the sheep rang its bell in the fold.

Bacha suddenly lifted up his bowed head, and spoke with a voice such
as they had never heard before: "That lost and found sheep am I, my
children. The gracious Lord God forgave all my sins. The Lord Jesus
sought and found me, and I have surrendered myself to Him altogether,
including our huts. Let us pray."

He took his hat off, folded his hands, and prayed thus, "Our Father,"
in such a manner, that nobody had ever heard such a prayer before.
Never will Ondrejko de Gemer forget that moment, but I think that none
of the others present there will ever be able to forget it either.

When in the huts everything quieted down--not even the dogs barked
that night--Bacha, as his custom was, walked all around to see if
there was any danger anywhere, before he betook himself to rest. He
walked also around the wooden hut and suddenly stopped. There on
Ondrejko's little bench, under the window, wrapped up in a shawl,
Madame Slavkovsky sat in the moonlight. Her hands were twined around
her knees, and she was thoughtfully looking into the beautiful starry
night. He coughed, that she might not be startled. She turned her
head, and with a motion indicated her wish that he should take a place
beside her. He obeyed.

"You said, Bacha Filina, that that lost and found sheep was you," she
began in her sweet, sad voice. "That woman who lost that coin is also
I. More than that even, I am the prodigal daughter."

"What do you mean by that, lady?" asked Filina seriously.

"When Palko explained how good that father was and how the naughty boy
left him, I thought that I did just that to my good dear father; and
therefore, from that time on, what sad experiences I have had!" She
sighed deeply.

"Tell me all about it. I am an old man and could be your father. I
shall understand you."

"Yes, I will tell you everything, because if you had not saved my poor
child he would not have had anybody. Did you not care for him like a
father?"

"We lived on a beautiful farm in America," she went on. "My
grandfather and grandmother came from Bohemia as a young couple. They
bought a small farm and worked diligently, and God blessed them. They
were good people, who trusted in God. They had one son and a daughter.
Their son wanted to study, so they sent him to school. As he did not
work on the farm they had to take a helper, and he also came from the
old country. They took a liking for him at once because he fitted i