The mother said the inhabitants of Kirkenes had taken shelter in a mine when the town was reduced to rubble, but many of them, including the families of Nelvy and Gunvor, had been shipped west, not all of them had made it, she didn’t know why, they never said anything, neither Nelvy nor Gunvor . . .

“And now you can try to take off her hat,” she shouted to Ingrid. “Cos I can’t!”

Puzzled, Ingrid looked from the woman to the hat Nelvy was clasping to her head with both hands.

“What’s all this about?”

At this point one of the men had had enough, he was in his late sixties, had hollow cheeks with white stubble, a mouth that was far too big for the few teeth he had, and he was shaking violently; he began by clearing his throat, then stretched out an arm and said: enough of this jabber, before tearing off the girl’s hat and tossing it into a corner. She screamed: she had mange and not a hair on her bony head. Ingrid watched as the girl ran around the bed and grabbed the hat, waited until she had put it on again and told Nelvy to follow her.

“Is there any work for us here?” the old man yelled after her. “We need work.”

Ingrid looked at him.

“Otherwise we’ll go crazy.”

The mother who had told Ingrid about the mineshaft turned her back on them and began to breastfeed her baby. The children ran outside, one by one. Anja undressed Ante. Ingrid stood with her hand locked around Nelvy’s wrist and asked the man if he was ill, as he was shaking. He shrugged. She said she would enquire at the trading post, there was always work to do there, or at the canning factory.

He said he was a carpenter.

Then he knew what hard work was, Ingrid said, and went down to the wash-house with Nelvy in tow. There was running water here, and two large stone wash basins were bolted to the wall, there was a stove, too. Ingrid filled one of the bowls, put it on the stove and told her that here she, Ingrid, was the boss; Nelvy could choose between being washed with or without her hat on. Nelvy wept and opted to keep it on, after some pressure to do the opposite.

When the water was hot, Ingrid bent the girl over the bowl, poured two ladles of water over the hat, put down the ladle, pulled off the hat and held Nelvy in a vice-like grip while she scooped more water over her and scrubbed her head with carbolic soap.