'But please — you will feed with me and my wife?' Kielland said. 'Everything is ready. I have been expecting you. You will not disappoint my wife, will you now? She likes English people.' He shook my arm. 'We are all very pro-British out here on the islands. We get on fine, eh? We are fishermen and sailors like your people. Peace or war, we fight the same battles. So you will stay for food, eh?'
'It's very nice of you,' I said.
'Not at all, my dear fellow. Not at all. And there are beds for you if you have had too much of the ship. Come. We go and have a drink, eh? We always have a drink before food.' He chuckled and nodded at Jill, still holding her handkerchief to her nose. 'Mrs Gansert does not like the smell, eh? But we like it. To me it smells of money. That is what I always say to people. It smells of money. Look at that whale now. I have just measured him — seventy-three feet. That is about seventy tons. He has over a thousand pounds' worth of oil in his blubber and the same value in meat. That is why I like the smell.' He patted Jill's hand. 'My wife says it smells like a new dress. Every time a whale comes in over seventy feet I promise her a new dress. And now she likes the smell, too. Come on. We will go and have a little drink.'
He led us up the cinder track to the office. Behind — the office was a long, low house. I caught Jill's eyes as we went in. She was bubbling over with laughter. We were shown into a tastefully furnished lounge. Mrs Kielland came in as her husband was pouring out large cognacs. She was a jolly woman with twinkling eyes and an elegance that was delightfully unexpected out on a whaling station. Kielland introduced us. Jill explained that she was not my wife. 'You poor girl,' laughed Mrs Kielland. 'Albert has such a tidy mind. And he knows nothing about anything — except whale. You'll find if you stay here long enough that there is nothing but whale talk in this house.' She turned to her husband. 'Albert, what was the length of the whale Nordahl has just brought in?'
'Seventy-three feet, Martha,' he replied, grinning like a kid.
'Seventy-three.' She gave a gurgle of delight. 'Look! This is the frock I have from the last whale that was over seventy feet.' It was a flame-coloured silk and as she twirled round the skirt flared out. 'Now,' she said. 'We drink to your health.' She raised her glass. 'Skoal,' she said.
We all drank. And then the door opened and a little man with dark hair and sharp, creased features came in. 'Ah, here is Mr Sunde,' said Mrs Kiel land. 'Come in and have a drink, Mr Sunde. I wish you to meet some nice English people.'
I couldn't quite place him as he was introduced to us. He was quite a tough-looking man and he seemed a little embarrassed at drinking with us as though he felt out of place. I put him down as an artisan. Yet he, too, seemed to understand English.
'What do you do on the station?' I asked as he stood beside me.
'Oh, Mr Sunde is not on the station,' Mrs Kielland said. 'He's another little venture of Albert's.'