"Will you let me climb up there, and ride as far as Sils?" he asked.

"Up with you!" said the coachman. They all took their places, and
merrily rolled the coach down the smooth road and along the level way.
Now they reached the lake. Yonder lay the wooded peninsula, and there
the white houses of Sils, and beyond was Sils Maria. The little church
shone in the morning sunshine, and over towards the mountain were two
cottages. Rico's heart began to beat wildly. Where was Stineli? A few
steps farther, and the coach stood still in Sils.

Stineli had suffered a great deal since her friend's disappearance. The
children were larger, and the work ever increasing; and the greater part
fell to her share, for she was the eldest of the children, and the
youngest of the rest of the family; so the cry was always, "Stineli can
do this: she is old enough now;" and presently, "Stineli must look after
that, she is so young." She had no one with whom to share her pleasures
since Rico's departure, even if she had a moment to herself.

Her good grandmother had died the year before, and from that time
forward the girl had no relaxation whatever; but from morning to evening
there was nothing but incessant toil.

She never lost heart, however, although she had wept bitterly over the
loss of her grandmother; and every day the thought arose several times
in her mind, without her good grandmother and Rico the world was no
longer as beautiful as formerly.

On a sunny Saturday morning she came out of the stable with a big
bundle of straw poised on her head. She meant to weave some nice