driver; so Rico took his stand near by, and waited too.

Probably the sheep-dealer did not recognize the little fiddler in the
darkness; but suddenly he exclaimed, quite surprised, "What! is that
you, little one? Where are you going to pass the night?"

"I do not know where," replied the boy.

"Well, I never heard of such a thing; at eleven o'clock at night, and a
little scrap of a boy like you in a strange place"--

The sheep-dealer seemed to speak in a great hurry, for he could scarcely
breathe in his excitement; neither did he finish his sentence, for the
driver entered the stable at that moment, and Rico went up to him at
once, saying, "I want to thank you for bringing me along with you."

"You have come just in the nick of time. I had almost forgotten you
while I was looking after my horses, and I wanted to hand you over to an
acquaintance. I was thinking of asking you, good friend," he continued,
turning towards the dealer, "if you would not take this little chap
along with you, as you are going to Bergamo. He wants to go somewhere on
the Lake of Garda. He is one of those who belong here or there. You
understand, don't you?"

The sheep-dealer thought of the stories he had heard of lost or stolen
children. He looked with pity at Rico, standing in the dim light of the
lantern, and said, "He does look as if he were not in exactly the
clothes that belong to him. He would become a richer dress, I am sure. I
will take him with me."