On the Border of Utter Darkness
- Book 2 is called "Founding the Kingdom." Hoo-boy. If these guys are referring to North Dakota as a "kingdom," you know they're getting a little too big for their britches.
- During the days after having her baby, Beret sleeps and sleeps. Her mind wanders all over the place and she barely knows where she is half the time. Finally, people come to visit thirteen days after the birth for a group dinner.
- Per Hansa is so proud of his new son that he christens the boy with the name Peter Victorious. Dang. That's a huge name to live up to.
- But everyone else in the settlement worries that Hansa is getting too cocky, especially when it seems as though God could snatch away one of their lives at any moment.
- Nonetheless, the adults like to stand around and make all kinds of big plans for the baby's future. Tönseten even claims that the boy could be president, since he's been born in the United States.
- For the rest of the winter, most of people's attention is paid on the school that Henry Solum has set up for the children. The parents are usually so bored that they sit in on classes, too.
- Eventually, Tönseten gets bored with so much listening and decides to start asking his own math questions to the room. But all of his math questions are riddles that don't have clear answer. The kids don't learn much, but everyone has a good time.
- By February, the settlement's firewood starts to run out. So there's no choice but for the men to make a trip to get some. Hans Olsa and Tönseten offer to take Per Hansa along with them. But at the last second, he decides to use his oxen and a sleigh he has built.
- The men aren't gone for very long before they run into a blizzard. They run a rope between their horses and sleighs to make sure they don't lose one another. Per Hansa feels a huge jerk on his rope and lets go. Now he's gotten himself separated from the other men and he can't see more than a foot in front of his face.
- After a while, Per Hansa wonders if he's going to die. There's no sign of his friends and he can't find the nearby Norwegian settlement. Now night is falling and it's getting even colder. Hansa is losing the feeling in his limbs.
- Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Hansa runs into a house. He doesn't think to knock, but instead grabs the door and throws it open. Inside, he finds Solum and Tönseten. He's stumbled onto one of the other Norwegian settlements on the prairie. Everyone celebrates with booze.
- The next day, Hansa and the others head down to the Sioux River and cut down some trees for firewood.
- That night, they celebrate with their Norwegian neighbors with music and dancing.
- When they get back to their own settlement, they pile their firewood and get back to life. But as the days ebb past, they all lose heart and wonder how they'll get through winters like this for the rest of their lives.
- To pass the time, they think of all the funny names they'll make up to put on the deeds to their lands.
- Over time, Beret gets more and more emotionally distant. Her thoughts retreat into the world of religion, and she spends nearly every day wondering about how her life is working out according to God's plan.
- With nothing to do, it's only a matter of time until Per Hansa cooks up some new crazy scheme for making money or getting ahead of his neighbors. When he finds out that the Native Americans in the area sell furs for much lower prices than they do in Fillmore, Minnesota, he starts up a business buying furs from the Native Americans and reselling them to white dealers. He makes a good chunk of money in the process.