ys
wanted to see it once," said the taciturn smith. He and Cain loved to
go out in front of the house, or wander down through the meadows, or
sit on some rock, to marvel over the beauty in the midst of which they
lived. The wonder was ever new, in the early morning, before the dawn
glimmered in the east, in the brilliancy of noon, at sunset, when the
mountains and the heavens were all aflame, and in the night, when no
sound broke the silence and the sky was full of stars. At these times
they did not talk, but they drew great deep breaths, and felt such joy
merely in living, that the two unspoiled men were almost without a
wish.

All day long Cain helped his father in the shop; but when, at Simmen's
wish, the smith took an apprentice, Cain had more free time and could
help Katharine, who was no longer very strong, or else he was called on
by Simmen for all sorts of services. He was both skilful and quick, and
in dealing with people he had a ready, almost fine manner, for which
also Katharine deserved credit, for no matter how weak and tremulous
her hands had grown, she still kept control of the boy. The hospice
tavern, this summer, was surprisingly full of life. The guests came in
such numbers that often the four large, ground floor rooms could not
accommodate them all. Thus it often happened, and as his usefulness
came to be known, daily, that little Vincenza would come running to the
workshop: "Come, Franz, you must help us."

Then the boy would get rid of the dust of the shop, put on clean
clothes, and would soon be up at the tavern, and it did not take long
to teach him. He was soon able to move about among the tables and wait
on the guests just as the maids, the host and his wife and the slender
Vincenza did. It was a pleasure to see Franz and the others at work;
they seemed to turn everything off so easily. The landlord's wife was a
very tall woman, nearly a head taller than her husband; she was pale,
with clear-cut features, and black hair and eyebrows. She had a sharp,
decided manner, and if she went to manage matters in the room where the
servants and common people, tradesmen and apprentices were, where it
was often noisy and not always peaceful, she did not need any masculine
intervention, to maintain order among the turbulent folk. Simmen, in
spite of his rather unwieldy figure, was active and quick, and took
hold himself, when there was too much for the maids to do, and helped
to bring in the food and drink