"This," said Borg, "is the cutter Urijah; it's an ugly name, but she is a good boat and she is insured in the 'Triton.' There sits her owner, the Hebrew lad Isaac, reading a Latin grammar—the idiot wants to go to college—and from this moment you are engaged as his tutor for the summer—and now we'll be off for our summer residence at Nämdö. All hands on board! No demur! Ready? Put off!"
CHAPTER XXVI
CORRESPONDENCE
Candidate Borg to Journalist Struve
Nämdö, June 18—
Old scandal-monger!—As I am convinced that neither you nor Levin have paid off your instalments of the loan made by the Shoemakers' Bank, I am sending you herewith a promissory note, so that you may raise a new loan from the Architects' Bank. If there is anything over after the instalments have been paid up, we will divide it equally amongst us. Please send me my share by steamer to Dalarö, where I will call for it.
I have now had Falk under treatment for a month, and I believe he is on the road to recovery.
You will remember that after Olle's famous lecture he left us abruptly and, instead of making use of his brother and his brother's connexions, went on the staff of the Workman's Flag, where he was ill-treated for fifty crowns a month. But the wind of freedom which blew there must have had a demoralizing effect on him, for he became morose and neglected his appearance. With the help of the girl Beda I kept my eye on him, and when I considered him ripe for a rupture with the communards, I went and fetched him away.
I found him in a low public-house called "The Star," in the company of two scandal writers with whom he was drinking brandy—I believe they were writing at the same time. He was in a melancholy condition, as you would say.
As you know, I regard mankind with calm indifference; men are to me geological preparations, minerals; some crystallize under one condition, others under another; it all depends on certain laws or circumstances which should leave us completely unmoved. I don't weep over the lime-spar, because it is not as hard as a rock-crystal.