Read Heimatlos: Two stories for children, and for those who love children Page 6

  CHAPTER V

  THE LAKE HAS A NAME

  The aunt was not in the living room when Rico entered, so he went tothe kitchen door and opened it. There she stood, but before Rico hadtime to take a step nearer, she raised her finger in warning: "Hush!don't open and shut all the doors as if there were four of you coming.Go into the other room and keep still. Your father was brought home ina wagon, and he is sick upstairs."

  Rico went to the bench by the window, where he sat motionless forfully half an hour. Then he decided that he would go up quietly andlook at his father; it was past supper time, and perhaps the sick manmight be needing something. He heard the aunt walking about thekitchen, so he silently slipped behind the stove and up the narrowstairway into his father's room.

  In a moment he was again in the kitchen, saying faintly, "Come, aunt!"

  She was about to take him by the shoulders to shake him, when shecaught sight of his frightened face. She shrank from him, exclaiming,"What has happened?"

  "If you will go to my father," said Rico, "I will see if thegrandmother can come over. My father must be dead."

  "I will run for the pastor!" cried the aunt, and rushed out ahead ofthe trembling boy.

  Later he heard his aunt tell the pastor that for several weeks hisfather had been working down in the St. Gall district on a railroad.He had received a bad wound on his head while blasting stone. Thejourney home, part of which had to be taken in an open wagon, hadproved too much for him.

  The following Sunday the man was buried. Rico was the only mourner tofollow the coffin. A few neighbors joined him through sympathy, andthus the procession moved through Sils. Here Rico heard the pastorread aloud during the service, "The dead man was called EnricoTrevillo and was born in Peschiera on Lake Garda."

  It seemed to Rico that he was hearing something he had known very wellbut had not been able to recall. He understood now why he had alwayshad the lake in mind when he and the father had sung his favoritesong:

  "Una sera In Peschiera."

  As Rico was returning alone from the funeral, he noticed that thegrandmother and Stineli were waiting in the yard. When he drew nearthey beckoned him to come to them.

  The grandmother gave the boy and girl some bread, saying: "Now go andtake a walk together. Rico had better not be left alone to-day."

  She looked pityingly after the boy as the children walked away. Whenshe could see them no longer, she repeated softly:

  "Whatever in His care is laid Shall have a happy end."