t you—wouldn’t you tell them about that? We’d all be interested.”
“You would?” In the firelight, Arne could see thathis teacher was smiling a little. “I had an idea school was for lessons. But maybe there are several kinds of lessons. And now, Arne, up and at ’em. More wood!”
Arne rushed off, but this time he had new hope. He was working with a commando! And the commandos had got out of all sorts of dangerous situations. Herr Engstrand seemed confident that Captain Olsen and Gustav would do the same thing and bring theStjernein safely.
Each time they returned to the fire, they stopped to watch the ship struggling out there against the wind. Then they dashed back to work harder than ever. It was not easy to collect enough fuel in the snow, but both of them worked with a will.
At last Arne said hopefully, “I think she’s making progress out there, sir.”
“Yes, looks as if she’s making for the channel. Come on, Arne. We have to keep the fire high and bright now.”
When they returned the next time, Arne gave a great shout. “She’s coming in! She’s coming in! Oh, if she can just hold her course, she’ll be safe.”
“Yes, she’s making headway all right. Looks as if it could be theStjerne, Arne.”
Arne fairly flew off to get more wood, his heart beatingso hard he couldn’t even talk. This time, when they came back to the fire, there was no doubt about it. “She’s past the barrier now, and moving into the channel,” said Herr Professor.
“Oh, Herr Professor!” Arne shouted, and in his exuberance he snatched off his cap and threw it so high it almost came down in the fire. “It’s Gustav’s ship! It’s Gustav’s ship, safe and sound. I know it is.”
“How would you like to start down, Arne, and be there on the dock to greet your brother? Everybody will be there, and I know you’d like to be on hand with the others.”
“Oh, boy!” cried Arne joyfully. “Oh, boy!” But then he looked quickly at the teacher. “But we couldn’t leave the fire, could we? They still need it, don’t they? This is about as important a time as any, isn’t it?”
“Yes, we have to keep it going till we’re sure they’re safe. But I could manage to tend it alone now, if you’d like to get started down.”
Arne hesitated just a moment. He wanted dreadfully to be right down there on the dock when theStjernecame in. But then he shook his head. “No,” he said. “One commando would never walk out on another. I’m going to help keep this fire going.”
“Good boy, Arne. I think your brother would like that,” said Herr Professor. There was an expression of such approval and pleasure on his face that Arne’s cheeks flamed and he looked away, feeling very happy. “We’ll both work hard, then; and we’re pretty fast on our skis. We’ll go down a lot faster than we came up. The ship won’t beat us in by much.”
In the very midst of gathering his next load of wood, Arne stopped and laughed right out loud. “I’ve thought of something, Herr Professor!” he cried. “I’ve thought of how I can get down there fast—just like a commando. We can keep the fire going as long as necessary, and I can still beat the ship to the dock.”
“And how are you going to do that, Arne?”
“I can go right down the wires Uncle Jens arranged to let the milk and stuff down the cliff. Gustav did that last summer when he saw Torger Blessom’s boat overturned.” He hesitated a moment. “I was wishing then I had the nerve to do it.”
“And now you have!” said Herr Professor with a nod. “You’ll need rope for that, Arne.”
“Yes, there’s one up here. I know where it’s kept. And can’t we sort of bundle me up in greens, a little?”
“Yes, and you’ll need something more than mittensto put on your hands to keep them from getting cut.”
“Yes, Gustav wound a lot of cloth around his, I remember that. And I know where Aunt Tina keeps some rags we can use. One good thing—there’s plenty of snow at the foot of the cliff; so I should make a good landing.”
Herr Engstrand laughed. “Arne, I see plainly you’ve got the makings of a first-rate commando!” he said. “You’ve got good Viking blood. Your brother is going to be proud of you. We’ll send you right down those wires to welcome him, all right.”
“She’s coming in! She’s coming in, Herr Professor! Here she comes, the ChristmasStar! She doesn’t look very big, way down there!”
“No, we usually think of a Christmas star high above us in the heavens, instead of far below us on the water,” said Herr Professor.
“I guess a Christmas star isn’t out of place anywhere, is it?” said Arne. “TheStjerneis sure going to look good to us in that harbor. We won’t need to bring in many more loads now, will we?”
The fire on the cliff blazed high, and the two worked fast to keep it replenished. The ship came closer and closer to port; and at last Herr Engstrand said, “They don’t need our fire any more, Arne. The lights of the townwill be enough. Now we’ll get you ready, and down you go!”
Both of them worked fast to get Arne ready for his journey down. Herr Engstrand made sure the rope was safe and strong before he tied the loop in which Arne was to sit. Soon the boy was bundled up in greens, his hands well wrapped. Herr Professor settled him securely in the rope sling.
“I’ll hold as tight as I can at first,” he said. “But once you get going, you’ll have a fast ride. Ready now? Here you go, down the wires to meet the ChristmasStar!”
“Ready!” Arne managed to say, but his mouth was dry, and when he tried to swallow it seemed to him his heart was right up in his throat. The lights of Nordheim looked far, far below him.
Then Herr Professor gave him a little push and started him downward. Arne knew his teacher was holding the rope as firmly as possible, but the sling went in jerks along the wires. Probably they were rusty. What if they should break? The rope, too! It had been used all summer long. It might be a little frayed. What if it should break, with all this jerking?
Then he remembered how Gustav had thrown hisweight first one way and then another to steady his progress. He tried to do the same now, and he began to go faster and more smoothly.
Once fairly started, it was a swift, breathless ride Arne had down those wires. Fast as he was used to going on skis and sleds, he had never had such a ride as this. The blood pounded in his ears as he rushed through the air toward the foot of the cliff.
He hoped fervently that there would be a good, deep snowdrift where he landed. There was! In another instant, Arne, encased in greens, his hands bound with rags, plumped right into the midst of a great drift.
He heard the deep, throaty blast of the ship and a loud cheer from the people who had gathered on the dock. He struggled and pushed, trying to get free. After all he had gone through, here he was stuck in a drift. And theStjernewas almost in port.