"
Eleseus had some notions of accounts, of course, and Uncle Sivert's
money-chest, the famous bottle-case, had been opened and examined
while he was there; he had had to go through all the accounts and make
up a balance sheet. Uncle Sivert had not set this nephew to work on
the fields or mending of herring nets; he had initiated him into a
complex muddle of figures, the weirdest book-keeping ever seen. If a
man had paid his taxes some years back in kind, with a goat, say, or
a load of dried cod, there was neither flesh nor fish to show for it
now; but old Sivert searched his memory and said, "He's paid!"
"Right, then we'll cross him out," said Sivert.
Eleseus was the man for this sort of work; he was bright and quick,
and encouraged the invalid by assuring him that things were all right;
the two had got on well together, even to jesting at times. Eleseus
was a bit of a fool, perhaps, in some things, but so was his uncle;
and the two of them sat there drawing up elaborate documents in favour
not only of little Sivert but also to benefit the village, the commune
which the old man had served for thirty years.
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