"My love is like a strawberry sweet,
Strawberry sweet, strawberry sweet.
I'll dance with her when next we meet,
Next we meet, next we meet!"
The song came as a welcome from the playing-fields of the village
as Olof climbed the hill; it lightened his step, forcing him to keep
time.
Even the trees around seemed waving to the tune; the girls' thin
summer dresses fluttered, and here and there gay ribbons in their
hair.
"Come in the ring, Olof, come in the ring!"
Some of the girls broke the chain, and offered their hands.
There was Sunday merriment in the air, and all were intoxicated
with spring. The stream flowed glittering through the fields, with a
shimmer of heat above. The dancers quickened their pace almost to a
run. The lads had pushed their hats back, the sweat stood in beads
on their foreheads; the girls smiled with bright eyes, dimpled cheeks
a-quiver, and heaving breast.
"My love is like a cranberry fair,
A cranberry fair, a cranberry fair.
For none but me she'll ever care,
She'll ever care, and ever care."
"Oh, it's too hot--let's try another game!" cried one.
"Let's play last man out--that gives you time to breathe."
"Yes--yes. Here's my partner!"
The chain broke up, and the new game began.
"And I'm last man--go on. We'll soon find another. Last man out!"
They raced away on either side, the last man between. It was the very
place for this game, a gentle slope every way. The last man had no
easy task, for the couples agreed, and tried hard to join again.
"Full speed, that's the way!" cried the lookers-on. And the last man
put on the pace, rushed towards the meeting-point like a whirlwind,
and reached it in time. The girl swung round and dashed off to the
left, but made too short a turn, and was caught.
The game went on, growing fast and furious. All were in high spirits,
ready to laugh at the slightest thing; every little unexpected turn
and twist was greeted with shouts of glee.
Olof was last man now. He stood ready in front of the row, glancing to
either side.
"Last pair off'!"
The last two were ill-matched; a big broad-shouldered ditcher, and a
little slender girl of barely seventeen.
The man lumbered off in a wide curve, the girl shot away like a
weasel, almost straight ahead, her red bodice like a streak of flame
and her short plait straight out ahead.
"That's it--that's the way!" cried the rest.
The girl ran straight ahead at first, Olof hardly gaining on her at
all. Then she tried a zigzag across the grass. Olof took short cuts,
increasing his pace, and was almost at her heels.
"Now, now!" cried the others behind.
The girl gave a swift glance round, saw her pursuer already stretching
out his hand, and broke away suddenly to one side.
Olof slipped, and went down full length on the grass.
The girl's eyes twinkled mischievously, and a shout of laughter came
from the rest.
Olof would have been furious, but he paid no heed to the laughter now,
having just at that moment noticed something else. The girl's glance
as she turned--heavens, what eyes! And he had never noticed her
before....
He sprang up like a rocket and continued the pursuit.
The broad-shouldered partner was making hopeless efforts from the
other side of the course. "Don't waste your breath!" cried the men.
"He's got her now."
The big fellow stopped, and waited calmly for the end.
But it was not over yet. Olof was gaining steadily on the girl; turn
which way she pleased, he would have her now.
She saw the danger, and turned to rush down the slope. But, in
turning, one of her shoes came loose, and was flung high in air.
A shout of delight went up from the playground in the rear.
The girl stopped, at a loss now what to do. Olof, too, forgot the
pursuit, and stood watching the shoe; then suddenly he sprang forward
and caught it in the air as it fell.
A fresh burst of applause came from the lookers-on. "Bravo, bravo,
that's the way!"
"Go on, go on! Never mind about the shoe!" cried some of the girls, to
urge her on.
She dashed off again, Olof after her with the shoe in his hand.
The chase was worth looking at now; no ordinary game this, but a
contest, with victory or defeat at stake. The spectators were wild
with excitement, taking sides for one or other of the two.
The girl shot this way and that, like a shuttle in a loom, her slender
body gracefully bent, her head thrown back defiantly. Her plait had
come loose, and the hair streamed out behind her like a tawny mane. A
glimpse of a red stocking showed now and again beneath her dress.
For Olof, too, it had ceased to be a game. She was no longer one of a
couple he had to part, but a creature fie must tame--a young wild foal
with sparkling eyes and golden mane.
They reached the edge of the course; only a few feet now between them.
At last! thought Olof, holding himself in readiness for her next turn
up the slope.
But again she turned off downward. And as she wheeled about, Olof
again was aware of something he had not marked before--the curve of
her hips, her lithe, supple waist, and the splendid poise of her head.
He was so close now that her hair touched his face--touched it, or
was it only the air as it flew past his cheek? And from her eyes shot
beams of light, challenging, beckoning, urging him on.
Gazelle! The word flashed into his mind--a picture from some book he
had once read. The eyes, the lightfoot swiftness--yes, a gazelle. He
shouted the word aloud, victoriously, as he raced after her like one
possessed.
She sprang aside, and darted up a little hill just beyond the course.
"Look, look!" cried the rest. It was like running down a hare.
A glimpse of a red stocking up on the crest of the mound, and the
hunted creature vanished on the farther side, the hunter after her.
The final heat was but short. The girl was wearying already, and had
made for the shelter of the hill on purpose to avoid being caught in
sight of the rest. Olof tore madly down the slope. The girl gave one
glance round, turned vaguely with an instinct of defence; next moment
she felt Olof's two hands grasping her waist.
"You--gazelle!" he shouted triumphantly. But the pace was too hot for
a sudden stop; they lost their balance, and came down together, breast
to breast and eye to eye, rolling over on the slope.
It was all like a dream to Olof--he hardly knew what had happened.
Only that the girl was lying there across his breast, with her
loosened hair streaming over his face. It was like a caress in payment
for his exertions, and it almost stifled him. Still holding her, he
looked into her flushed face, into her wonderful eyes--Gazelle! He
felt like sinking off to sleep, to dream it over again, the charm and
wonder of it all....
"Oh, but come! The others...."
They looked at each other in confusion, and loosed their hold, but
were still so agitated they could hardly rise. Olof handed her the
shoe.
"Quick--put it on, and we'll go back."
She put on her shoe, but stood still, as if unable to move.
Olof flushed angrily. He was vexed at his own confusion, and with the
girl as well.
"Come!" he said commandingly, and gave her his hand. "We must run."
Shouts of applause greeted them as they appeared hand in hand in sight
of the rest.
As they came up, Olof felt his senses in a whirl once more, and
clenched his teeth in an effort to appear unconcerned.
"Well run, well run!" cried the others.
"Ha ha, Olof, you got the shoe, and the owner, too--but it's made you
fine and red."
"Enough to make anyone red," gasped Olof shortly.
"Now, on again! Last man out...."
"No, no--don't spoil it now. We shan't get another run like that."
"Yes, that's enough for to-day." Olof's eyes shone, and he stole a
glance at the gazelle.
"But we must have a dance before we go," cried the girls.
"A dance, then."
"What do they mean, the two little stars,
That shine in the sky so clearly?
That a boy and a girl, a youth and a maid,
They love each other dearly."
"'Tis a pretty song," thought Olof, and pressed the girl's hand
unconsciously, and she did not loose her hold. Then someone led Olof
into the ring.
"What do they mean, the four little stars,
That shine so bright in the sky?
That I give my hand to my own true love,
And bid the rest good-bye."
"I've never given a thought to the words before," thought Olof again,
and offered his hand to Gazelle.
"What do they mean, the bright little stars,
That shine and sparkle above?
That hope and longing are part of life,
And the rest of life is love."
"All very well," said someone, with a laugh, "but we must be getting
home. Some of us have a long way to go."
"Don't break up the party. We'll all go together. One more round
first--the last."
"Never shall I leave my love,
Never shall we part.
Rocks may fall, and trees may fall,
And the dark sea come and cover all,
But never shall we part."
"Well, we must part some time--you can cry if you like. Good-bye,
good-bye."
And they shook hands all round.
Olof turned toward the girls, where they stood in a group, but was
checked by a glance from two deep, honest blue eyes--the fairy of
the forest! Her glance was clear and serene as before, but there
was something in it that pierced him like a steel. He felt suddenly
guilty, and turned pale. He could not move, but stood there fixed by
the glance of those blue eyes.
He could not stand there like that. He raised his head to look at the
fairy girl, but his glance turned aside, and met another's eyes. These
two looked at him, questioning, wondering. And they sent forth such
a stream of clear and sparkling light that all else seemed to vanish,
and the blood rushed to his cheeks.
"Good-night." He raised his hat to the girls, and turned his back.
The party broke up, all going their several ways.
"Never shall I leave my love,
Never shall we part...."
Some of the young men had crossed the stream already, and were singing
as they went. Olof walked up the hill towards his home.
"Never shall we part...."
--he took up the words half aloud, and his face was set in a strange
expression of resolution and eager, almost fierce, delight.