Let us now return for a moment to Bertel, whom we find driving ahead in the stormy night, attended by the faithful Pekka, and with a heart full of the most conflicting feelings. The faithful attendant could not understand the enormous folly of leaving a cheerful fireside and good wholesome porridge, for snow-drifts and wolves in the wild woods, as soon as they had arrived. Neither did Bertel comprehend it himself. On returning to the north, by way of Tornel, on a furlough from Germany, while the army lay in winter quarters, he had hurried through Storkyro to Vasa, which was his secret destination. And now he had met in one place a father's anger, and in the other the empty walls, where she had been, but was no longer. Regina had disappeared without leaving a trace.
"Where shall I drive?" asked Pekka monotonously and gruffly, when they entered the broad highway.
"Wherever you like," answered his master just as testily.
Pekka turned his horses towards Vasa, about twenty miles away. Bertel noticed this.
"Ass!" he cried, "have I not ordered you to drive north?"
"North!" repeated Pekka mechanically, and with a heavy sigh turned his horses towards Ny-Karleby, to which town it was quite forty miles. At that time they had no regular stations, with horses provided for the accommodation of travellers. But there were farms at intervals, where all who travelled on Government business could reckon on finding horses, while other travellers were obliged to bargain as best they could.
The parsonages were the usual stopping-places for the night, and always had a room in order in an out-building, where beds of straw and a table with cold food stood hospitably prepared for travellers.
It was, therefore, quite natural that Pekka, with his mind still full of the porridge-kettle, ventured to ask as a further question whether they would spend the night at Wort parsonage.
"Drive to Ylihärmä," answered the captain of horse, provoked, and wrapping himself up in his long sheepskin cloak, for the night wind was icy cold.
"The devil take me if I understand the pranks of these noblemen!" murmured Pekka to himself, as he turned off into the narrow village road, which from Storkyro leads northward towards Lappo parish.