"You like the work?"
"Yes--well--not to say like, perhaps; I never expected to do that, you know; but I'm all right, I think."
They had to pause, for the din in the warehouse was louder than usual--some of the farmers were squabbling with the scalesmen.
"And Thora?" said Magnus after a moment.
"Thora? Oh, Thora is all right, too, I think. Yes, Thora is all right," said Oscar.
"Mother tells me she looks pale."
"Pale? Does she? I hadn't noticed it. Perhaps she does though, the weather is getting cold."
There was a painful pause in their conversation, and while they waited Oscar could hear the organ in the cathedral breaking into the opening notes of his own anthem.
"I hear that Helga has come home," said Magnus.
"Oh, yes, Helga has come home," said Oscar.