“Magnificent! Superb!” she cried. “What heart could resist thee, my Atli? Surely none that thou wilt meet to-day! A happy time, a safe return, and God be with thee!”
“God be with thee!” cried Zitli, waving his crutch, and Honor, blushing crimson, murmured the wish under her breath as she watched the shepherd striding off down the path.
“Where is he going, Gretli?” she asked timidly.
“Where but to see his maiden?” cried Gretli, laughing. “Does one dress like that for any other thing? Our Atli goes a-wooing, Mademoiselle Honor! Seest thou that brown roof yonder, where the sun shines on something red? That is Madelon’s red scarf; she hangs it from her window every Thursday afternoon if all is well with her and the mother can spare her from the cheese-making. Then--zip! like a chamois goes our Atli leaping--as you see!”
Lying in her little white bed, that night, the moon a gleaming crescent over the _Dent du Midi_, the whole world turned to black and silver, Honor began another chapter of her story.
“Years passed. Silver threads shone in the raven mantle of my tresses. The stars in my eyes were drowned in tears; time and sorrow had chiseled lines in the smooth ivory of my brow. My heart alone was ever young, ever young, ever faithful; with every throb it pledged its troth anew to the one who--”
Here, I regret to say, Honor fell asleep.
There was a spare pair of crutches, it appeared; Zitli himself had made them, “in case!” he said with a shrug. If it was good to have one pair, it was better to have two; as now, for example, behold!
For next day, the ankle was so greatly better that Honor could keep still no longer, she declared. The crutches were brought, and fitted to a marvel; she hobbled about gayly, delighted to be in motion again. Never in her life had she been still for so long a time.
“Zitli, I’ll race you to the barn!” she cried.
Zitli kindled responsive; but Gretli vetoed the proposition with massive calm.
“‘He who goes slowly, goes safe and fair; He who goes hastily goes to despair.’
It is a proverb, mademoiselle. Well I should look facing my Ladies and telling them that you had injured yourself again racing to the barn on crutches. Besides which, there are other ways of getting there.”