Moni the Goat-Boy | Page 8

have found; you really don't need to take anything for it, then you will have nothing to do with it. If you will do as I say, I will make my father buy M?ggerli, so she will not be killed. Will you?"
A hard struggle arose in Moni. It was wrong to help keep the discovery secret. J?rgli had opened his hand. In it lay a cross set with a large number of stones, which sparkled in many colors. Moni realized that it was not a worthless thing which no one would inquire about; he felt exactly as if he himself should be keeping what did not belong to him if he remained silent. But on the other hand was the little, affectionate M?ggerli, that was going to be killed in a horrible way with a knife, and he could prevent it if he kept silent. Even now the little kid was lying so trustfully beside him, as if, she knew that he would always keep it; no, he could not let this happen, he must try to save it.
"Yes, I will, J?rgli," he said, but without any enthusiasm.
"Then it is a bargain!" and J?rgli offered his hand to Moni, that he might seal the argument, as that was the only way to make a promise binding.
J?rgli was very glad that now his secret was safe; but as Moni had become so quiet, and he had much farther to go to reach home than Moni, he considered it well to start along with his two goats. He said good-night to Moni and whistled for his two companions, which meanwhile had joined Moni's grazing goats, but not without much pushing and other doubtful behavior between the two parties, for the goats from Fideris had never heard that they ought to be polite to visitors and the goats from K��blis did not know that they ought not to seek out the best plants or push the others away from them, when they were visiting. When J?rgli had gone some distance down the mountain, Moni also started along with his flock, but he was very still and neither sang a note nor whistled, all the way home.
CHAPTER IV
MONI CAN NO LONGER SING
On the following morning Moni came up the path to the Bath House, just as silent and cast down as the evening before. He brought out the landlord's goats quietly and went on upwards, but he sang not a note, nor did he give a yodel up into the air; he let his head hang and looked as if he were afraid of something; now and then he looked around timidly, as if some one were coming after him to question him.
Moni could no longer be merry; he didn't know himself exactly why. He wanted to be glad that he had saved M?ggerli, and sing, but he couldn't express it. To-day the sky was covered with clouds, and Moni thought when the sun came out it would be different and he could be happy again.
When he reached the top, it began to rain quite hard. He took refuge under the Rain-rock, for it soon poured in streams from the sky.
The goats came, too, and placed themselves here and there under the rock. The aristocratic Blackie immediately wanted to protect her beautiful shiny coat and crept in under the rock before Moni did. She was now standing behind Moni and looking out from her comfortable corner into the pouring rain. M?ggerli was standing in front of its protector under the projecting rock and gently rubbed its little head against his knee; then it looked up at him in surprise, because Moni did not say a word, and it was not accustomed to that. Moni sat thoughtfully, leaning on his staff, for in such weather he always kept it in his hand, to keep himself from slipping on the steep places, for on such days he wore shoes. Now, as he sat for hours under the Rain-rock, he had plenty of time for reflection.
Moni thought over what he had promised J?rgli, and it seemed to him that if J?rgli had taken something, he was practically doing the same thing himself, because J?rgli had promised to give him something or do something for him. He had surely done what was wrong, and the dear Lord was now against him. This he felt in his heart, and it was right that it was dark and rainy and that he was hidden under the rock, for he would not even have dared look up into the blue sky, as usual.
But there were still other things that Moni had to think about. If M?ggerli should fall down over a steep precipice again, and he wanted to get it, the dear Lord would no longer protect him, and he no