They were astonished and full of their surprise when their father came
to his dinner. Rico advanced towards him, offering his hand, which the
man took, but looked steadily at the strange lad.

"Is it some kind of a relation?" he asked; for he was never very sure
about the members of the family who sometimes visited them.

"Even the father does not know him," said Stineli, rather vexed.

"Why, it is Rico, father!"

"Well, well: that is good," remarked he; and looked the lad well over
from head to foot this time, adding,--

"You need not be ashamed to show yourself. Have you learned some sort of
a trade? Let us all be seated, and then you can tell us what has
happened to you."

But Rico did not sit down at once: he kept looking towards the doorway.
At last he asked, hesitatingly,--

"Where is the grandmother?"

"She lies over there in Sils, not far from the old schoolmaster," was
the reply. Rico had hesitated with his question, for he feared this
would be the answer; he had noticed the grandmother's absence at once.
He took his seat with the others at the table, but was silent for a
while, and could not eat a morsel: he had loved the grandmother dearly.
However, the father wanted to hear his story, and to know what had
become of him on the day they all searched for him in the ravines, and