The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 118

116
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1967
the farmer understood English, and
left it to him to decide whether he
wanted to meet the count inside.
“Will you be so kind,” said the Eng-
lishman, “as to tell the honorable
count, the former grocery clerk at
---------fjord (here the Englishman
mentioned a certain Icelandic trading
village), that we should like to speak
with him?”
Thordur Valdai was visibly startled
and scarcely new how he should ans-
wer, but at that moment the “count”
came out. He was smiling, and as far
as could be determined, completely
self-assured. He had heard the last
words spoken and went directly to Sig-
urd who stood in the middle of the
courtyard with his arm over the seat
of his saddle.
“I’m not completely at home in
English, but I seemed to understand
that this companion of yours intimated
that he knew me and my past. Will
you do me the favor to ask him before
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we go further into this affair, where
he got his information about me and
my past. The count now spoke perfect
Icelandic, but one could detect that
he was not born in the district.
Sigurd translated his words into
English, and the Englishman in turn
gave the following report in just a
few words Two years before he had
been a fellow passenger with an old
Icelandic merchant who had long been
in business in this land. On one oc-
casion they had walked together on
the deck talking about this and that.
All at once the merchant had grabbed
his arm, peering forward at a group
of passengers.
“I have never seen him look at me
with such evil before,” the merchant
had said in a half whisper.
“I looked forward at the passengers,”
the Englishman continued, “and
among them was none other than this
count, the one who stands before us
now. Curious, I asked the merchant