Signe made no excuses, but went to the little bookshelf and took from it two books, her English and her Norwegian Bibles. She read for the most part from the English now, but she always had the more familiar one at hand to explain any doubtful passage.
"I vill do wat I can, Mr. Ames. I cannot read English good, so you must do de reading." She opened the book and pointed to the fourth verse of the thirty-eighth chapter of the book of Job. Rupert read:
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. * * * When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
"Yes," said the reader, "that is a great question, indeed. Where was Job? Why, he was not yet born."
"Who are de sons of God?" asked Signe.
"I suppose we—all of us, in a sense."
"Of course; and ve all shouted for joy when God He laid de foundation of de earth; so, ve must have been der, and known someting about it."
"Yes, but how could we? We were not yet born."
"No; not in dis world; but ve lived as spiritual children of our Fader in heaven."
"I don't know about that," remarked Rupert, doubtfully.