THE PROOF

By MATTI KOLEIDJ:\D,'"E~

The atmOlphere oj the cauntry oj laku and forut8 alld the mood oj its fN-oplearc captured ill the following .hort 8wry written by a ri8illg member of the youlIl/ergeneratian oj Fillnuh wriJera.-K.M.

W HEN the steamer on board whichReina Koljonen had sailed from~ ewcastle approached the Finnish

coast, and the low hills, luminous in theglow of the etting sun, raised their softcrests on the horizon, his heart throbbeda '\"iolently that it almost hurt.

Twelve years had passed since In t hehad seen the coast line of his country ashe did now-only that then the hills inthere had grown smaBer and smaller,finally to disappear into the ea, whilenow they were getting bigger and biggerand coming closer all the time. Then ithad been a sad, apprehensive farewell;now it was home-coming, after turbulent,toilsome years with much adversity andstruggle in the distant lands across thesea.

Reino had been only fifteen when hismother took him away from home. Hehad not then fully understood why heand his mother had to leave, although hecould Dot help feeling that relationsbetween his mother and father-or ratherhis stepfather, for Osmo Peltola. was hismother's second husband-were not quitewhat they should have beeD. Reino hadnever known his real father, who haddied when Reina was a baby. Later, inAmerica, where his mother sett.led withflo si ter of her , she had told Reina thecircumstELllces which had compelled herto leave their home and country.

Osmo Peltola was a hard, elfi'h man.Soon after her marriage, Reino's motherhad already been made to feel that herhusband regarded her only as a art ofservant whom he could treat as he plea ed.With all her might she bad tried to brillgtheir matrimonial tate into a moreharmonious groove, but in vain: condi­tions only got worse as time went on andno children were born. The idea thatthe farm and all his property would, athis death, go to a son who was not hischild, engendered a certain cruelty in themind of this egoistic man, a cruelty whichReina was often made to feel. Finallythere was nothing left for Reina's mother,but to leave, if she did not want to letherself be entirely broken and deli verher child up to a tyrant's caprice. Sheand the fiIteen-year-old boy emigratedto America.

The memory of his mother madeReina Koljonen forget his surroundin 8

for a while--the hills which were nowcloaked in a blue- ITay haze, the seaaround him, and all the twinkling starsof heaven. She had Dot had an ea-sytime. Her whole life had been a hopelessstruggle against heavy odds. After threeyears in Quebec, she had died.

Since then Reina had wandered aboutin the tates and Canada. Open-air lifeappealed much more to him than lifein big cities. He was a typical nature-

'272 THE XX~h CENTURY

lover; for no less than five and a halfyeal'S he worked at the sawmills up inthe fore t of Northwe t Canada. Alonely life it was, devoid of a,ll the amuse­lnents and distractions which towns­people know and are 80 fond of. But heliked hi way of living, and for a coupleof years he shared the solitude with acountryman of his, Kaarlo Antikainen,who was the same age.

Kaarlo, whose looks bore a striking.similarity to Reino's, was hardly the typeof person with whom Reino would have.ns ociated under more home-like condi­tions; but the loneliness, and their distantmutual native land, made them confidein each other. When Kaarlo Antikainenhad gone away after a while, Reino feltvery lonesome and had already thoughtof returning to civilization. But Kaarlo:suddenly turned up again. Their formerfriendship continued for some months­then Kaarlo disappeared aga.in, and thistime he did not come back.

Reino stayed in Canada for another.year; then he could not stand it anylonger and went down to the States.And there, at one of the Finnish Con­.sulates, he learned that the Finnishauthorities had been looking for him for.some time, as he was the sole heir to thedeceased OSJllO Peltola.

AND now-now he was home againl

His whole being trembled with joy ashe walked up through the va.lley in thesparkling morning sunshine. He sang.He now saw the world of his childhoodas the Biblical emissaries must have·seen the Promised Land. More beautifulthan in any of the dreams of his exile werethe green slopes, the emerald lake, theheath-covered plains, the forest, and thehills. And there, straight ahead, laythe dear old village-and the farm, hischildhood home !

A cloud passed over his face for amoment. Now he came to think of it,it was not there, between the solid loghouses, that his happy memories belonged.'There Osmo Peltola, his stepfather, had

ruled. There his mother had sufferedand struggle<! until life grew too difficultfor her. And he himself, hadn't healways been afraid in the shadow ofhome1 Only when he had been outsidein the open air, on the hill slopes or onthe banks of the lake, where he was freeand where his friends were the birds inthe sky, the bushes and the flowers, andthe big boulders in the rushing waters ofthe river which he had known one by oneand now recognized, only then had hefelt happy and carefree.

There was the school-over there nearthe pine forest, just like in the good olddays. No, not quite! Something wasmissing, or rather somebody: the school­master Rinne's daughter, the blonde,curly-haired little girl who used to runabout in the courtyard in front of thehouse. Where was Orvokki Rinne now,he wondered1 She must have marriedlong ago. Perhaps she was far away.

He and Orvokki had been such play­mates! In spite of the fact that she wasa girl and three years younger than he,he had always played with her a lot morethan with anybody else. They had beenin love with each other, in the mannerof children. She was always the fairyprincess, and he the prince; and whenthey sat at the edge of the lake, buildingcastles in the air and making plans forthe future, it was always a future together-they could not even imagine any alter­native but that they would "belong toeach other" when they grew up. Theirparting, the day before he left with h.ismother, had been rich in both tears andpromises. She promised faithfully towait for him until he came back. And he-well, he was to work and toil, growrich, and then return to take her awayfrom the village.

Reino Koljonen smiled sadly. Bothhad, of course, forgotten their promises.After all, they had only been irresponsiblechildren. But, nevertheless, there wassomething sweet and tender in thesethoughts, something pure and innocentwhich had become estranged in his lat-erlife when the gold dust had been blownoff the wings of his child-mind.

THE PROOF 273

He had almost reached the village.From the farm, which was to be his assoon a he had proved who he was, menand horscs were flocking out through thegate to begin work in the fields.

"Good morning," greeted the returningwanderer, lifting h.is cap.

"Good morning!" rang out the answerof those riding past a~ they turned tolook after the stranger.

Reino crollsed the courtyard and enteredthe kitchen, where the servant~ werebusy clearing up after breakfast. Theylooked at the newcomer with inqui itiveeyes.

"Can I see your master?" asked Re.ino.

One of the maids indicated by a nodthat he could open the door at the end ofa passage leading from the kitchen.

"Come in!" thundered a commandingvoice as he knocked at the door.

Reino entered. In the center of theroom stood a man with his hands in hispockets. Reino was speecWess, he staredat the man completely wlable to utter aword. It was impossible for him to dothe least bit of thinking, his feet ::lcemedrooted tu thc flour.

The man was Kn~lrlo Antikaincn.

"Well ir? What do you want?"

Not n, muscle moved in his face.

"Kaar1o! Yon?" fina,Hy burst out ofReino; the unexpectecl sitwttion in whichhe foun I himself continued to be so con­fusing that he could not make head or tailof it.

'KILarlu, yuu I:lCLY~ Yuu lUust btl mit!­taktln, lI1y guod IIItLIl! I am nut Kando.My name is IteulO Koljonen. 1 lUll theowner of this farm.'

"You'l You're crazy! What does allthis mean? '

Kaarlo AlltiklLincn laughed gruffly."Are you really too stupid to grasp it?I am Reino Koljonen. On my returnto Finland a long time ltgo, I verifiedmy id ntity sati fa torily, and I havetaken o\'er the legacy which, a.ccording

to the will of my stepfather, Osmo Peltola.is my legitimate property!"

For a,nother moment Reino stood quitemotionless-then he leaped toward theother man: "Thief! Swindlerl"

"Cool down!" Kaarlo Antikainen hast­ily retired behind the table. "Do youthink you'll get anywhere by force? Takeit easy-or I'll have a few of my mentake care of you!"

Reino had stopped again. He sawthat the other was right. Force wouldnot help, it would only make thingsworse. The whole situation became clearto him in a fla.sh. Over there, in Canada,he had initiated Kaarlo Antikainen intoconditions at home down to the minutestdetail. In the long, lonely evenings hehad told him all about the events of hischildhood, about relationships and friend­ships-he had disclosed everything with­out a thought of deceit. And thenKaarlo had left. At some consulate orother he had learned about the death ofOsmo Peltola and the search for hisstepson. He had made up his mind torisk the Luld coup. He and Reino borea suR.iciont resemblance. Who, after hewas aLle to prove his identity t!atisfl1ctori­ly, would ever think of exposing tillSidentity to doubt und investigations?In ordcr to obta.ill tho necessary docu­ments, he had retw'nod to the remoteplace in ()t~nada where Reino wa.s livingand had committed his theft without theslightest difficulty.

And now?

"You knew how to listen, Kaarlo."

"I always have been able to use myears ltnd eyes. Hut why talk aooutthin~s of the past which cannot bealtered? "

"You think I shaH lot you remain hereon the farm posing a.s Reino Koljonen?"

The other shrugged his shoulders. 'Asa stranger without I\, name in this partof the country you ought to be wiseenough not to try the impossible. Whatproof have you that is better than mine?And don't forget, mine has been officillllyrecognized! Use your common seuse!

274 THE XXtb OENTURY

"

Go ba~k to America. 1 am willing tohelp you with money-I am not goingto be stingy or narrow-minded."

Reino stared in front of him as if itwas impossible for him to understandwhat the other said. Then he burst outlaughing:

"No, friend Kaarlo, you are not goingto win this game that cusily!" he ex­claimed, suddenly serious again. "And1 won't let you win it at all! The truthhas alway. been stronger than falsehoodwhen the time was ripe. The truth willdefeat you yet. H nothing else willtestify in my favor, the sky, the earth,the hills, the forest, and the lake herein the district of my childhood will takeon voiOO8 and say which of us is ReinoKoljonen and which is a ruthless liarand swindler!"

Kaarlo's eyes flickered with suddenfear, his face turned gray, but he pulledhimseU together and shouted: "So, youare trying to scare me, eM Get out ofhere-or you'll have to sleep in the con­stable's jail tonightl"

As if in a drunken stupor, Reino walkedback toward the lake where the constable'sfarm lay. All sorts of thoughts whirledin his head. What a home-coming­what IL terrible shook! What was worstwas not that somebody had stolen hisproperty but that his name, too, had beentaken from him, that in some way hedidn't exist at all.

He suddenly noticed somebody walkingtoward him. It wus a youug woman ina simple, light-colored dress. Goldenhair shone from under her bonnet, twolimpid blue eyes were looking at mm.He stopped.

"Orvokki!"

She, too, had stopped. Not fear, buta speechless bewilderment, ll. completehelplessness, showed in her pretty face.

"Don't you recognize me?" he finallyBaid.

She did not answer, just went on lookingat him.

"I am Reino. I have come back. Iknow what has happened. Don't yousee it's me?"

She stepped back when he approachedher. Her eyes were full of tears. "But­but it can't be!" she stammered. "ReinoKoljonen has been home for more thana year! And you-you.?"

"You are-his?" He nodded in thedirection of the farm. She shook herhead, still staring at mm. "No, but hewants me to be-he always reminds meof the promise 1 gave him as a child."

"It was to me you gave your promise,Orvokki! It was you and 1 who playedby the river!"

"But he, too, has told me everythingjust as it was then-everything! 1 don'tunderstand. There is something abouthim which isn't like the Reino I used toknow-but how could I doubt? 1 thoughtReino might have changed during allthese years. "

"Orvokki-do I look like the Reinowhom you remember?"

She looked him straight in the eyes.A faint blush spread over her smoothlyrounded cheeks.

"Yes!" she answered softly. "But still-first he came-and then you! One ofyou must be able to bring the proof."

"1 shall produce it!"

An idea had suddenly struck him. Hesaw the proof in his mind's eye, it couldn'tfail it was bound to break down alldoubts.

, I'll tell you everything later, Orvokki,"he went on, taking her weakly resistinghands. "Are you going home now1"

"I was on my way home." All of asudden she started and looked up thehill where a horseman appeared. "It'shim! Oh, wluLt is he up to now1"

"The saDIe thing a8 1. He is on hisway to the authorities. He will try toget in ahead of me and render me harm­less."

"I'll rely on you!" she said softly."You are Reino."

THE PROOF 2715

"Well, go home now-and look out forwhat's going to happen. When you sooa crowd of men coming from the valleyalong the river, go to the old quarry atthe waterfall. We'll meet there."

"Reino!" The name came from herlips without any hesitation. "What areyou going to d01"

"I'll provide the proof. Go now,Orvokki. He mustn't soo us here togeth­er." He pressed her hands and walkedon.

Some minutes later the rider, KaarloAntikninen, passed him at a brisk trot.

"Sure, go ahead, hurry'" nodded Reino."You're still ahead of me-but just wait'"

WHEN Reino rea~hed the constable'shouse, the district judge and acouple of policemen had just

arrived. Strange rumors had alreadyspread all over the countryside, andpeople stood about in crowds discussingthe event. Reino felt immediately thatthe mood of the gathering was decidedlyagainst him, that they considered himeither an unusually bold swindler or alunatic. Kaarlo Antikainen was explain­ing matters to the judg an explanationwhich had been con iuored thoroughlyin all details-for of cow'se he had reck­oned with Reino's turning up some dayor other. He turned the whole affairupside down, stating convincingly enoughthat this man who 1l0W stepped forwardto claim the inheritauce had had amplereason to think him-"the legal heir andowner"-dead and gone somewhere inCanada. By means of partly stolen andpartly spurious papenl he now wanted totake possession of fortune and property.

After having boon kept under strictsurveillance by the two policemen forabout an hour, Reino was called into theroom where the case was being examined.All eyes were turned on him. Who wasthis man?

"I know my pOl:lition in this case," hebegan. "I realize that my papers provenothing, as this man"-he pointed toKaarlo Antikainell-"also has in his pos­session documents which verify his iden-

tity as Reino Koljoncn just as well asmine."

The judge made an impatient gestureand was going to interrupt.

"I know of only one thing," Reino con­tinued, raising his voice, "which canprove who's who. And this proof is sounequivocal and convinoing that it willleave no doubt whatever in the mindsof any of the men present here."

"Then produce it!" came the voice ofthe judge after a short interval of silenoe.

• Yes, I shall do so-but then it will benecessary for all the people here to followme, for the court mu t sit somewhereelse, namely, at the pot where it i toLe shown wh.ich f us is Reino Koljonenand which 11 ruthless swindler! '

A little wrule later, the Olen of authorityand a crowd of people from thevillage walked up through the valley

along the river. They passed the bridgelead.ing ~r0S8 to the chool building andthe houses at the edge of the forest, andfarther on toward the waterfall and theold, long-abandoned quarry.

Finally, they re~hed the pla~e rightbelow the thundering cataract. Theorowd halted and looked at Reino in in­quisitive anticipation. What WIl.8 hisintention?

Turning to the grave-faced men, Reinoimmediately began to peak: • Here theevidence is to be procured. Here theone who calls himself Reino Koljonen isto prove that he really is that man, thusdelivering the other up to sentence andpunishment!"

Kaarlo Antikainen's face had suddenlyturned gray.

278 THE XXth CENTURY

Reino continued: "The real ReinoKoljonen often eros ed the r1,er at thisspot as a boy. Only very few peopleknew the path between Lif and deathhere. Sometime a little girl tood onthe other bank-Orvokki Rinne wa. hername--anriou Iy waiting f r th boy.Not, too she i$ waih:71g JOT h1"m'! You whocall yourself Reino Koljonen and havet.a.ken over his inheritance and property"-he had turned directly to Kaarlo­• you shall hu ,e the right to cro the eeddie fir t-acro s to per! If you lllowthe way, you are the one you pretend tobe-and I am the swindler."

"He i right!" The old bailiff, one ofthe few people Reino t.m recalled,stepped up oloser to Reino. "I have seenthe boy Reino Koljonen do it-I onceeven panked him for his foolhardine...It i true what thi man ay:: only a fewpeopl knew th wa. aero the r1,erhere-and the boy R ino was one ofthem. Indeed, here i the pI' or."

A murmur of approva.l swept throughthe athering. They looked at K arlo­but the latter had recoiled in intuitivhorror. Hi eyes wander d aero theroaring, ru hing water. -hi e~Te honwith the fear of death.

"I won't no it!" he tammered hoarsely."After so many year! Nobony callexpect that!"

"If you won't, I will!" Reino laughedinto hi face. "Only one of u can doit! "

And uddenly a loud hout rang outin the midst of the confusion. EvelJ'uodyturned around to the bank of the r1'-er.R ino had pulled off his hoes and oekand wa already working his way throughthe foaming waters.

Cautiou ly, hut with ure, illl wen'ingtep , he fought on, now winding around

a gurgling whi.rlpool, now making anabrupt turn Upr1'- I' clo jn on thethundering mas e of falling water. Itwu a ero sin' of life and death-but heknew the way!

A la t leap throu h the eetbing water,and Rein wa ale on the other bankwhere Orvokki awaited him with out­tr tched arms.

"Reino' he whispered flinging her­s 1I i.nto hi embrace, "I knew it-I ne,erdoubted !"

They turned to the bank and lookeda I' the river. The two policemenwere holding Kaarlo Antikainen, whotried to tear himself 100 e from th irgrip. The next mOlllent h Iny on theground. overpowered, a pri oner of thelaw.