CHAPTER X

OLD FRIENDS AND NEW LIFE

IT was spring again, and the trees and hedges were in bloom. The grass was so fresh and so green that Stefeli feasted her eyes on it as she walked through the meadows with her schoolbag on her back.

Stefeli was coming home on the last day of school. No more study until winter. How lovely that day had been the year before when she had walked home with Vinzi, talking over the days ahead. Then there lay before them the whole beautiful summer with its long days on the sunny pasture. But what would happen this summer? Stefeli foresaw many long hot days in the house with the tiresome knitting, and not a single day on the pasture. When she thought about it she sat down in the meadow and sobbed aloud.

But Stefeli never cried very long, and when she remembered that two days before she had seen half-ripe strawberries behind the barn, she jumped up quickly; she would toss her schoolbag in the hall and then gather the berries. But when she flung open the door, she stood riveted to the spot in surprise. Her mother sat talking quite confidentially with a stranger, and beside him sat a boy the size of Vinzi, who was taking a lively part in the conversation.

"Of course that is the little daughter," the man said, glancing toward the door. "Come here, Stefeli; we are not strangers. I am Cousin Lorenz and this is Jos, Vinzi's good friend."

The delighted Stefeli went forward to greet them both; anyone whom Vinzi loved was particularly welcome when she was feeling so forlorn. She shook hands with Cousin Lorenz for he looked at her with such kindly eyes, and then stepped up to Jos, who smiled at her as though to say, "We'll get along nicely together."

Stefeli turned to face her Cousin Lorenz and asked, "Jos is going to stay with us the whole summer; isn't that so? Just as long as Vinzi stayed with you."

Her cousin laughed heartily, and said, "That is surely a fine welcome! We will see what your father thinks. I wish you would take Jos outdoors for a while."

Stefeli did not wait for him to ask twice, but took Jos by the hand and drew him happily along. He must see everything in stable and barn, in garden and hen-house.

While they were gone, Vinzenz Lesa came in from his work and greeted his guest with evident pleasure; it was good to see his happy, contented cousin just when he was so depressed.

[Illustration]

After the first greetings, Lorenz said, "We were worried because we did not hear anything more from you, and my wife gave me no rest. She feared we might not see your Vinzi until late in the summer, and we want him with us all summer. It occurred to me that I would bring our Jos to you for a while, as we had arranged, and then later the two boys could come to us until winter. But your wife now tells me Vinzi is away, that I cannot even see him, and as to his coming up to us, that is out of the question. My wife will be bitterly disappointed; you cannot conceive how she loves the boy, but he deserves it."

Hospitable Stefeli soon thought Jos ought certainly to have something to eat, and came leading him into the room like an old friend.

As Jos went up to greet him, Vinzenz Lesa looked into the lad's open countenance with both pain and pleasure.

"He will be as big as you are, Lorenz," he declared after looking Jos over critically again. "He must be a great help to you already."

Mrs. Lesa had withdrawn some time before, and now came to the door to signal to Stefeli, who immediately began to lay the table.

"Your wife has a good helper, too," said Cousin Lorenz, who approved the way the little girl went about her work.

The mother now came in to spread her table with the best larder and cellar provided, for to feast those who had shown such kindness to her Vinzi was a keen delight.

"You must stay with us a few days, cousin," said she as she sat opposite him at table and saw to it that their plates were replenished with second servings of the ham which looked tempting indeed against the green leaves of the tender lettuce her garden had supplied. "You must leave Jos with us for several weeks at least."

"You make it easy for one to wish to stay, cousin," said Lorenz. "I chose to come on Saturday in order to spend Sunday with you, so I will gladly remain if you say so, but I must return home on Monday. As to the boy, Cousin Vinzenz shall settle that; I leave it to him."

"There's plenty of time for that," said the latter deliberately. "We will take a walk through the fields tomorrow morning. You would like to look over the farm, wouldn't you. We can talk over things then."

"Look at the cow stable, father, above everything else," cried Jos with enthusiasm, who had remained silent out of respect for his Cousin Vinzenz. But the impression he had received in the stable was so powerful, he must speak now. "There certainly are no finer cows than those in his stable, and they are as clean as though they had just been washed."

"I thought the cattle would please you," remarked his father.

Early the next afternoon the two men wandered off through the verdant fields that belonged to the Lesa farm, and Mrs. Lesa took the children up the sunny slope where the first strawberries were ripening. She knew that walk would please them, and besides, the men wished to be alone to talk. Looking at the blossoming trees, the lush grass, the fields promising bountiful harvests, Vinzenz and Lorenz reached the high ground where the woods began. Before they stepped into the woodland path, Lorenz paused to gaze down on the dwelling that looked so inviting among the tall walnut trees.

"Vinzenz, you are a lucky man!" he exclaimed. "Peace and happiness at home, and surrounded by acres that could not be more beautiful, all of them your own."

"Yes, and over in Freiburg another place with twice as many cattle as here, and a grass crop to fill the haymow to the roof," but the furrows on Vinzenz's forehead grew deeper and deeper as though each thing he mentioned was worse than the last. "Twelve cheeses a year are made from that milk."

"Vinzenz, you have no reason to be downhearted," said his cousin with laughter in his eyes. "I never knew the paternal estate belonged to you. Two such farms for your own! Certainly God has showered you with blessings. Yet you look as though you had nothing but bad weather for your share."

"It's easy for you to talk," said Vinzenz savagely. "You have three strong sons who are happy in their work. Joy and success are ahead of you. But after all my effort, I must look on while a beautiful estate goes to ruin. I cannot be in two places at one time, and my only son won't open his eyes to see the fine career awaiting him. Hundreds would envy him. When I inherited this farm, I left my father's homestead, where every tree was a comrade and every head of cattle had grown up under my eyes. I was not happy to leave it, but everything here had gone to ruin. No stranger would have undertaken to restore it, but I said to myself, 'You will do it for the sake of your son. In a few years he will be old enough to manage it and you can go home again.' Well, the farm has been put into shape quicker than I expected. You yourself say it looks like a blossoming garden from one end to the other. Must I see it go to ruin, or shall I let my homestead run down? Now tell me, what do you think? Do you think singing and piping can take the place of caring for an estate? You see how everything stands with me!"

"Matters are not half as bad as you think," rejoined Lorenz cheerfully. "You have a boy who will amount to something some day, rest assured of that, cousin. And you have a girl besides, of whom any father could be proud. Let six or seven years pass. You are such a robust man you can keep the two farms in condition until then, with some help. By that time you can settle your daughter here; she will know how to manage it, and you can return to your homestead. I wouldn't wonder if someone would pop up who would be willing to share the work and the management with your daughter. Then your farm will have the right care."

Lorenz had started to walk on, but now he suddenly paused to say, "But I have forgotten to ask the principal question. Do you want to keep Jos or shall I take him home? He is fairly quick to learn."

"I can see that," remarked Vinzenz. "You will miss him, and I am already in your debt for Vinzi was of no assistance to you in any way."

But Lorenz remonstrated. Vinzenz ought to hear what his wife would have to say about that; she would tell him quite a different story, and with reason. It was she who had urged him to bring Jos to them. She had never allowed any of her boys to stay away even over night, but she was sure Jos could learn only good things with the parents of such a boy as Vinzi.

"Now tell me frankly," concluded Lorenz, "is there any other reason you hesitate to keep Jos?"

"That is my only reason," was the decided answer.

"Then he will stay with you and you can send him home whenever it suits you best."

Lorenz now quickened his pace for he wished to have time to have a pleasant chat with Stefeli and her mother, with both of whom he had established a close friendship.

When he bade Stefeli farewell, as he was leaving before she would be up in the morning, he gave her his hand, but she refused to say good-bye, and in the morning she was standing at the door long before sunrise to meet him as he came downstairs. She had grown so fond of him it was no task to get up early to see him off. Then, too, she had something on her mind and when he came down stairs, she asked eagerly, "Can Jos stay? Can he stay all summer?"

"Yes, yes," answered Lorenz with a smile. "Until your father sends him home."

Mrs. Lesa had made a pot of fragrant coffee and cooked a hearty breakfast to fortify him on his homeward journey, and now Vinzenz came in with Jos. The boy had been up before Stefeli and when he had found the stable open had gone in to inspect the cows, first one, then another. His exclamations of admiration greatly pleased Vinzenz, who looked on as he went from stall to stall.

After many hearty handshakes, Lorenz started on his way. Vinzenz wished to accompany him to the border of his estate, and the others went as far as the corner of the garden.

When the men were out of sight, Stefeli asked quickly, "Will you go to the pasture, so that I can go too?"

"Yes, I will. But it does not matter what I wish to do," answered Jos, "for I am not master here."

"Oh, if only I could be master!" sighed Stefeli.

Her father soon returned and as her mother was working among her vegetables, he met all three in the garden. He approached Jos, behind whom Stefeli stood for she was eager to see and to hear what would happen.

"It seems to me you find real pleasure in the cows. Will you take over their pasturing, Jos?" he asked. "On the pasture you shall be your own master. I will give you entire charge of them, for you know what is necessary. The child will go with you. She knows the work pretty well and is acquainted with all the roads and paths. How does that suit you?"

"Oh, there is nothing I would love better than that!" exclaimed Jos while Stefeli leaped with joy and dashed off to make hurried preparations for the day.

Stefeli had never imagined matters could come around so happily. How fine to be outdoors again, to follow her good friends the cows out to the pasture and to sit once more in the shade of the ash tree! But even if she had not been filled with happiness on her own account, Stefeli would have been glad because Jos was so delighted with everything he saw. All her old friends were there, and four splendid red-and-white cows had been added to the herd; her father had brought them from Freiburg himself. A new Schwarzeli was also there, and even if it was not the same one as last year, it galloped from one end of the pasture to the other with the same friskiness, and over bridges and fences too, if they did not catch her in time.

Jos must learn to know them all as well as she did, so she enumerated the characteristics of each; and they would learn about the four new cows together.

Jos showed the greatest zeal to learn everything and remembered it all after one telling. Stefeli was amazed at the way he anticipated what a cow would do. He would go over to an animal before it started off on a run and would stroke and pacify it. He would catch Schwarzeli by the tail just as she was going to make a first bound to rush down the pasture like the wind. It was as though he could always tell just when they had it in mind to tear off. So it was not necessary to do much running after them and Jos kept saying, "Sit down under the tree, Stefeli; I can easily manage them."

And that was the truth. He learned the ways of them all so quickly, even of the newcomers, that they opened their great eyes in astonishment when their attempts to gallop off were frustrated. But with all his sharp watching, Jos found time to leap for sheer joy and to yodel so that the song reechoed from the hills. His voice was so strong and melodious that Stefeli was charmed with it and kept pleading, "Sing again, Jos; sing once more!"

The mornings always passed so quickly that the two looked at one another in doubt when they heard the bell sound from the distance. Could it be midday? Then Stefeli spread out their lunch in the good old way under the ash tree and after a searching look at the herd which had settled down peacefully to rest in the sunshine, Jos seated himself by Stefeli, quite willing to eat.

"I am sure no one can arrange a table out in the pasture like you do, Stefeli," said he with admiration, and ate with keen relish.

The afternoons passed as rapidly as the mornings and as they strolled homeward in the bright evening, Stefeli said, "It was so lovely today! I wish every day could be just like it."

"I too," agreed Jos.

Vinzenz Lesa stood at the corner of his barn watching as the herd approached. First Jos ran along one side, then along the other, to keep the cows in file instead of letting them scatter here and there.

"A smart, orderly boy," he thought as he went forward to take charge of the homecomers.

Now came a series of days which passed so happily that Stefeli's wish seemed to be fulfilled.

"It's just as if Vinzi were here again, isn't it, mother, since Jos came?" asked Stefeli one evening as she came in flushed with joy while Jos as usual stayed out with Vinzenz.

"Yes," replied the mother. "As long as we cannot have Vinzi with us, I am glad that Jos takes his place. I love him as much as if he belonged to us."

Jos was always the first one up in the morning, and if the stable was locked, he would find something to do in the barn, and Vinzenz always found him busy about some sensible task.

Stefeli grew impatient mornings when the two did not come into the house until the very last moment when the coffee was already on the table, and on their return, Jos could not be induced to leave his cows until the last one had been watered and was comfortably bedded on the straw.

Everything that grew, that was planted and harvested was a pleasure to Jos, and he wanted to help with it.

At first Vinzenz Lesa had said to his wife bitterly, "Look at him! He enjoys everything and goes to his work with a zeal as if the farm were his own. Just see his pleasure in the life! And the other boy, for whom all the work is done, has no eyes to see it!"

And then matters came about so that Mrs. Lesa could find happiness in it all, for her husband talked to her about Jos every day, though in a different way. He could now say quite cheerfully, "That lad has four eyes in his head. He sees everything, even the things he might easily overlook and that would never be noticed by the farmhand. I can depend on him as on no one else."

Mrs. Lesa watched her husband's increasing pleasure in the boy with gratitude, for he was in much better humor than for a long time. During the quiet afternoons which were hers since Stefeli was on the pasture again, she sat in her room and let her thoughts stray in the same direction day after day. She pondered about her Vinzi. Would he return at the end of the year to take up the life his father wished, and so perhaps be unhappy? Or had he chosen a new path which would forever estrange him from his father? She would hold imaginary conversations with him, and be startled by the slightest noise, thinking her boy might have returned suddenly.

She was thus occupied one afternoon when the front door opened and she heard the trample of feet in the hall. She hurried to the door and when she opened it, a strong, manly voice said, "Old acquaintances, Mrs. Lesa, seeking shelter in your house."

At the same moment, one little hand grasped hers, and then another. By that time she saw who it was and exclaimed with heartfelt pleasure, "Welcome, Alida and Hugo! Welcome, Mr. Thornau! So you are back in our part of the country again?"

"Not exactly," said Mr. Thornau, returning her vigorous handshake, "unless you take us in. If you say no, we must wander again. I have to tell you first of all that I am bringing you two children who no longer have a mother. Both of them wanted to come here and nowhere else."

Mrs. Lesa was won over already. "Poor children!" said she to herself, and as she turned to him she added, "and poor father!" Then aloud, "Mr. Thornau, will you stay till evening? My husband will be home then, and you can talk it over with him."

"And what does his wife say?" he asked.

"She would be glad to take the place of mother for a time, if she could."

"Then all is well!"

Vinzenz Lesa was surprised to find the three guests sitting under his walnut trees, but there was not much time for astonishment as Mr. Thornau stepped up to him and eloquently accounted for his visit. He said he was convinced Mr. Lesa would not close his door on him, still less on his children, both of whom desired to spend the whole summer at his house. He had come with the firm conviction he would not be turned away. Mr. Lesa must not propose another place known to both of them, for the children would not go there, and he would not force them to do so. It was a case of the Lesa house or back home again, for it was impossible for him to remain with them just then and equally impossible to leave them alone anywhere else.

Vinzenz Lesa was not displeased to hear that it was his house or none. However, one could not tell what these children would bring into his house; one knew so little about them. But after a little deliberation, he said, "Talk it over with my wife, sir; taking care of the children would be her affair."

"I will be glad to do so," replied Mr. Thornau and turned quickly to her to ask, "Then everything is settled, is it not? For you have already said yes in your heart," and he heartily shook hands with her, for this was the case as she had decided long ago to keep the children and bestow on them all her love and care.

Mr. Thornau now wished to depart, but Mrs. Lesa suggested that it would be well for him to tell her what he wished the children to do and what their amusements were to be. Her own children led a very simple life, she said.

He replied that he wished nothing better for his two than to be out on the pasture from morning to night; the rest he would leave to her. He regretted that Alida's study of music had been given up, for he had delighted in it. But now his chief desire was that they should grow strong and ruddy and return to him looking as rugged as Mrs. Lesa's children. Then he drew her aside and pointing to the sad, pale Hugo, added:

"I give him into your special care. He was never very strong or merry, but since his mother has died, he has no life, no joy, no interest in anything, and the doctor ordered him away." Then with a hasty farewell till fall, when they, would all meet again, he left them.

Just then Jos and Stefeli came up to the stable with the herd. They were chatting merrily until Jos went on and Stefeli came slowly to the house. She was in no hurry, for her mother would be busy in the kitchen and Jos would not come in for another hour or so. But suddenly she sighted two figures there by the strawberry bed! With a shout of joy Stefeli dashed up to Alida and Hugo, and the girls greeted one another with exclamations of delight.

"But where is Vinzi?" asked Alida, and Stefeli informed her how long he had been gone, and no one knew when he would return.

Alida looked her disappointment but Stefeli, always ready with some consolation, said, "I am sure he will come home while you are here. Then there is Jos—you are sure to like him. You are going to stay with us the whole summer?"

Alida nodded and replied, "And we are to be out on the pasture every day; that was papa's order. But it will be a little tedious without Vinzi."

Stefeli assured her it was never tedious on the pasture, and so it proved. Day after day the merry company marched out to the sunny pasture, and Mrs. Lesa saw that they enjoyed a nourishing midday meal under the shade of the ash tree. Alida was in ecstasy over this free life. What joy to march off in the early morning! What bliss to breathe the exhilarating air and to hear the birds warbling in the trees until it sounded like a great song of joy lifted to Heaven.

On the first morning, Stefeli awoke Alida early, as had been agreed, and both girls, fresh and full of enterprise, stood waiting by the barn for Jos, who was loosening the cows from their chains. Hugo had come down from his room to go out to the pasture with them as his father had ordered, but looked so wan and pale that Mrs. Lesa led him back to his room, straightened the pillows on his bed and told him to rest a little longer; there was no hurry about going to the pasture; she would take him out later, to show him the way. He need not get up so early hereafter.

For the first time since he had lost his mother, Hugo felt a motherly hand was caring for him and a great love for Mrs. Lesa filled his heart from that day. In these first days the silent, grieving boy passed many hours with her and found much comfort in the sympathetic way she listened when he talked about his mother, which he always did when they were alone together.

The good her warm interest did him was soon plain to be seen, and one day he came downstairs as early as on that first morning. He looked much stronger now, and to Mrs. Lesa's joy, begged to go right out to the pasture. Until then he had always preferred staying in the house until she had sent him off, and she always accompanied him part of the way.

Hugo found Jos alone, singing and yodeling as he strolled about with his herd. It was as though Hugo saw the fine animals for the first time and he began to ask all sorts of questions, for he observed them closely and found a great difference in their behavior as well as in their appearance. This discovery caused him considerable surprise for he had thought that cows were just cows, one the same as the other.

Jos was in his element and launched into an eloquent description of the habits of his cattle. With the insight into the characteristics of each member of the herd that Jos gave him, Hugo wanted to hear more and more. And all he had to do was to ask for Jos knew all he wished to learn, and could describe everything so vividly that their enjoyment was mutual. Hugo soon learned what fodder produces the best milk, and how milk is handled to make the best butter and cheese. He was also told that the creameries preferred Vinzenz Lesa's milk because his cows were of the finest breed and kept so clean.

The two boys were engaged in lively conversation when Stefeli ran up and much to their surprise began to lay out the midday meal under the ash tree. Stefeli was well pleased that neither of them had noticed how late it was, for she had tarried over-long with Alida. The four of them soon sat down to their lunch in a particularly merry mood, for they were happy because Hugo was so bright.

"Let us be a family from now on," suggested Alida, "for then we will keep together like this all the time. Hugo is the landlord and I am his sister, the young spinster of the estate. Jos is our manager."

"Then Stefeli can be the mistress," Hugo added.

"What are you thinking of, Hugo?" demanded Jos. "Stefeli cooks for us and lays the table. She couldn't be the wife of the landlord: she must be the manager's wife."

"Jos is right," decided Alida.

"Then the landlord will have a mother, and that's much better than a wife," declared Hugo. "When Mrs. Lesa visits us some day, you will have to receive her as the landlord's mother and make a great banquet for her."

This idea was highly approved, and they immediately began to discuss how the festival should be celebrated. Alida invented the most astonishing plans, including the use of torches and rockets, until Jos declared:

"Our cows will jump over the fences in fright, and the people at the feast will have to run after them in their holiday clothes."

This idea brought bursts of laughter from all four, but they soon dropped the discussion and lay down to rest in the deep shade. Fanned by the leafy boughs overhead, they slept as well as if they had been lying on a prince's bed, and the fresh air and warm sunshine brought a ruddy glow to Hugo's pale cheeks.

That evening when the quartet wandered home, Hugo turned aside with Jos, and both boys disappeared in the stable.

"Now he's begun it too," mourned Stefeli. "I wonder what they have to do in there!"

"Just let him go," remarked Alida. "He's much happier when he's with Jos, like today; I've noticed that."