[Subsection]

His mind was full of Åsne; she belonged among his possessions now. Father and Aunt Anne and Ivar were busy with the haying. Father and Ivar scythed so that the grass leaped. They mowed at a great pace. Aunt Anne spread the hay to dry. They cut only the home meadow; there were so many fields that they had no time for more.

Auntie's arms tanned quickly.

Mother prepared the meals and bent over the baby. When he slept and the weather was fine, she came out on to the meadow and helped with the raking. The cows were in the home pasture all day long. The big bull was back in the barn; now and then he would bellow. In the evening the cows lowed at the fence. Then Auntie would go and fetch them home. Brownie was grazing there too and had to be fetched to bring in the hay. In the evenings tramps would sometimes come and ask if they might sleep in the barn. They were allowed to, after they had given up their pipes and matches.

Along the road rumbled carriages full of tourists. It looked as if the whole world was travelling from place to place. But at Bufast nobody travelled, and Father sweated so that his shirt stuck to his back and he drank milk and water like a calf. Mother and Auntie were very quiet and reticent some evenings after a long stint of haying. This was the mowing season: it was hard, demanding work and had to be done in a rush when time and weather permitted. It was like that on the other farms too, the ones behind the hill that you couldn't see.

Now and then hallooing and shouting would come up from the river. Someone was bathing there, rinsing away the sweat.

"Do people who just have houses do mowing?" asked Per.

Ivar answered grumpily, "No, what should they mow?"

Per went away, almost angry. Why did Ivar say things like that? And in that tone of voice? People shouldn't say anything about people who live in houses.

Later he remembered that Ivar and his sister had only a house themselves.