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Page 34
"I've been hunting for you everywhere; and I've found you at last! Come
with me; I want to tell you something!"
He drew her away to the other side of the house, and stopped by the
hazelnut hedge; Emma did not follow them, for fear of vexing her
brother. She had sent to Fani, by Elsli, all the white paper and all the
pencils that she could collect in the children's room at home, and she
thought it but prudent to keep out of Oscar's way.
"Now, attend to what I am going to say, Elsli," began Oscar, seriously;
"it is something very important for you to know. You are going to
foreign parts, where you will have no friends; I mean no acquaintances
among people in general. But no doubt there will be some Swiss there,
and you can form a society of our countrymen, that can meet every week,
and talk over all the news from their own country."
"Yes, but I shouldn't know what to say," said Elsli, very much
perplexed.
"Never mind, the others can do the talking," said the boy, eagerly;
"but now comes the really important part of it. Next summer, when you
are coming home again, you must agree upon some convenient place where
all the members of the society shall meet Then crowds of people will
collect from all sides, and I will be there with my beautiful banner,
and we will have a procession and a great celebration of the first
anniversary. Be sure to write me the date of the foundation, Elsli!"
"Yes, I will certainly," assented Elsli, but her tone was less decided
than her words, for she was anything but clear as to how the society
could be formed, or why it should be formed at all. Further questions
were, however, impossible, for at this moment Fred appeared with Rikli
in his wake, and a long strip of paper in his hand. Oscar vanished.
"Now, Elsli, read this," said Fred.
"Here are the names of all the beautiful caterpillars, and rare beetles
and snails, that you are likely to find where you are going. I want you
to hunt in all the hedges, and stir up the earth now and then in your
walks. Then the fellows will turn up, and you can collect them, and send
me the finest specimens. You will, won't you? I'll send you something
pretty in return. You can put them right into your pocket, you know,
until you get home from your walk, and hold the pocket together _so_,--;
so that they won't crawl out"; and Fred pinched up his pocket-hole so
that no kind of a crawling thing could have escaped from it. Rikli
shuddered all over.
Elsli was very willing to do Fred this service, but she did not really
see how, any more than in Oscar's case; but she said, modestly:--
"I will do my best, Fred; but how am I to know the creatures whose
names are on your list?"
This was a sensible question, and Fred could not help seeing the
importance of it; but he was not to be deterred by a slight obstacle. He
looked again at his lists.
"Suppose I should draw a figure of each creature against its name!" he
said to himself. "I will come to see you to-morrow morning, before you
go away," he said to Elsli, and was off.
Little Rikli, whose lesson had been learned at such a severe cost, was
quite cured of her foolish screaming whenever Fred came near her with
his dear little insects; but she watched his every motion, lest his fist
or his pockets should disgorge some green-eyed frog or other equally
unpleasant treasure. Her big brother had, however, a great fascination
for the child, who followed him everywhere like his shadow. She now
came nearer to Elsli, and said, entreatingly:--
"Don't send the nasty things alive, will you, Elsli, dear? You'll stuff
them first, won't you?"
Just then, who should make his appearance but Feklitus, in his very best
Sunday suit, and at the same moment Marget's voice was heard from the
cottage, calling in a tone loud enough to sound above Hans' screams:--
"Elsli, where are you? It's strange that you can't stay in the house two
minutes at a time to-day."
Rikli ran away; but Feklitus seized Elsli by the arm and held her fast.
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