.

Rollo was greatly interested in this store of curiosities, so much so,
in fact, that for the moment all thoughts of the Staubach were driven
from his mind.

"Let us buy some of these things, uncle George," said he.

"And carry them over the Wengern Alp?" said Mr. George.

"Yes," said Rollo. "They won't be very heavy. We can put them in the
carpet bag."

"Well," said Mr. George, "you may buy one or two specimens if you wish,
but not many; for the guide has got the carpet bag to carry, and we must
not make it very heavy."

"Or we can send them in the carriage round to Grindelwald," said Rollo,
"and not have to carry them at all."

"So we can," said Mr. George.

Rollo accordingly bought two Swiss cottages, very small ones, and a nut
cracker. The nut cracker was shaped like a man's fist, with a hole in
the middle of it to put the nut in. Then there was a handle, the end of
which, when the handle was turned, was forced into the hollow of the
fist by means of a screw cut in the wood, and this would crack the nut.

While Rollo was paying for his toys he felt a small hand taking hold of
his own, and heard a voice say, in English,--

"How do you do?"

The English "How do you do?" is a strange sound to be heard in these
remote Swiss valleys.

Rollo turned round and saw a boy look up to him with a smile, saying
again at the same time,--

"How do you do?"

In a moment Rollo recognized the boy whom he had seen at Basle in the
court yard of the diligence office while he had been waiting there for
the horses to be harnessed. His sister Lottie was standing near; and
she, as well as her brother, appeared to be much pleased at seeing Rollo
again. Rollo had a few minutes' conversation with his young friends, and
then they separated, as Rollo went on with his uncle to see the
waterfall; while they, having already been with their father and mother
to see it, went back to the inn.

Mr. George had recommended to Rollo not to buy too many specimens of the
carving, not only on account of the difficulty of transporting them, but
also because he thought that they would probably find a great many other
opportunities to purchase such things before they had finished their
rambles in Switzerland. He was quite right in this supposition. In fact,
Rollo passed three more stands for selling such things on the way to the
Staubach.

Mr. George and Rollo continued their walk along the road, looking up
constantly at the colossal colu