children should have a good time; he would live for her now!

He had laid her on the sofa and sat bending over her and telling her
quietly how he had repented and longed for her. She made no answer, but
held his hand in a convulsive grasp, now and then opening her eyes and
stealing a glance at him. Suddenly she discovered how worn and lined his
face was, and as she passed her hand over it as if to soften the
features, she broke into a storm of weeping.

"You have suffered so, Pelle!" she exclaimed vehemently, passing her
trembling fingers through his iron-gray hair. "I can feel by your poor
head how badly they've treated you. And I wasn't even with you! If I
could only do something really nice to make you look happy!"

She drew his head down onto her bosom and stroked it as a mother might
her child's, and Pelle's face changed as would a child's when taken to
its mother's breast. It was as though the well of life flowed through
him, the hardness of his expression disappeared, and life and warmth
took its place. "I didn't think you'd come back to us," said Ellen.
"Ever since Lasse Frederik met you yesterday I've been expecting you to
come."

Pelle suddenly noticed how exhausted she looked. "Haven't you been to
bed all night?" he asked.

She smilingly shook her head. "I had to take care that the street-door
wasn't locked. Whenever any one came home, I ran down and unlocked it
again. You mustn't be angry with the boy for being afraid of you just at
first. He was sorry for it afterward, and ran about the town all the
evening trying to find you."