and death."

The lady promised, but asked that they might now read the Word of God,
as she felt tired. They did this very gladly, and in a little while a
wonderful quietness reigned.

"Listen, Steve," said Joe to his comrade; "In the castle they said
that when the lady went home after singing in the theatre that
gentlemen unhitched the horses from her carriage, and hitched
themselves to it and thus drew her along. I am not surprised. Really,
when she sings, she can do anything with a person."

CHAPTER NINE

On Sunday morning the doctor brought some papers. They all had met
at breakfast in the hut. When the lady read the letters, she folded
Ondrejko in her arms, and half-crying and half-laughing said, "My dear
son, now you may really say, 'our woods,' 'our sheep,' because I have
bought it all for you, my Ondrejko, and all this ground. Only I don't
know if I dare say: 'Our Bacha Filina.' I cannot, if it were not for
you. He himself must decide if he will stay with us. Do tell him that
he must stay."

"Do not ask, Ondrejko," smiled Bacha. "If you are at all satisfied
with me--yes, if you are satisfied with all of us--we all will be glad
to stay; isn't it so, boys?"

"Surely we will be very glad to stay," answered the herdsmen.

Soon it was known at all three sheepfolds that Madame Slavkovsky had
bought Lord Gemer's estate and that she would deed it to Ondrejko if
Lord Gemer would give up her son to her. No one doubted that he would
do this, and since the present manager gave notice to leave, because
he had been called to manage a different estate, the lady hoped that
she would find some other responsible man. She promised everyone a
raise in wages as soon as the change of ownership of the estate was
recorded and improvements made. Everybody rejoiced. It almost seemed
that even the sheep knew that Ondrejko had become their master. It was
lovely how they rang their bells.

Over the sheepcotes every once in a while sounded the song which they
called the lady's: "My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary."
The boys taught it to everybody who wanted to learn it, and what
Slovak would not like to learn a new song? When Aunty Moravec noticed
how they all liked it, she confided to Palko that she still had a
whole book of such songs from America. Thereupon, Ondrejko begged his
mother to sing one of them once in a while. She made no excuses. Every
day she taught them a new one, each more beautiful than those