She
thought: What have I done to him? Could I possibly have acted in any other
way?
The coffee was made on board, but out of regard for Ojen, who still felt
badly, it was decided to drink it on the very first reef they should
reach. They camped on the rocks, flung themselves on the ground, and threw
dignity to the winds. It was great fun; Ojen looked with big, astonished
eyes at everything--the sea, the waves which filled the air with a
continuous roar, the barren reef where not a tree grew and where the grass
was yellow from sun and spray. Aagot skipped round with cups and glasses;
she walked in a constant fear of dropping anything and stuck the tip of
her tongue out like a rope-walker.
Milde proposed that they drink her health. "Haven't you got champagne,
Ole?" he asked.
The champagne was produced, the glasses filled, and the toast drunk amid
cheers. Milde was in high spirits; he proposed that they throw the bottle
in the sea with a note enclosed which they all were to sign.
They all put their names down except Paulsberg, who curtly refused. A man
who wrote as much as he did could not sign his name to nonsensical notes,
he said.
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