After dinner the old curmudgeon lighted his pipe and went out for a
walk along the river bank.

On reaching the stream he turned and fixed his eyes upon the inn. He
seemed to be studying it under all its varied aspects, as if trying to
form a correct estimate of its value.

He counted every door and window, and finally on his return to the
inn he stuck his knife into the horizontal beams at its base, as if to
test the quality of the wood and its state of preservation. Could
it be that he was trying to find out how much Dame Hansen's inn was
really worth? Did he aspire to become the owner of it, though it was
not for sale? All this was certainly very strange, especially as
he afterward turned his attention to the little yard, the trees and
shrubs of which he counted carefully, and finally measured both sides
of the inclosure with regular strides, after which the movement of his
pencil over a page of his memorandum-book seemed to indicate that he
was multiplying one by the other.

All the while Dame Hansen and her daughter were watching him from one
of the windows of the inn. What strange creature was this, and what
could be the object of his visit? It was greatly to be regretted that
all this took place during Joel's absence, especially as the eccentric
individual was going to spend the night at the inn.

"What if he is a madman?" said Hulda.

"A madman? no," replied Dame Hansen. "But he is a very eccentric
person, to say the least."