Heimatlos Part 10

CHAPTER XVII

OVER THE MOUNTAINS

Long before five o'clock the following morning, Rico was at the station, impatient to be off. He had slept but little during the night, for his mind was in a whirl at the thought that he was actually going back to Stineli. How glad he was that he might bring her to his good friends on his return! When he found that sleep was out of the question, he dressed, and going to the station, paced back and forth along the narrow platform until the train came in.

When Rico selected his place in the car, he was reminded of his ride, years ago, when he sat half-frightened in a corner of the seat, with only his violin beside him. This time his luggage required more s.p.a.ce in the compartment than he himself did.

The stock dealer did not fail to join Rico at Bergamo, and they both enjoyed the lovely daylight sail on Lake Como. The boy recognized the place where they landed and also the inn where they took the stage. He looked especially for the door of the stable, where the lantern had shown him the way to the coachman on his former trip. He had not at that time been able to see his surroundings very clearly.

The sun had set when the stage left the inn, so Rico entered the coach with his companion. He fell asleep almost immediately and did not wake until morning, when the sun was s.h.i.+ning over the mountain tops. To his great surprise and joy he found that they were going up the zigzag road of the Maloja, so familiar to him. He could, however, see nothing but the sharp angles in the road, until they arrived at the summit, where they alighted for breakfast and to give the horses a rest. After breakfast Rico looked for the place where he sat years ago, when he was a tired and hungry little boy. He remembered distinctly how he had watched the stage which later picked him up and took him down the valley. Everything about him was of interest now, and he said to the coachman, "Will it trouble you if I sit up there with you so that I can see better?"

"Certainly not," said the man; "come up if you want to."

The pa.s.sengers had already taken their places in the coach, and it was but a moment later when they started at a lively pace down the long, sloping grade. Rico presently saw the lake, the island with its pine trees, and beyond, the white houses of Sils. Across the fields was Sils-Maria. The little church showed up most distinctly at that distance, but Rico's eyes were searching for something farther down the hill; soon he saw, as he had hoped, the two familiar houses.

Rico's heart began to beat wildly. Where and how would he find the little girl he had not seen for years? Suppose she should not be there any longer? Suppose she had forgotten him? It seemed but a moment before the stage stopped in Sils, and Rico alighted with his luggage.

Stineli had seen many hard days since Rico's disappearance. The children had grown older, so that they were less care, but the work, especially since the grandmother had died, had fallen more than ever upon her. The children were wont to say, "Stineli is the oldest, so she can do that," and the parents often said, "Stineli is young and strong, so she can do that"; thus the willing hands were kept busy.

She sorely missed Rico and the grandmother, the only ones who had ever regarded her comfort, but she tried hard to keep her cheerful nature uppermost, although she often thought, "The world is not the same now that they are gone."

On this sunny Sat.u.r.day morning Stineli came out of the granary with a bundle of straw which she intended to braid into a broom. As she reached the path leading to Sils, she let her eyes follow along the dry, smooth way until her glance was arrested by the appearance of a strange young man coming in her direction. She knew from his dress that he was not a Silsan. He came more rapidly as soon as he noticed her and when quite close, stopped and looked at her. She glanced inquiringly at his face and immediately recognized her long-lost friend. Dropping her bundle, she ran to him, exclaiming: "O Rico, you are not dead after all! How glad I am to see you! How very tall you have grown! I would never have known you if it had not been for your face; n.o.body else has a face like yours. O Rico, how glad I am that you are here again!"

Rico was pale,--the joy seemed too great,--and he had not been able to say one word. Stineli stood blus.h.i.+ng in her pride of him, and waited for him to speak.

"You have grown, too, Stineli," he said at length; "otherwise you are the same as ever. The nearer I got to the house the more afraid I became that you would be different, so that it would not seem the same here."

"O Rico, if only grandmother could know!" said Stineli. "But I must take you to the others; they will all be so astonished to see you."

When Stineli took Rico into the house the children, unaccustomed to strangers, began to hide. The two older ones, Trudt and Sam, came in a moment later and shyly said "Good morning" in pa.s.sing. The mother simply inquired if there was anything she could do for the stranger.

"Don't any of you know him?" inquired Stineli. "Why, mother, it is Rico."

They were just exclaiming in surprise when the father came in to breakfast. Rico advanced to shake hands cordially, but the man looked at him blankly and said: "Are you a relative? There are so many I may not know them all."

"Now father doesn't know him either!" exclaimed Stineli. "It is Rico, papa."

"Why, Rico, to be sure," the father said, gazing at him from head to foot. "You look prosperous, my boy; I suppose you have learned a good trade. Let us sit down to breakfast, and then you must tell us about yourself."

When Rico noticed that the grandmother did not come to breakfast, he asked for her. It was the father who answered that they had buried her beside the teacher a year ago. Rico said nothing, for the news came as a shock to him. He had counted upon the pleasure of seeing the dear old lady who had always shown him so much kindness.

Rico was immediately urged to tell about his wanderings and how he happened to go away. He began his story from the night he left, but he spoke in detail only when he told of Mrs. Menotti and of Silvio's home. This led him easily to tell them the object of his visit to the hills, and to beg them to let him take Stineli back with him when he returned.

Stineli opened her eyes wide in astonishment, for she had not even dreamed of such a possibility. How delightful it would be if she were allowed to go with Rico to that beautiful place! The best part of it, of course, would be to have him with her or near her again, and how she would love Silvio for sending Rico back to her! Thoughts like these kept surging through her brain while the father was considering the matter.

"It would, no doubt, be a good thing for Stineli," he said. "I should like to have her get out among people and learn their ways; but there is no use to talk about it, for she can't be spared. We could let Trudt go just as well as not."

"Yes," agreed the mother; "I couldn't possibly get along without Stineli. I am willing that Trudt should go if she wants to."

"Goody! goody! I am going and I am glad," and Trudt clapped her hands and danced about.

Stineli's face had clouded, but she made no protest, preferring to have Rico say what was needful.

"It so happens," said Rico, calmly, "that Silvio wants Stineli and no one else. If Trudt went down there, he would only send her away, so that is out of the question. Mrs. Menotti told me to tell you that if Stineli got along well with Silvio, she could send home two dollars and a half every month. I am just as sure that Stineli will get along with Silvio as if I had already seen them together."

Stineli's father pushed his chair away from the table and put on his cap,--a habit of his whenever he wished to think seriously about anything. The money was an important factor to him. How hard he had to work to earn a dollar, and here was an opportunity to get two dollars and a half every month without the least effort on his part! It was not long before he hung up his cap and said: "She can go if that is the case. I suppose one of the others can learn to do things here."

Stineli's face beamed, but the mother sighed as she realized what it would mean to her.

In a moment the father put his cap on again. "I had forgotten," he said, "that Stineli has not been confirmed; she will have to wait until after that."

"But, father," exclaimed Stineli, "I was not planning to be confirmed for two years. I can go now and come back when the two years are over."

This plan was at last approved, and the parents consoled themselves by thinking that they could then keep her at home if they wished.

"Just as soon as she gets back, I am going," said Trudt. They all laughed at this, while Rico and Stineli exchanged glances and were happy.

"Now, Stineli, I want to tell you something," said the father. "I know that pandemonium will reign here until you two are gone, so I say the sooner it is accomplished the better; then we can have peace and quiet." It was accordingly decided that they should leave the following Monday.

Rico realized how busy a day Stineli would have, so he asked Sam to accompany him about Sils-Maria and the neighborhood. They stopped first of all to look at the house across the way, that had at one time sheltered Rico. He was informed that strangers lived there, that the aunt had been gone several years, and that no one knew where she was.

Wherever Rico and Sam went that day they failed to find a single person who recognized the "foreign-looking young man," as they called him. On their return Rico wished to visit the grandmother's grave, but they could not find it.

It was evening before they came back to the house, carrying with them Rico's luggage from the station. They found Stineli at the well, scrubbing the pails used about the barn. "I can't believe yet that I am going, Rico," she said as they pa.s.sed her.

"I can," said Rico; "but you haven't thought about it so long as I have."

Stineli was delighted with the change in Rico. "How well and forcibly he speaks," she thought. "He was timid and shy before he went away. He seems to inspire confidence, and he looks wonderfully strong and capable."

A bed was prepared for Rico in the attic. He did not unpack his lunch until the following morning, when it provided a real feast for the children. The figs were a novelty to them, and the abundance of good things a.s.sured the parents that Rico was among friends in the valley.

They had no further fears about letting Stineli go with him.

CHAPTER XVIII

TWO HAPPY TRAVELERS

The return trip had been fully explained to Rico, and he knew that they must leave Sils in the evening. Sam was going with Stineli and Rico as far as Sils; the rest of the family gathered about the door and waved farewell to them until they were lost to view.

"If grandmother could only see us!" said Stineli, as they neared the little church. "Let us go over to her grave for a moment." This they did, for Stineli knew exactly where it was.

"Are the two children here who are to go to Lake Garda?" they heard the coachman say as soon as he arrived.

Rico and Stineli stepped forward. "All right," said the man. "I have instructions to look after you. The coach happens to be full inside, but I am thinking that you are young enough to like it up here with me." He helped them up, tucked a large blanket around them because the night was cool, and then the stage rolled on.

This was the first time that Rico and Stineli had been alone since he came back, and they were both glad of the opportunity to sit so cozily in the starry night and feel again the sweet companions.h.i.+p that they had given up long ago. They had so much to say that they slept but little during the night. They reached Lake Como in the morning, and arrived in Peschiera on the same train that had carried Rico when he came before. He led Stineli by a roundabout way in order to keep the view of the lake hidden by the trees until they came to his favorite place on the bridge.