CHAPTER XIX

CLOUDS AT LAKE GARDA

One evening when Rico came, he said that he could not be with them again for two days, as he must go to Riva to play for a dance. This was a disappointment to them all, and especially to Stineli. "I hope the weather will be good," she said; "then you will have such a fine sail on the lake. It will be beautiful, too, coming back in the moonlight."

Everything Rico played that night was sad, and he failed, in spite of his efforts, to shake off his wretchedness. Long before it was ten o'clock he put up his violin and rose to go. Mrs. Menotti urged him to stay, but she did not notice his unhappy face.

"I will go with Rico for a little way," said Stineli.

"No, no; don't go away, Stineli!" cried Silvio.

"Stay with him, Stineli; never mind me," said Rico, with the same finality with which he had said, "There is no use to think of it," after his interview with the teacher, when he had found out the price of a violin.

Stineli whispered to Silvio, "Be a brave little boy, dearie, and don't cry for me; then I will tell you ever so many stories to-morrow." As usual he obeyed her.

When Rico and Stineli came to the garden gate he said: "Go back, Stineli; you belong there and I belong to the street. I am only a poor, homeless orphan, so just let me go and don't worry."

"No, no, you shall not leave me while you feel in this way. Where can we go to talk a little while?"

"To the bridge," answered Rico, eagerly.

They walked on in silence, and after reaching their favorite place on the bridge, stood listening to the splash of the waves below them until Rico said, "Really, Stineli, if it were not for you, I wouldn't stay here any longer. I would go ever so far away, it would make little difference where, since there is no one that cares for me and I shall always have to live in hotels, and sleep in storerooms, and play for dances where people act as if they were crazy. Since I have seen you living with these good people, I have wished that my mother had thrown me into the lake before she died, so that I need not have come to be what I am."

"O Rico, how dare you think such wicked thoughts, much less express them! It must be that you have been neglecting the Lord's Prayer or you would not be so unhappy," said Stineli.

"It is true," said Rico; "I have not said it, and I am sure I have forgotten it altogether by this time."

"But how dare you live so?" asked Stineli. "Just think how grandmother would worry about you if she knew that! You must remember how she said to us, 'The one that forgets to pray will have a hard time.' You must learn the prayer again. Let us sit down here and I will teach it to you."

After Stineli had repeated the prayer twice she said, "You can see from this that the whole kingdom belongs to God, and you can trust Him to find a home for you, because it also says that the power is His."

"If He has a home for me in His kingdom and has the power to give it, He clearly doesn't want to," retorted Rico.

"Have you asked Him to give it to you?"

"No."

"Grandmother said that we must ask for things we want. It is very likely that He thinks you can ask Him if you really want anything."

After a moment's silence Rico said, "Say the prayer once more; I will learn it."

In a short time they were walking back to the garden, where they parted for the night. On the way to the hotel Rico thought of the kingdom and the power. He felt convinced that he had neglected a sacred duty, and that night, in his cheerless attic room, he knelt by his bed and prayed.

Stineli meant to go in as soon as Rico left her, and tell Mrs. Menotti of his unhappiness, hoping that she might help the boy to find some more suitable employment, since he so disliked playing for dances, but this intention was not carried out, for Silvio had been taken suddenly ill while she was gone, and was lying exhausted on his pillow, flushed and breathing heavily. The mother sat crying softly beside him. Stineli had never seen him ill before, and she stood wondering what she should do.

Mrs. Menotti soon noticed her presence and said: "Sit down, Stineli; he is better now, and I should like to tell you about something that troubles me greatly. You are young, but I feel sure it will do me good to have you know about it.

"When Mr. Menotti and I were first married, he brought me here from Riva, where my father is still living. An old friend of my husband's lived here, but he wished to go away for a few years, because his wife had died and he found it too hard to live here without her; he wanted us to live on his place while he was away. He had a little house and a large farm of not especially good land, but since Mr. Menotti understood perfectly how to manage a farm, it was agreed between them, as intimate friends, that there was to be no rent; we were simply to keep everything in good condition so that he would find his place in order when he returned.

"A few years later the railway officials decided to build on the land, and paid much more than it was worth to get it. Mr. Menotti took the money, and being able to buy much better land, including this garden, he built this house. There was money enough to pay for it all. The land brought rich returns, and we prospered to such an extent that I was worried, for it did not belong to us. Mr. Menotti was happy over it because he had such a pleasant surprise for his friend, to whom he meant to turn it all over as soon as he returned; but he never came.

"As Silvio grew older, and I saw how weak he was, I feared that his illness might be sent as a punishment to us for living upon the profits of another's money, and I have felt the same to-night. Mr. Menotti died four years ago. I am sure I would gladly give things over to the rightful owner, if I could, but I don't know where to find him. The man may be sick somewhere, or in need, and it worries me beyond measure."

"I think you have no reason to worry, since you have done the best you could," said Stineli. "My grandmother taught me to ask God to make things right, if it was beyond my own power.

"_I_ am worried about Rico," Stineli continued, "and I can do nothing for him, so I have asked God to help him, and Rico has promised that he will do his part. I feel sure that this burden can be lifted from you in the same way, if you will only ask Him to make it right in His sight. My grandmother has taught me that we are all governed in harmony by the Creator so long as we seek the divine will. It is like a great chorus in which every member sings in tune because he is governed by the harmony of music, and so I always try to put myself back where I belong, when I feel any discord. I have never been disappointed in trusting God with the results."

"You are a wise girl, Stineli, and you have truly comforted me," said Mrs. Menotti, as she kissed Stineli and bade her good night.