"LOOSELY BASED ON KNUT HAMSUN'S NO VELLA "DREAMERS"" "THE TELEGRAPHIST" "That's enough for today." "Haven't I told you to knock?" "That's what doors are for." "Yes, father." "Yes, yes, yes..." "Come in!" "So what has Fredrik been up to today?" "Isn't it time you got involved in the business?" "Instead of drifting about like some ne'er-do-well?" "How old are you?" "When I was 20, I had made a fortune in Sweden." "Excuse me!" "You have too much outstanding." "I'm getting old." "I've become too nice." "You have to collect." "That's the attitude, Elise!" "Be firm." "Teach your brother that." "He's standing over there doing nothing." "Enok, Levion, Rolandsen..." "The mad telegraphist Rolandsen." "We'II never get money from him." "Miss Van Loos, aren't you engaged to Rolandsen?" "Yes." "What was Rolandsen's last invention?" ""Underwater field glasses!"" "Five..." "Four, three..." "Two..." "Well, if it isn't Rolandsen!" "Why do you think I come so often?" "I don't know." "Have you forgotten something?" "I want to save you." "Watch out for Mack." "He's a mad tempter." "The father or the son?" "You're the biggest tempter around!" "And anyway, you're engaged!" "You want to seduce everyone." "You should be ashamed!" "Should I be ashamed, Rolandsen himself?" "Yes, you should, if you think you can win Elise Mack!" "What was I about to say?" "How long do you boil this soup?" "Can't you sing for us?" "Can't I?" "Can't I?" "Why are you always here?" "Don't you have a telegraph to mind?" "I was just passing by." "If only you had passed by!" "And there aren't many telegrams to dispatch." "Did you cause that explosion?" "What explosion?" "It must have been a rare shooting star." "Don't forget you're in uniform." "Mack's village has grown quiet." "Except when you sing!" "And don't forget that you owe me money." "You're right about that." "I sing better out of uniform." "It's all right." "It was just a small accident." "Some lukewarm water." "Those vats are dangerous, I want you to know." "The girls manage just fine." "They're out-dated." "The girls are exhausted." "Only last a few months." "Don't worry about the girls." "I don't." "But it must be expensive to produce your fish glue." "That factory is a gold mine." "A gold mine!" "How can I play guitar with a disfigured hand?" "Do you doubt what I say?" "How am I to thank you?" "Stop singing for the girls." "Shall do." "Once you've finished embalming the telegraphist, you can take these." "Yes, father." "And give me some change, Elise." "Yes, father." "Does Rolandsen intend on staying?" "Since I'm here, I thought I could humbly ask for a small loan." "I have answered you before." "The answer is no." "I'll pay you back." "With interest." "When the time is right." "What part of "no" don't you understand?" "No means no." "Miserly Swedish bastard!" "What did you say?" "I simply said that you have come to a hospitable and generous people." "When is Captain Henriksen due?" "Any day now." "Excellent." "The sooner the better." "What did he send you today?" "I haven't opened it yet." "He is a great man." "In every way." "You aren't planning on getting married?" "Aren't I?" "With that captain?" "German?" "Can Rolandsen read German?" "When I have the opportunity." "A pastime in quiet moments." "From the German Academy of Science." "In Hamburg." "I don't want you sneaking around my factory." "Is that supposed to resemble Mack, or is it merely a sunset?" "Does he really read German?" "Perhaps I should ask the painter to add an extra planet up there." "Planetus Mackus!" "My shoes." "And my cummerbund." "And my cummerbund!" "Yes." "Dammit, you're all so unwilling!" "Has Mack ever been unreasonable?" "You'II work for the new priest when he arrives from the city." "The new priest?" "He is strict." "He lives by the Scripture." "You'II do better there." "Go now!" "But the potatoes..." "It's decided!" "A post with the new priest..." "Ove?" "Ove?" "Ove?" "I'm working." "You just sit here wiling away your time." "When you aren't singing for the girls!" "That factory has such outstanding acoustics." "I'm working." "What have you invented?" "A fish glue." "You should leave God's creation as it is." "God was a lousy inventor." "I have to help him along." "What's happened to your hand?" "The glue exploded." "Who bandaged you?" "Miss Elise, with her own two hands." "Elise Mack?" "Don't get any ideas." "I resigned from Mack's, so you know it." "Didn't want to work there anymore." "Serves him right!" "Ove!" "I've got a position with the priest." "The new priest." "We need to work something out." "We can't live in sin." "To hell with the priest!" "He's from the city." "They say he's rich." "That he's practically made of money." "Out of the way!" "Shame on you!" "Drunk, when the priest arrives?" "!" "We aren't married yet, just so you all know." "Greetings!" "Come on." "Come here." "No children?" "No, no children." "I could have carried them on my other arm." "I'm Rolandsen." "Telegraphist and inventor." "This is Mack's little fish glue factory." "So small it can be difficult to see." "Mack seems to be a big man?" "Depends what you're used to." "Here is the priest's church." "It is God's house." "And God's." "It looks quite old." "old?" "Does it have a wood stove?" "Is there a wood stove?" "Stove?" "I can't say for sure." "So you don't know?" "Of course there's a stove in God's house!" "Why don't you work at a bigger station, Rolandsen?" "You want me to leave." "I didn't mean that." "That dress makes you even more beautiful." "You're not angry?" "Captain Henriksen sent it to me." "I want to send him a telegram." "To Captain Henriksen." "The Danish West Indian Shipping Company in Copenhagen." "Say...that he is expected." "Is that all?" "You said this was a small telegraph station." "And I'm a small telegraphist." "Soon the telegrams will be so short I can shout them out the window." "The things you say!" "Should I write "To my fiancé "?" "How is your hand?" "It keeps me awake." "It's falling off." "My hand?" "No, the bandage!" "You should have changed it." "I'll write "fiancé"." "Or perhaps "my love"?" "You hand looks fine now." "Doesn't Miss Van Loos clean for you?" "Teach me to play guitar." "With pleasure." "Anytime." "I can teach you know." "Have you sent the telegram?" "I'll give you my guitar." "No, thank you." "But we could...practice a little." "It's yours." "I don't want it." "You shall have my only possession." "Enough about that." "What did you write?" "I wrote what you said." "And what did I say?" "To Captain Henriksen." "That he is expected." "When will you sing for the girls again?" "You could bring your guitar." "I just wanted to give you the only thing I have!" "The only thing I have!" ""We...your...invention..."" ""...are...interested in..."" "That will be heavy to carry." "I couldn't sleep." "The nights are so bright." "What are you doing up?" "I'm welcoming the spring." "But the priest...sleeps soundly?" "Here." "I want you to have this." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Do you understand German?" "You've invented something?" "It says you must send some samples to Hamburg." "It will cost 300 daler." "300 daler?" "I knew it!" "You've invented a new fish glue?" "What's it like, coming to this little place on Earth?" "You who are used to a life in abundance." "Mack also makes fish glue." "Yes, old Mack..." "He wears a red cummerbund because he has a stomachache." "It's quite fashionable up here now, to wear a red cummerbund." "And shoes that squeak." "Shoes that squeak?" "Miss Van Loos will be so proud." "Don't mention her name." "You mustn't follow me home." "I must go alone." "How much was stolen?" "200 daler and my life insurance!" "And you heard and saw nothing?" "Of course not!" "If I had, I would have made fish glue out of him!" "It is my duty to ask." "Whatever." "We're finished here now." "Fetch my cummerbund." "It must be those foreign fishermen." "They did it." "Of course!" "Arrest them." "Arrest them!" "Do as I say!" "I have already questioned them." "They were on board all night." "Then it must be one of our own." "Alas, it appears so." "I don't care about the small change." "I want the thief!" "I shall find him." "You have my word." "Then find him!" "He isn't here!" "Rolandsen, what the hell do you want now?" "Someone's been here before me?" "Indeed!" "Have you seen anything?" "Seen anything?" "I came to ask for a loan." "You've come at the wrong time." "I've never come at a more appropriate time." "I want nothing to do with you!" "I'll pay you back many times over." "Let me down!" "I've made an invention." "Help me, or I'll drive you from the field!" "Rolandsen, have you lost your mind?" "And you are more beautiful than ever." "I think I love you." "What the hell are you saying?" "I'll break you like the louse you are!" "We were robbed last night." "A large sum of money is missing." "You have my deepest sympathy." "I don't need it." "Get out!" "We must offer a reward, father." "Double the amount stolen." "400 riksdaler?" "Are you mad?" "Has everyone gone mad?" "People have started talking." "Talking?" "About what?" "That Mack is bankrupt." "You're right." "Put my shoes in water." "There, there..." "It wasn't so bad, was it?" "Harder." "Harder!" "Maybe Mack stole the money to collect the reward himself!" "Good day, UIrik." "REWARD: 400 DALER FOR SOLVING THE THEFT" "Nicodemus came to Jesus during the night." "And so it is with us." "They come in the night." "Break into our homes." "And steal our belongings!" "They come to us at night." "But Nicodemus harmed no one." "He was a frightened man..." "The world has risen in shame." "Who is Nicodemus?" "It is the greedy at heart who steal." "But I say unto you, come to me." "And I shall give to you of my abundance." "How much is he worth?" "I heard you have a command of German." "Eh, German..." "I knew some, when I was younger." "Perhaps you could help me with some letters one day?" "Of course." "My wife is at your disposal." "Why don't you add your daughter to the reward?" "Fire!" "The church is burning!" "I was just thinking about you." "There is a star up there in the heavens that still has no name." "I suggest naming it after you." "I heard you put the fire out." "It was like blowing out a candle." "You can catch cold standing there." "Sit down here." "I'll show you the star I mean." "No, I can't." "Up there." "A little to the left." "That's the star I mean." "Let me help you." "That's too heavy for one man." "How is the portrait of Mack the Great coming along?" "almost completed?" "Odd that he would have his cummerbund painted first." "Don't you find that odd, OIga?" "I don't know what you mean." "I understand myself better." "My God, I've lost my mind." "Her smile makes my entire body radiate." "If a poor telegraphist is allowed to ask:" "Are you engaged?" "To young Fredrik Mack." "Me?" "No." "I'm not engaged to anyone." "Are you mad?" "You're only smiling at me to trouble me even more." "No, I'm not." "Don't you believe that!" "I've lost my mind." "You want a girl for each finger." "And you, Miss OIga, do you want the son or the father?" "I can no longer employ you as my assistant, Levion." "The church could have been lost." "Rolandsen put the fire out." "It wasn't my fault, it was..." "Are you blaming others?" "Don't you read the Scripture?" "Just say it like it is." "You were most careless." "Leave it to me to determine what's true." "And there is another matter." "You brought your wife to the grave with a dead calf." "My wife would have been the first to remind me to bring the calf." "Had she been able to." ""You're going the same way," she would have said." "You speak with great ignorance." "I speak as I think." "If the priest is too particular, he will find no assistant." "That is my business." "You are free to go." "As I said, I will find another assistant." "Who will that be?" "I don't have to tell you." "But it will be Enok." "Enok?" "I know him well." "The priest wants an assistant with a bandaged ear?" "Enough!" "If the priest wants God's house to burn..." "Say no more, Levion." "You know not what you are saying." "Enok, with the bandaged ear..." "Time to go home, Levion." "Can dinner be served now?" "We must wait for my wife." "Then They'll get cold." "What?" "The potatoes." "Can't she ever be on time?" "I wanted to say that those were well-chosen words in your sermon." "I have thought and thought about Nicodemus." "The thing is, I have this invention..." "Get rid of these." "We can't have the house full of stones!" "Leave the stones!" "They're only common stones, dear." "I like holding them." "As you wish." "I met Levion." "He didn't say hello." "I just dismissed him." "His wife just died!" "And he brought a dead calf to her grave!" "You're strict with your fellow man." "Yes, it's necessary." "Their life is anything but joyous." "All they do is lie and fornicate!" "But I'll write to those concerned..." "Don't you have something to do?" "Yes." "I would like to ask a small favor." "In God's name." "A very small loan...to..." "to realize my invention." "I have thought and thought about Nicodemus..." "Nicodemus..." "Oh, is it you, Rolandsen?" "Those were very well-chosen words in your sermon." "Thank you." "I haven't forgotten your bravery at the church." "I hardly dare think about..." "You saved us from disaster." "I've thought about Nicodemus." "You are right to do so." "In God's name I'd like to..." "Excuse us." "How rich is he?" "What have you done to your hair?" "I usually cut my hair this time of year." "You want to impress Elise Mack!" "I'm better off talking to a tree." "Captain Henriksen will have Elise." "Know your place, Ove Rolandsen!" "Amen." "Don't blaspheme in my presence!" "The priest talked about us today." "About our sins." "Have you seen his money?" "Is it here?" "You said he was rich." "The priest?" "He's utterly broke!" "You should see his clothes." "His wife made a dress from old curtains." "She collects ordinary stones." "Doesn't he have any money?" "She can't even afford new shoes." "At this moment I feel like dying." "But first I want to make a big bell to ring." "With a clapper made from the thigh of an ox." "You can go talk to that tree now." "And the priest can declare me dead and powerless." "Don't talk like that in his house!" "God is an impudent man." "He wouldn't even recognize his own." "But I, Ove Rolandsen, I am a millionaire!" "I am a millionaire!" "I am a bankrupt millionaire!" "Speak of the devil!" "It's Rolandsen." "Maybe Mack will turn himself in and cash in on his own reward." "Is Mack a scoundrel, or what?" "400 DALER REWARD TO THE THIEF IF HE CONFESSES" "He has arrived." "Who?" "I don't care." "I don't want to know." "Shall I throw Enok in the sea for you?" "I can throw the priest in after him, if you want." "Get off!" "Your cask has also arrived." "Move yourself." "You go on ahead." "I'll be right with you." "As you wish...my dear." "So he's the one you shall have." "Elise?" "It's Rolandsen." "He's received a cask of cognac." "That man is insufferable!" "No, you stay in bed!" "Go home, Rolandsen!" "Go home!" "I never!" "In the middle of the night..." "Home, home, home!" "That got rid of him." "Left with his tail between his legs." "Tomorrow he'll get a letter regarding his behavior!" "I'll talk to him." "You?" "Yes." "Thou shalt keep..." "the Sabbath holy!" "We're holy enough!" "You heard the priest!" "Return to your boats or I'll have to get tough!" "Do whatever you want!" "Watch yourself." "I'm in uniform!" "Stuff your uniform!" "Who's next?" "A rope!" "Get a rope!" "Let's get him!" "How many are you?" "Isn't that Rolandsen?" "Look at Rolandsen, boys!" "He's mad!" "He just assaulted Levion." "Let's rope him!" "What good's a rope?" "Let me take care of him." "Hello, telegraphist Rolandsen." "As is your proper name and title." "Come on, UIrik, I'll mash you into olive oil!" "You've come at the right time." "I'll bless you here and now!" "Who's next?" "Hello?" "Rolandsen?" "Rolandsen?" "I..." "I saw you outside the church." "You were..." "You were quite impressive." "It's an abuse of your eyes to look at me." "So this is your invention?" "Haven't you sent the samples?" "They'll be on their way soon." "You mustn't sing for us at night." "It was thoughtless of me." "I expected miss Van Loos to be there." "So it was for her you sang?" "Yes, a salty little song in the early morning." "It was me lying there." "I thought it was her." "I see." "I have a letter for you." "From the priest." "Couldn't he have come himself?" "It says you should confess." "Confess?" "There is one thing I must envy the priest." "And that is you." "Aren't you..." "Aren't you going to open the letter?" "I respectfully but definitely envy him you." "You mustn't do it." "Do what?" "You mustn't sing at night." "I didn't expect you until tomorrow." "The weather forced us back." "Where have you been?" "Walking." "In this weather?" "Yes!" "I'm tired." "I'm going to bed." "No wonder." "That loudmouth kept you awake last night." "I think she should leave." "Miss Van Loos?" "Why?" "He's engaged to her." "He?" "There'II be no peace at night until she leaves." "What was I saying?" "With your ships and my merchandise,   we can compete in Europe." "You've had a look around?" "We need a larger pier." "The one you have now is too small." "I have thought about that." "And what is that fish glue factory good for?" "What it's good for?" "I'm a merchant." "Your business is fish." "Why keep it here?" "Why not send it south?" "You said so yourself." "What did I say?" "My ships, your merchandise." "Besides..." "It smells bad here." "You get used to the smell." "You'll miss it when you leave." "May I offer you a glass?" "This..." "This is what we call green tea." "Green tea?" "Boiled with leaves from Burma." "Burma." "That are dried slowly over a very low heat." "When does it get dark?" "The sun is always up now." "We can't get rid of it." "It just hangs there." "I meant the season." "When does it get dark?" "When does it disappear?" "It usually reappears." "Not until December." "Then we must have the wedding in Copenhagen before then." "Crush me like the louse I am." "I'm the one who robbed you." "I'm turning myself in." "I can no longer keep quiet." "Are you ill, Rolandsen?" "I'm the one who did it." "So it was really you?" "Yes." "I can no longer keep quiet." "The priest made me a new man." "When did you do it?" "Tuesday night, three weeks ago." "There was a document with the money." "Where is it?" "I remember." "I burned it." "That was my life insurance." "You don't normally steal from people." "I never rob small nests." "I go for the bank itself." "So it was you." "What disturbs me the most, is what you've subjected my family to." "I'll do something about that." "I'll put up my own notice." "I don't require that." "It'II be hard enough for you." "The priest told me to confess." "Rolandsen has confessed." "I'm not surprised." "Aren't you going to have him arrested?" "You can put me in chains here and now, if you wish." "Rolandsen?" "Not to insult you, but I'm a man of my word." "I offered the thief a reward of 400 riksdaler." "It's yours." "I deserve your contempt." "You'll be an unhappy man." "You'll lose your job." "I won't miss the money, but you might need it." "I can't..." "I'll consider it a loan." "Very well." "A loan." "I am a thief!" "I am the thief!" "I, O VE ROLANDSEN, CONFESS THAT I, AND NO OTHER, AM THE THIEF" "I no longer care to know you." "Steal money like a common thief, and make a public confession..." "I'm leaving tomorrow on the mail boat." "Is the mail boat coming tomorrow?" "Don't think of seeing me off." "I bid you eternal farewell today." "But you can wave goodbye from up here if you want." "I don't care." "Can't we write?" "No." "Not a chance." "I'm from an honorable family." "I won't be compromised by you." "But I'll be at my father's house in Bergen, if you do write." "Though I won't ask you to." "Give me your hand." "No, I won't!" "You know best what you've done with your right hand!" "I offer my sympathy, Levion, for the death of your wife." "Life is never easy." "Thank you." "Hamburg?" "What do you want there?" "Ask no more, Levion." "Tomorrow, when the mail boat comes, I want you to deliver this package." "With the utmost secrecy." "Here." "Levion..." "Rolandsen?" "Look me in the eye, Rolandsen." "You have fallen deeply." "Only I know how deep." "And God." "Sure." "You followed my instructions." "You confessed your sins." "My mission here hasn't been in vain." "You are an exceptional priest." "At writing letters." "Mack..." "I'm sailing south tomorrow with the mail boat." "I'm expecting a shipment of lamb from Australia." "Hermetically sealed." "So that it keeps." "You should try it, Mack." "Corned beef from Argentina." "Argentina?" "But you have your business to take care of here." "And there is much to take care of." "These figures are disturbing." "As I said, I'm leaving tomorrow." "I'll be back for Elise in the fall." "That was our agreement." "Does she have to marry him?" "We need his ships and contacts." "It's decided." "There's no other way." "More tea, father?" "They'll marry in Copenhagen in September." "What?" "No, thank you." "Thank you, Levion." "In one month You'll be rewarded, when I get word from abroad." "I trust you had a good journey?" "Step inside, young man!" "Here is the new telegraph machine, as you can see." "Rolandsen?" "Telegraphist ole Rolandsen." "Ove." "You understand your dismissal is effective immediately?" "The new telegraphist, Enoksen..." "Isaksen." "...will take over right away." "And you will leave immediately." "That is my understanding." "You're a disgrace to our profession!" "I'm a disgrace to everyone." "Well..." "Are you in love with Fredrik?" "Yes." "Does he feel the same about you?" "I think so." "God bless you, OIga." "It will work, You'll see." "Go on ahead." "I'll be along shortly." "I shouldn't be talking to you." "No, you could have walked by." "My husband has been transferred." "I will miss you." "I wish it had never happened." "Remember to take your stones with you." "Thank you." "God be with you." "Don't worry." "He is." "He has reason to be." "Truly He rules over all creation." "But it can't be rewarding to rule over animals, mountains, trees." "We make Him what He is." "So why shouldn't He be with me?" "Her eyes, Levion, are like twin stars." "Have a good catch!" "I'm a disgrace to both Heaven and Earth." "But allow me to say this:" "In order to be successful in this life, you mustn't do too much." "Do less than the bare minimum, and it will be just right." "Speaking from experience, Rolandsen?" "You!" "I must be hot around your ear!" "You started the fire!" "I tore off one of your ears before!" "You want me to tear off the other one too?" "The money!" "Here is Mack's money!" "He hid it under a rock!" "That's mine!" "Rolandsen isn't the thief!" "Enok is the thief!" "Now the priest can see what kind of assistant he has." "Enok is the thief!" "It isn't you!" "Rolandsen, it isn't you!" "Enok is the thief!" "Enok is the thief!" "What are you babbling about?" "You were wrong, Rolandsen." "You aren't the thief, Enok is." "I'll be damned..." "That's at least a month too soon." "That scoundrel swindled me out of 400 riksdaler!" "Don't laugh at my misfortune!" "It's Fredrik's bookkeeping." "He's reversed debit and credit." "Rolandsen will pay for this!" "he'll pay back every krone." "Where the hell is he?" "Where can he have gone?" "I hope they never find him." "That he's at the bottom of the sea." "Where's OIga?" "She no longer works here." "She doesn't?" "I let her go." "I'm not dead yet." "You could have asked me first." "Where is the bride?" "Where is your sister Elise!" "I must reserve a German orchestra for her farewell party." "Don't forget to mention that this party will be talked about for years." "They shall play when the guests arrive, and at the dance later." "I'm sure Madam wouldn't object   to a small glass?" "It's taken care of." "I've engaged a German orchestra." "Come back!" "You're mine!" "That one's mine!" "You've eaten enough!" "You can swim out and get your own!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "Have you lost your mind?" "You come all this way to ask me?" "I'm not at all happy with you." "I might just do something about it." "Like what?" "I could strangle you to death." "I just found my boat adrift." "It rowed by itself, out to sea." "You're coming back, right?" "Back?" "Why?" "You're talking to a seal, Levion." "Be aware of that." "I bring greetings from the new telegraphist." "There's a telegram for you." "A telegram?" "already?" "You mustn't come here." "Tell me if God is with me." "They offer..." "They offer 1 00,000 daler for your invention!" "I knew it!" "Now He is with me." "Now He is with me!" "You made a fool of me, Rolandsen!" "You know what's happened?" "I've been out fishing." "Much could have happened." "Allow me to fill you in." "Did you burn my life insurance policy?" "Here it is, Rolandsen." "The money has also turned up." "All wrapped in a piece of cloth." "That belonged to Enok!" "Then Enok must be the thief." "You are worse than a thief!" "I won't forgive you this time." "I can pay you back." "The money is irrelevant." "Why did you send for me?" "To have you arrested." "Are you still here?" "Waiting to be put in irons." "I'm not an animal." "I still have my reason." "Why didn't you send the sheriff?" "Someone intervened." "Who?" "Elise said no." "That's strange." ""Fischleim."" "Looks promising." "Have you been offered this for your invention?" "It says so in the telegram." "In German." "In a way we're competitors." "Not just in a way." "You're going to lose." "You're completely in my hands." "Turn me in, then." "My time will come." "What are your intentions?" "To ruin you!" "You should show some courtesy." "Do not be impolite to an old man." "I'll make you an offer." "We utilize the invention together." "We rebuild your factory." "I manage it." "My offer stands for 24 hours." "If Rolandsen allows me?" "We're practically partners now." "Olga is looking pretty tonight." "You're right about that." "But I could have done without the music." "Your glass is empty." "Time to drop the formalities." "Cheers, Ove Rolandsen!" "What do you think of the music?" "I'm not a musical person." "Have you met Captain Henriksen?" "He seems to have forgotten his cane." "Rolandsen?" "Don't forget to say hello to Rolandsen." "He's so aloof." "As if he's saved us!" "It isn't that bad." "He speaks, but ignores my reply." "He's very busy tonight, you see." "He's wormed his way into our family." "Shall we dine?" "Allow me to anticipate this evening's events." "I would like to offer my thanks for the hospitality and friendship   extended to me here in this little place." "Who would have thought one could find such a pearl here?" "I understand that the priest has left, so we find ourselves   on a godforsaken coast." "But you will still have good old Mack, when Elise and I sail south." "Away from the dark to get married in lighter times." "And now we can perhaps be seated, if Mack has no objections?" "I'd also like to say a few words." "Since I've been invited and came of my own free will." "I wish to speak humbly about the stars." "Some liken them to pebbles in the heavens." "But I disagree." "And I know exactly what I'm talking about." "When I first came here as a telegraphist, " " I was struck by such a star." "But it hung so high, that a person like me couldn't reach it,   no matter how far I stretched." "But its light reached me." "And I have kept that light hidden deep in my heart." "And stars are so generous that they continue to send their light   long after they have gone." "That's all I have to say." "A beautiful time of year is approaching." "The dark." "Then you can point out a star." "And believe that it is yours." "I'm not a man of long speeches." "I like things to be done,   and I want to see them happen." "That is how you know me." "May I therefore propose a toast   to the couple." "Cheers for the couple!" "Elise?" "Subtitles:" "Nick Norris"