Mary E. Ropes

“ Shall you be afraid?"
"No, father," replied Tonie; "what should harm us? It is summer time, and there are no wolves near us, as there are now and again in winter; though even if there were, they would only prowl about here at night, and then we are always safe at home. And there is nothing else to do us harm, as thou knowest well, dear father."
"Yes, all will be well," said Blonda; "fear not for us. And we promise to be such good children, and to take good care of the home till thou return to us again." ”

“ Ah, Freskel, this love of money—this clinging to wealth—makes it very hard to follow Jesus. Our Lord goes before us, and the path is often rugged, and hills are steep, and the snares and pitfalls of the way are many; and yet we try to toil along after Him, dragging with us our heavy chains of gold and our burden of precious things, and we see not that while we are greedily clutching what we already have, or are eagerly searching for fresh treasure, the Lord passes on and is no more seen of us, the example of Jesus is forgotten, His love and favour are no longer the one thing needful for us. ”

“ And, moreover, we have an old grudge against thy father, Tonie, seeing that he is a friend of that meddling old pastor, Bertholm Oshart, and if thou do not our bidding, we are ready for revenge. But I waste time in parleying with thee. Once more, wilt thou open to us?"
"We have orders to open to none to-night, and we cannot choose but obey," replied Tonie firmly.
"It is so," said Blonda; "we are but children, and we cannot choose but obey."
There was the sound of a muttered oath from Dorlat, and an impatient exclamation from Hervitz. ”

“ If He takes from us that which we love, why is it, but that our hearts may cling to Him rather than to that which cannot help us. Tell me, Freskel, hast thou been happy all this time since the secret hoard became thine?"
"Happy? Oh, no," replied the lad, "for I was ever in fear."
"But the real treasure," said Pastor Oshart, "the blessing of God, maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow—no, nor fear which hath torment. ”

“ The good old man did not for one moment believe that any treasure existed at all on the island, save in the imagination of a few foolish or idle people. But he dreaded—and rightly—the strength of an absorbing, covetous passion on such a mind as that of poor Freskel, which was only too apt to lend itself to delusions of all sorts.
"Father," said Blonda to Grubert one afternoon as she sat down to her loom, "Father, hadst thou any special need for some of this linen last night or this morning?" ”

“ But before I speak to thee further about thine own faults, Freskel, I would ask what makes thee think that thou hast found the ancient treasure of the legend? Were the coins very old and barbarous looking?"
"No, my father; they are even like the gold and silver of our own country."
"Strange!" muttered Pastor Oshart to himself. "That can be no ancient hoard."
"And thou hast not a single coin that thou couldst show me, Freskel?"
"Not one, my father. All were beneath the stone, and all have gone. And yet I was there only last night, and from the island I saw Blonda and Tonie skating on the lake. ”

“ Tonie had been asleep for about three hours or so when he was roused by a loud knock at the front door of the cottage, the door that faced the forest, from which the house was separated only by the road. Startled, breathless, he sat up in bed, hardly knowing as yet whether he was awake or dreaming. Then came the knock again, and he sprang out of bed, hurried on some clothes, and by a sort of natural instinct was running to open the door, when he remembered the pastor's words, "When the door is once shut, open to none."
"But what if some one should be ill or in trouble, or have lost his way?" ”

“ Why, bethink thee, father, and thou, brother Hervitz, what reason we have for loving and reverencing this holy man! We have not forgotten—have we—what we owed him in the past?"
"Nay, that have we not!" cried Hervitz, with a laugh. "And no one can say of us that we pay not our debts."
"Peace, Hervitz!" said Jaspar. "Let us hear the man's business; though, all the same, Pastor Oshart, you are somewhat over-bold to come thus into the lions' den." ”

“ Nay, that must not be. Knowest thou whither I am bound?"
"Yes, surely," said Blonda. "You go to the Valdens."
"And that is no place for thee, my lamb; stay here with Tonie and my good Rolf till I return. Go, take off thy things, Blonda."
"They said you might be in danger, dear pastor," sobbed Blonda, "and I thought I might perhaps help you. Or if I could not help—being so small—at least I could share your danger, as my dear father would have done had he been here. It is so hard you should go all alone." ”

“ Pray what will you with us?" asked Jaspar, with a frown.
"Ay," screamed the shrill, mocking voice of Hervitz, "what dealings can this saint of Carfoos have with us sinful Valdens?"
"I come on urgent business," replied the pastor, with grave gentleness. "Have I your permission to come in and tell my errand?"
"Oh, come in, come in, of course, most righteous prophet and teacher!" sneered Dorlat. "Think you that we could be so wanting in courtesy as to keep our best of friends outside our door? ”

“ Our father says, that those who fear God and trust in Him need fear nothing else in heaven or hell, but may have confidence that He who made all things can keep in their right places (wherever these may be) both the good spirits and the bad."
"Well spoken, little one! Art ready to give an answer for the faith that is in thee?" cried the stranger, laying his white gloved hand on the child's shoulder. "And pray, Blondinka, what sayest thou to this story of treasure in the Isle of Ghosts?" And the keen eyes of the officer peered enquiringly into Blonda's fair, open face. ”

“ It seemed to come from Blonda's room upstairs.
"What is that?" cried Tonie. "Surely the men have not got in through thy window?"
But the words were scarcely spoken when flying down the steep, narrow staircase came the lithe form of Freskel Valden.
"Question me not," he muttered hoarsely. "We have but a moment. Hast thou got the money, Blonda? It is well; then follow me. If but we can win forth out of these four walls, Nature shall keep the treasure for us."
So saying, Freskel led the way to the back door, and, stooping, listened intently with his ear to the key-hole. ”

“ Nay, Freskel, hang not thy head. If thou think that thou art scarce deserving of all the kind things our little friend hath spoken of thee, see to it that at least thou deserve them in the future. And now, Grubert Reuss," continued the general, "lead on and show me the way to thy house. Many things have I seen in this part of my—of Finland, but the inside of a woodman's cottage is still to me an undiscovered country. ”

“ Let us in, and suffer him to rest on a bed for a while, and after that we will go on our way."
Just at that moment, Blonda came down, roused by the noise, and stood at her brother's elbow, wrapped in an old dark cloak.
"A man wounded with an axe; shall I let him and the other in? How thinkest thou, Blonda?" said Tonie.
"No, brother, we can but obey the commands given to us by those who are wiser than we," replied the little girl. "If harm should come of our opening, we should be blamed, and rightly. ”

“ But Freskel Valden—half-witted though he be—is, it seems to me, clear enough of vision and true of understanding in all matters which concern Pastor Oshart. Who knows, Tonie, whether such great love as his for our good minister may not make him wise, even as the very beasts and birds of the forest are wise through love, and cunning in their watchfulness over those for whom they care! ”

“ There is to be a great hunt in the forest, Tonie; some fine people from the Tzar's city came to Klingengolf yesterday, and they are all driving down to Carfoos in their Russian troika sledges, and here they will put on snow shoes, and go on foot into the wood and round among the hills, to look for beasts to slay; and Freskel will guide the hunters and find them a bear, and for that Freskel will have money—silver money! ”

“ The former was out in the woods all day, helping to fell timber and cart it down to the river bank some miles away, while the latter, when not busy with sweeping, cooking, washing, or mending, sat down to her loom and wove yard after yard of coarse linen towelling, which Grubert took to sell in the town when he had goods of his own of which to dispose.
Almost the only recreation that the children had was to bind on their skates, and hand in hand to fly off and explore the lake. Like swallows they skimmed the surface, fearless and sure of their footing. ”

“ May God have thee in His holy keeping, child with the forget-me-not eyes. May He give thee a long, happy and useful life, with thy good father and brother, in the new home whither it is my pleasure that you move in the spring. And since, my little maid, thy faith in One above is so strong, and thy vision of the right is so clear, pray sometimes for him who to thee is known only as General Nicolai, but who here, in his own city, is thy friend at Court,—
"NICOLAI 1st, Emperor of all the Russias." ”

“ And now, at this time, once more it was reported that the Isle of Ghosts was haunted, and the glimmer of a ghostly light and the flitting of a shadowy form had been seen at night from the shores of the lake.
Connecting these reports with Freskel Valden's frequent and unaccounted for absences, the good pastor came to the conclusion that the poor, half-witted lad had become possessed by a mad passion for the ill-gotten gold which tradition said still lay hidden in some corner of the island, and that the ghost which haunted that lonely pile of rock was none other than Freskel himself. ”

“ The lad looked from one to another of his friends with a half-puzzled, half-cunning look, which they could not understand. Then he was turning sulkily away, when Grubert said—
"Leave us not, Freskel, until thou hast broken thy fast. Come and share our meal; there is plenty for all."
So Freskel sat down with them.
And while they were eating, Blonda, suddenly remembering the disappearance of the linen, and thinking that Freskel might perhaps throw some light upon her loss, said, "By the bye, Freskel, such a strange thing has happened to me; I have lost some linen towelling I had woven. ”

“ So after dark I got out of my back door, hiding the bag under my cloak, and hurried hither to ask your father to take care of it till such time as Rolf is able to start for home. For truly no one could suspect that in a woodcutter's cottage there could be anything worth stealing."
"No, dear pastor," replied Blonda; "father has often said that after all we poor folk are the happiest, for none envy us or covet what we have." ”

“ As our father has often told us, God has gifts for all, even the most simple among His creatures; and to one He gives wisdom of one sort, and to another of a different kind. But there, Blonda, I am ready now for my fishing; say, little sister, wilt thou come with me on the raft to the Isle of Ghosts, or stayest thou here? ”

“ Forget not, Tonie, to use all care and diligence in shutting up the house; and once shut, see that thou open the door to none. In this lonely place, even when we look not for danger, it is well to take all possible precautions."
The old pastor trudged off homewards; he would gladly have remained and spent the night with the children at the woodcutter's cottage, for he did not like their being alone, but he knew that his old housekeeper at home would almost no die of fear if he did not return. ”

“ If what the man says is true, that his fellow is wounded, and would fain lie down, that what doth hinder him from lying on the moss under the trees? It is warm weather, and the ground is not damp."
"Ay, Blonda, thou art right," said Tonie.
Then he called through the door once more—"Pass on, travellers; we cannot open to you."
"Now listen, thou young imp," said another voice, which Tonie knew could belong to none other than Dorlat Valden. "We have lately been robbed of a bag of coin, and we would get back our own. We have some reason to think that the money has found its way to this cottage. ”

“ Tonie and Blonda exchanged frightened glances. The thought of any possible danger to them in this home of theirs had never occurred to them before, and now, as their eyes sought once more the old man's face, they could see that he was anxious and troubled.
"Listen, little ones," said the pastor. "This morning Rolf Bresser, a friend of mine, came to me and begged me to take charge for a few days of a bag of money—gold and silver coin. It had been given him, he said, by a rich man, to distribute among the poor of the village where he lived. ”

“ If I start, as I should, at once, I shall not have time to let Grubert Reuss and his family know about Freskel. Wilt thou go and carry the news to them? It will comfort little Blonda (who loves the poor lad) to know that I have gone to do what I could for him."
"I will be sure to visit them this very afternoon," replied Rolf Bresser.
It was three days before the pastor returned from Klingengolf, and when he did, he brought only bad news. After half an hour spent at his own house, the old man walked over to Grubert's cottage. ”

“ No, little sister; what should I want with it?" replied the boy, in great surprise.
"It is quite impossible that it should have been stolen," said Grubert, "for no one comes here but our dear pastor and poor Freskel Valden."
"Was Freskel here this morning?" asked Tonie.
"Yes," answered his father. "He came just after breakfast, when thou wert one out into the forest and Blonda to the goat shed."
"What could he want at so early an hour, I wonder!" said Tonie. "Why, he must have risen at about three o'clock in the morning to come all the way from where the Valdens live now. ”