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In winter he was very often alone with his cousin; for when his father
had work to do in the valley, he would be away for long weeks at a time.
CHAPTER II.
IN THE SCHOOL.
Rico was almost nine years old, and had been to school for two winters.
Up there in the mountains there was no school in the summer-time; for
then the teacher had his field to cultivate, and his hay and wood to
cut, like everybody else, and nobody had time to think of going to
school. This was not a great sorrow for Rico,--he knew how to amuse
himself. When he had once taken his place in the morning on the
threshold, he would stand there for hours without moving, gazing into
the far distance with dreamy eyes, if the door of the house over the
way did not open, and a little girl make her appearance and look over
at him laughingly. Then Rico ran over to her in a trice, and the
children were busy enough in telling each other what had happened since
the evening before, and talked incessantly, until Stineli was called
into the house. The girl's name was Stineli, and she and Rico were of
exactly the same age. They began to go to school at the same time, were
in the same classes, and from that time forward were always together;
for there was only a narrow path between their cottages, and they were
the dearest of friends.
This was the only intimacy that Rico had, for he had no pleasure in
the companionship of the other boys; and when they thrashed each
other, or played at wrestling, or turned somersaults, he went away
without even looking back at them.
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