One evening the child broke out into the wildest excitement when
Rico took his leave, saying that he would not be able to come on the
following day nor on Sunday. Silvio shrieked for his mother as if the
house were burning, and he were in the midst of the flames; and as she
came hurrying to him from the garden, almost frightened to death at his
noise, he declared "Rico should _not_ go again back to the inn; but must
stay always, always with them. You must stay here, Rico. You must never,
never go away!"
But Rico said, "I would stay most gladly; but I cannot."
Mrs. Menotti was much perplexed. She knew very well how valuable Rico's
services were to the inn-keepers, and that she could never obtain him
under any consideration. She tried to silence her little son to the best
of her ability, while she drew Rico to her side, saying, as was her
wont, "Poor little orphan!" Whereupon Silvio called out angrily, "What
is an orphan? I want to be an orphan too."
These words aroused his mother; and she cried out, in her turn, "Silvio,
you wicked child! Do you know that an orphan is a wretched child, who
has neither father nor mother, and no home on all the earth?"
Rico's black eyes were fixed on Mrs. Menotti's face, and then seemed to
grow blacker and more black every minute; but she did not notice them.
She had ceased to think about the lad while she was giving this
explanation of an orphan to her son.
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