"What I was going to say—has any one been here?" he asked.
"Any one been? Why, who should there be?"
"There's fresh footmarks outside. Men with boots on."
"Why—there's been no one but the Lensmand and one other."
"What did they want?"
"You know that without asking."
"Did they come to fetch you?"
"Fetch me? No, 'twas only about the sentence. The Lord is kind, 'tis not so bad as I feared."
"Ah," said Isak eagerly. "Not so long, maybe?"
"No. Only a few years."