noticed the boy's hesitating attitude.

"What does this mean, Rico?" he asked, standing surprised and perplexed before him. "Why do you come to a person's door without rapping? If you have no business here, why don't you go home? If you wish to tell me something, you may do so now."

"What does a violin cost?" asked Rico, timidly.

The teacher's surprise and mistrust increased.

"Rico," he said severely, "what am I to think of you? Have you come purposely to ask useless questions, or what is your idea? Will you tell me what object you have in asking me what you did?"

"I only wish to find out what a violin costs," said Rico, still trembling at his own boldness.

"You do not understand, Rico; now listen to what I say. One asks something for a reason, otherwise it would be a useless question. Now answer me truthfully, Rico, did you ask me this out of curiosity, or did some one who wishes to buy a violin send you?"

"I should like to buy one," said Rico, a little more bravely.

"What did you say?" broke out the teacher, impatiently. "Such a senseless boy—and an Italian besides—to wish to buy a violin! You scarcely know what a violin is. Can you imagine how old I was before I was able to buy one? I was twenty-two years old and ready to enter my life work as teacher. What a child, to think of buying a violin! Now, to show you how foolish you are, I will tell you the price of one. Six solid dollars is what I paid for mine. Can you grasp an idea of the amount? We will put it into pennies. If one dollar contains one hundred pennies, then six dollars would contain six times one hundred, which is—Now, Rico, you are not dull at your studies; six times one hundred is—"

"Six hundred pennies," supplemented Rico, softly, for his voice nearly failed him as he compared Stineli's twelve pennies with this large sum.

"But further, Rico," continued the teacher, "do you suppose that one need only to buy a violin in order to play it? One has to do much more than that. Just step in and let me show you."

The teacher opened the door as he spoke and took down the violin from its place on the wall.

"There, take it on your arm and hold the bow in your hand; so, my boy. Now, if you can sound C, D, E, F, I will give you a half dollar right away."

Rico actually had the violin on his arm! His face flushed, as with sparkling eyes he played firmly and correctly, C, D, E, F.

"You little rascal!" exclaimed the teacher. "Where did you learn that? Who taught you so that you can find the notes?"

"I know something else too, if I might play it," Rico ventured to say.

"Play it," directed the teacher.

Rico played the melody of the song, "Little Lambs," with the greatest confidence, his eyes speaking his pleasure.

The teacher had taken a chair and put on his spectacles. He had looked attentively at Rico's fingers, moving with easy grace, then at his joyous countenance, and again at his fingers. The boy had played correctly.

"Come to me, Rico," said the teacher, as he moved his chair to the window and put Rico directly in front of him; "I want to talk a little with you. You see, your father is an Italian, Rico, and they do all sorts of things down there, they say, that we know nothing of up here in the hills. Now look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. How is it that you are able to play this tune correctly on my violin?"

Rico looked steadily at the teacher and said frankly, "I learned it from you in school, where we sing it so often."

The teacher got up and paced the floor. This put the matter in an entirely different light. So he was himself the cause of this wonderful intelligence! All his suspicions vanished, and he good-naturedly took out his pocketbook.

"There is the half dollar, Rico; it belongs to you. You had better go now, but keep on being attentive to the violin playing. It may be that you can make it amount to something, so that in twelve or fourteen years you can buy a violin for yourself. Good night."

Rico had looked longingly at the violin when he realized that he must go, and he now laid it very tenderly on the table. He was pondering the last words of the teacher, when Stineli came running to meet him.

"How long it did take you!" she exclaimed. "Did you ask him?"

"Yes, but it is all of no use," said Rico with frowning brow. "A violin costs six hundred pennies, and in fourteen years, when everybody will probably be dead, he thought I could perhaps buy one. Who wants to live fourteen years from now? There, you may take that; I don't want it," and he put the half dollar into Stineli's hand.

"Six hundred pennies!" repeated Stineli in amazement. "And how did you get this money?"

Rico told Stineli what had passed between him and the teacher, and again said, "It is of no use."

Stineli urged Rico to keep the money, but he would not take it again.

"Then I will keep it and put it away with the pennies, and it shall belong to us both," she said.

Even Stineli felt discouraged, but happier thoughts came to her as they turned the corner to enter the field and she saw the indications of spring on every hand.

"See, Rico, it will be summer in a short time, and we can go to the woods once more. Let us go this Sunday so that you will be happy again."

"I shall never be happy again, Stineli, but if you would like to go, I will go with you."

They arranged their plans so that they could go the following Sunday. It was not an easy task for Stineli to get away, for Peter, Sam, and Urschli had the measles, and a goat was sick at the stable. She was kept busy from the time she returned from school until late at night. Saturday she worked all day and much later than usual, but did it so willingly and was so cheerful that her father said: "Stineli is a perfect treasure. She makes us all happy."

CHAPTER IV

THE DISTANT LAKE WITHOUT A NAME

When Stineli awoke the following morning, she instantly realized that it was Sunday. The grandmother's words of the previous evening were still fresh in her memory, "You deserve the whole afternoon to-morrow, and you shall have it."

After dinner, when Stineli had finished all the necessary duties and was prepared to join Rico, Peter called from his bed, "Stineli, come, stay with me!"

The two others who were ill shouted, "No, no, Stineli, we want you!"

The father said, "I should like to have you go to the barn and take a look at the goat first."

"Hush, everybody!" broke in the grandmother. "Stineli shall go in peace. I will look after these things myself. Remember, dear, that when the vesper bell rings, you are to come home like good children." The grandmother knew that there would be two of them.

Stineli flew away like a bird for whom the door of its cage had been opened, and went directly to Rico, who was waiting as usual. The sun was shining pleasantly, and the heaven was an unbroken blue above them as they crossed the meadow to reach the hill beyond. They still found patches of snow in the shaded places, until they got up where the whole surface had been exposed to the sun; from here they could see the waves beating steadily against the rocks on the shore. They searched for a dry place on a cliff directly over the water, and here they sat down. The wind was blowing a sharp gale at this height; it whistled in their ears and swayed the woods above them like a living mass of green.

"Oh, see, Rico, how beautiful it is here!" exclaimed Stineli as she looked about. "I am so glad that spring has