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oak chair. “Yes, I did. Both a ship and a train.” She sat down. “Now, why do you like the train so?” She leaned forward to look Knute right in the eyes.
    “It is so big and goes so fast.”
    “Big and fast. Big and fast.” Mary shook her head like big sisters everywhere.
    Nora smothered a grin behind her coffee cup. “Someday, I’m sure you’ll have a train ride.”
    “Now, you children go play in the other room,” their mother ordered. She rose to her feet and laid the baby in his cradle. “Miss Johanson and I would like to visit.”
    “Yes, Ma.” The two obediently slid to the floor and, gathering their books, ran laughing down the hall.
    “No running in the house.”
    “Yes, Ma.” A giggle floated back to the peaceful room.
    Ingeborg poured herself a cup of coffee and brought it over to the table. The orange-striped cat followed her and wound herself around Nora’s ankles. The toddler followed the cat and tugged at her mother’s skirt to be picked up.
    Nora felt a tug at her heart. “What beautiful children you have.” She leaned over and scratched along the cat’s arched back. “It is so wonderful here.”
    “Thank you.” Ingeborg settled little Grace on her lap and leaned back in her chair. “Mary and Knute should be at school, but there have been so many children sick that they closed the school for a time. I thank the Lord each day for keeping us safe and healthy. The fever seems to come like a fiend from the north and before you realize it, people are coughing to death. That’s where John is now. Someone else died during the night. And the doctor was at a difficult birthing. But there seems to be nothing he can do for these poor ones. Some get well but many don’t.”
    “We’ve had those in Norway, too. But not so much this last year.” Nora got up and refilled her coffee cup.
    “Ach, what a terrible hostess I am,” Ingeborg moved as if to get up.
    “No, you stay there. This is the least I can do when you take in a stranger like this.” Nora sat back down. The cat leaped up into her lap and settled itself for a nap.
    “The cat likes you; the children like you; I like you. That means we all agree. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to.” Ingeborg stroked little Grace’s silky white hair; the little one’s eyes drooped closed and a thumb found its way into her mouth.
    “You have no idea how much your offer means to me, but I must earn my own way. With all the illness, isn’t there someone who needs a strong back and willing hands?”
    “I don’t know.” The older woman wrinkled her brow in thought. “Can you teach school? There is a town not far from here that is looking for a schoolteacher.”
    Nora shook her head. “I think not. I have no certificate and, besides, I don’t speak English. Does everyone around here speak Norwegian?”
    “No, there are Germans and Swedes and several Norse dialects. You would have to learn English.” She thought awhile. “You’re not thinking of returning to Norway then?”
    “I have no money.”
    “None at all?”
    “Four pennies. That is why Oscar brought me here last night. I couldn’t afford the hotel.” Nora sipped her coffee. “Do you suppose they need anyone at the hotel? I can cook and clean.”
    Ingeborg shuddered. “I know the Lord says not to speak ill of anyone, but we can’t let you work there. We’ll ask John when he comes home. Surely he’ll have an idea of what to do.”
    Nora stroked the soft fur of the cat purring in her lap. It was true, animals and children always took to her, especially the wounded. Back home she loved teaching Sunday school for the little ones. If only she did not need English to teach school in North Dakota.
    The clock bonged the first notes of twelve.
    “Oh, my land. John may be home any minute.” Ingeborg roused the sleepy Grace and, after a quick kiss, set the child on the floor. “Mary, time to set the table. Knute, the coal bin is nearly empty.”
    “Let me help.”