I am situated in such a way that if you
aim this blow at me you will not only destroy me, but will also
destroy a great future, rich in blessings, that lies before the
community which, after all, was the home of your childhood.
Johan: And if I do not aim this blow at you, I shall be
destroying all my future happiness with my own hand.
Lona: Go on, Karsten.
Bernick: I will tell you, then. It is mixed up with the railway
project, and the whole thing is not quite so simple as you think.
I suppose you have heard that last year there was some talk of a
railway line along the coast? Many influential people backed up
the idea--people in the town and the suburbs, and especially the
press; but I managed to get the proposal quashed, on the ground
that it would have injured our steamboat trade along the coast.
Lona: Have you any interest in the steamboat trade?
Bernick: Yes. But no one ventured to suspect me on that account;
my honoured name fully protected me from that. For the matter of
that, I could have stood the loss; but the place could not have
stood it. So the inland line was decided upon. As soon as that
was done, I assured myself--without saying anything about it--
that a branch line could be laid to the town.
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