"His mother is alive, isn't she?" he said.
"Anna? Yes! She's alive--that's nearly all you can say about her."
Christian Christiansson's voice deepened and shook. "Is she sick?" he asked.
"Sick in fortune at all events. When the old Governor died she went to live with her other son at Thingvellir, and he is in trouble again, poor creature."
"In debt, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is in debt to the Bank for the interest and principal of some money which his father borrowed on mortgage to keep his brother out of prison."
"And what is the Bank going to do with him?"
"Sell him up immediately."
Christian Christiansson sank into silent reverie again, and when the conversation at the table had taken another turn, he said unexpectedly:
"He left a child behind him, didn't he?"