CHAPTER I
COASTING
Directly opposite the city of Bern lies a small village beautifullysituated on a hill. I cannot tell you what it is called, but I willdescribe it to you so that you may know it if you are ever there. Onthe summit of the hill there is but one house; it is surrounded by aflower garden, which meets on each side of the house the stretch oflawn at the front. This residence is called The Hill, and is the homeof Colonel Ritter. A short distance down the hill, on a level stretchof ground, stands the church, with the parsonage beside it. This iswhere Mrs. Ritter spent her happy girlhood as the pastor's daughter.Still farther down, amid a group of houses, is the schoolhouse. On theleft of these, all by itself, stands an attractive little house with agarden. In the front lawn are placed some flower beds containingroses, carnations, and mignonette. The asparagus beds at the sides ofthe house are screened from the front by a low raspberry hedge. Thewhole place presents a well-kept appearance. The road goes on down thehill to the main road that follows along the Aar River to the opencountry.
This long, sloping hill provided excellent coasting during the winter.The distance from the top of the hill to the Aar road below made acontinuous coast of about ten minutes' duration. This incomparablesledge course gave to the children of the village the greatestpleasure of the year. No sooner was school dismissed than they ran fortheir sleds and hurried up the hill. The hours passed like minutes, sothat six o'clock, the time when they were expected at home, came muchtoo soon. The closing scene on the hill was usually an interestingone, for they always wanted to go down once more before they broke upfor the night, and then once again, and after that just one singletime more, so that it might be inferred from their excited haste thattheir lives depended upon making as many trips as possible.
They were usually governed by a wise rule that compelled them all toride down and return in the same order, so as to avoid the possibilityof collision and confusion; but the rule was occasionally disregarded,when the final excitement swayed them. This happened to be the case ona bright January night, when the intense cold made the snow crackle asit was crunched under the feet of the children, who came panting upthe hill, drawing their sleds after them, their faces glowing fromtheir exertions. The boys were shouting, "Once more! once more!" asthey turned their sleds and fell into line.
Now it happened that three of the boys claimed the same place in thefile, and not one was willing to go behind the others. During thedispute two of them crowded the big boy Chappi to one side into thesnow, where his heavy sled sank into the drift. This made him angry,for it gave the others the opportunity to get ahead of him. Inglancing back he noticed a little girl standing near, watching him;she had wrapped her hands in her apron to keep them warm, but she wasshivering in her thin dress.
"Can't you get out of the way, you ragged thing?" he cried angrily."What business have you here anyway, since you have no sled? I'llteach you how to get away."
He kicked a cloud of snow at her and was just ready to repeat it whensome one behind him gave him a fierce blow. In great rage he doubledup his fist and turned savagely to attack his unknown foe.
It was Otto Ritter, who had just placed his sled in line and who nowstood looking calmly at Chappi's clenched fist and raised arm. "Strikeif you dare," was all he said.
Otto was a tall, slender boy, not nearly so stout as Chappi, but hehad already proved, in previous encounters, that he possessed a skillin handling himself against which Chappi's weight counted for little.Chappi was too wise to strike, but he shook his fist in the air andsnarled, "Clear out! I don't care to have anything to do with you."
"But I have something to do with you," retorted Otto. "What businesshave you to drive Wiseli into the drift and then pelt her with snowbesides? You are a coward to attack a defenseless child."
Otto disdainfully turned his back upon Chappi and went toward thegirl, who was standing knee-deep in the snowdrift. "Come out of thesnow, Wiseli," he said gently. "Is it true that you have no sled?"
"I was only looking at the rest," she answered timidly.
"Take mine and go down once," said Otto. "Hurry, for they are going tostart in a minute."
Wiseli glanced quickly at Chappi, afraid that he would interfere withher going, but the boy seemed to have forgotten all about her. Ottohelped her to seat herself on the sled, and the next minute she wasgoing down the hill behind the others.
Wiseli had watched them for ten or fifteen minutes, and had secretlywished that she might be allowed to sit on one of the large sleds usedto carry several at a time, but to go down alone was more than shehad even hoped for; besides, this was the prettiest sled of all. Ithad a lion's head for the front decoration, and was finished withsteel runners and made of light material so that it beat all theothers in a race.
It seemed to Otto but a moment before the party returned, so heshouted, "Stay in line, Wiseli, and go down once more."
Wiseli immediately turned her sled and gladly led the line down thehill. She murmured timid thanks to Otto when she returned with thesled, but the happy, flushed face would have satisfied him even if shehad said nothing. She heard Otto calling his sister as she startedhomeward through the panting crowd.
"Here I am!" and a plump, rosy-cheeked little girl came to him withher sled. Otto took his sister's warm little hand in his and theyhastened home. They had spent much more than the allotted timeto-night, but they had enjoyed themselves too much to entertain anyregrets whatever.