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Then he tripped along beside his mother in the lovely, sunny evening. They wandered to the Wild brook, over the wooden bridge, which crosses it, and came to the narrow foot-path, winding up through the flower-laden meadows to the farm where the father worked.

The last rays of the setting sun fell across the meadows and the sound of the evening bells came up from Kandergrund.

The mother stood still and folded her hands.

“Lay your hands together Toneli,” she said, “it is the Angelus.”

The child obeyed.

“What must I pray, Mother?” he asked.

“Give us and all tired people a blessed Sunday! Amen!” said the mother devoutly.

Toneli repeated the prayer. Suddenly he screamed: “Father is coming!”

Down from the farm some one was running as fast as he could come.

“That is not Father,” said his mother, and both went towards the running man. When they met, the man stood still and said, gasping:

“Don’t go any farther, turn around, Elsbeth. I came straight to you, for something has happened.”

“Oh, my God!” cried the woman in the greatest anguish, “has something happened to Toni?”

“Yes, he was with the wood-cutters, and then he was struck. They have brought him back; he is lying up at the farm-but don’t go up there,” he added, holding Elsbeth fast, for she wanted to start off as soon as she heard the news.

“Not go up?” she said quickly. “I must go to him; I must help him and see about bringing him home.”

“You cannot help him, he is–he is already dead,” said the messenger in an unsteady voice. Then he turned and ran back again, glad to have the message off his mind.

Elsbeth threw herself down on a stone by the way, unable to stand or to walk. She held her apron before her face and burst into weeping and sobbing, so that Toneli was distressed and frightened. He pressed close to his mother and began to cry too.

It was already dark, when Elsbeth finally came to herself and could think of her child. The little one was still sitting beside her on the ground, with both hands pressed to his eyes, and sobbing pitifully. His mother lifted him up.

“Come, Toneli, we must go home; it is late,” she said, taking him by the hand.

But he resisted.

“No, no, we must wait for Father!” he said and pulled his mother back.

Again she could not keep back the tears. “Oh, Toneli, Father will come no more,” she said, stifling her sobs; “he is already enjoying the blessed Sunday, we prayed for, for the weary. See, the dear Lord has taken him to Heaven; it is so beautiful there, he will prefer to stay there.”

“Then we will go too,” replied Toneli, starting

“Yes, yes, we shall go there too,” promised his mother, “but now we must first go home to the stone hut,” and without a word she went with the little one back to the silent cottage.

The proprietor of the Matten farm sent word to Elsbeth the following day that he would do everything necessary for her husband, and so she need not come until it was time for the service, for she would not recognize her husband. He sent her some money in order that she would not have too much care in the next few days, and promised to think of her later on.

Elsbeth did as he advised and remained at home until the bells in Kandergrund rang for the service. Then she went to accompany her husband to his resting place.

Sad and hard days came for Elsbeth. She missed her good, kind husband everywhere, and felt quite lost without him. Besides, cares came now which she had known little about before, for her husband had had his good, daily work. But now she felt sometimes as if she would almost despair. She had nothing but her goat and the little potato field behind the cottage, and from these she had to feed and clothe herself and the little one, and besides furnish rent for the little house.