He took out a piece of paper and started to read out loud: “We demand that the camp be taken down by midnight tonight, so the work on the haul road in connection with the development approved by parliamentary resolution can continue without further delay.”

Magnus had come up beside me. He took hold of my hand.

Svein continued: “If you don’t voluntarily clear the road by the above-stated deadline, anything can happen. I repeat: anything can happen.”

Then he lowered the megaphone and put away the piece of paper and cheers broke out on his side of the road. They shouted, raising their fists in the air.

Magnus squeezed my hand, whispering quietly, “It’s enough now, Signe—you see that, it’s enough now.”

“We can take more than this,” I said.

But then he dropped my hand and walked toward our tent.

I was left standing alone. I saw Daddy leaning his head toward Lars and a couple of the others; they were speaking quietly together. I approached them. Daddy’s voice was an intense whisper. “I’m staying here till they have to carry me away.”

“No,” Lars said. “You see them. What they are willing to do. This is over now.”

Meanwhile a disturbance had arisen among the people from Ringfjorden. Several of them were screaming and shouting and now starting to approach us, slowly, a huge, crawling animal. I jumped at the sight of knives gleaming.

They had drawn their knives on us.

Svein walked forward, positioned himself between us and them, trying to restrain them, but they kept shouting and clenching their knives in their fists.

“Fucking Oslo hippies, go home!”

Svein spoke more loudly, asked them to calm down, turned toward Daddy and Lars.

“Give us an answer, then we’ll leave right away and let you pack up in peace.”

Lars and Daddy had a hushed, intense discussion, Daddy sullen and furious. “No. They’re not going to fucking win this.”

But Lars spread his arms out before him. “There are children here. Anger like this . . . Nothing good can come from it.”

The others nodded. Daddy was the only one who opposed them. I walked over to him and stood beside him. “If we leave, we lose.”

“Signe, no. You have to leave.”

“But you’re staying, aren’t you?”

Daddy’s voice became more high-pitched: “You and Magnus are going to drive down right now, you understand?”

Then Lars grinned and said, “So you want to protect your own daughter, while the others’ daughters don’t matter so much?”