But I had to sit in the old schoolhouse, and not
even later in the day was I allowed to go down to where they were.
This prohibition made the whole proceeding the more mysterious. It
grew dark early. The sea ran black against a whitish and in some
places bare-swept beach. The ragged clouds chased each other
across the sky. We were afraid a storm was coming on. Then one of
the parsonage chimneys caught on fire, and most of the soldiers
came rushing up to offer help. The great fire-ladder was brought
from under the storehouse. It was unusually heavy and clumsy, so
it was difficult to get it raised, till father broke into the
midst of the crowd, ordered them all to stand back, and set it up
by himself. This is still remembered in the parish; and also that
the bailiff, an active little fellow, took a bucket in each hand
and went up the ladder till he reached the turf roof. The black
fjord, the hurrying clouds, the menace of the coming day, the
blaze of the fire, the bustle and din...and then the silence
afterwards! People whispered as they moved about the rooms and out
in the yard, whence they looked down upon the schoolhouse-prison
where the steady light burned.
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