. But Vincenza and Cain moved swiftly and
easily among the guests who crowded the rooms, were now here, now
there, and their work and their pleasure in their work gave them rosy
cheeks and brightly flashing eyes. It soon appeared that in the special
dining room, where those of the upper classes sat, and where Simmen,
who had a keen eye for the rank of his guests, always brought the more
important travelers, these guests took especial pleasure in the two
young people, and gradually Simmen told them to devote their whole
attention to the service of this room. Many eyes were fixed upon them.
They received many friendly nods and kind words, and because they
enjoyed all this together, they quite unconsciously came to feel that
they belonged together, and this feeling was not confined to their work
in the guests' rooms. They began to stand talking together after their
work was done, then one day Vincenza ran over to see Katharine, with
whom she was growing quite friendly. A few days later Cain brought her
a book, that he had kept since his own school days. But when he saw
that she was but little accustomed to reading, and therefore could not
rightly enjoy what she read, he asked her to come with him that
evening, which was a Sunday, to the meadow behind the old monastery;
there he sat with her, leaning against one of the many blocks of stone,
and read to her. She was so delighted, that she would not let him stop
until he had read her story after story, and it grew so dark that he
could no longer make out the letters. Then the young girl, who was
usually impetuous and far from serious, looked very dreamy, and said,
drawing a long breath: "You read beautifully."

And that was true. Cain's voice had a deep, full tone, that was
excellent in reading as well as in singing.

Thus their friendship grew day by day, and this was scarcely
surprising, since they were the two youngest people on the mountain, in
fact the only young people.

When the summer gave way to autumn, there was less travel over the
mountain road, although it never ceased entirely, even in the deepest
winter, and there were many hours in which Cain and the young girl
could well be spared, or thought they could. They began to wander about
the mountains together. Vincenza acted as the guide, for she had
climbed about everywhere with the goatherds when she was a child, and
knew the way. Hand in hand, singing lightheartedly in the pure, early
morning they would climb