“Babystockings。Theboyskeepmebusy。“Mrs。Ericsonchuckledandclickedherneedles。
“Howmanygrandchildrenhaveyou？“
“Onlythirty-onenow。Olaflosthisthree。Theyweresickly，liketheirmother。“
“Isupposedhehadasecondcropbythistime！“
“Hissecondwifehasnochildren。She’stooproud。Shetearsaboutonhorsebackallthetime。Butshe’llgetcaughtupwith，yet。Shesetsherselfveryhigh，thoughnobodyknowswhatfor。TheywerelowenoughBohemiansshecameof。IneverthoughtmuchofBohemians；alwaysdrinking。“
Nilspuffedawayathispipeinsilence，andMrs。Ericsonknittedon。Inafewmomentssheaddedgrimly:“Shewasdownheretonight，justbeforeyoucame。She’dliketoquarrelwithmeandcomebetweenmeandOlaf，butIdon’tgiveherthechance。
Isupposeyou’llbebringingawifehomesomeday。“
“Idon’tknow。I’veneverthoughtmuchaboutit。“
“Well，perhapsit’sbestasitis，“suggestedMrs。Ericsonhopefully。“You’dneverbecontentedtieddowntotheland。
Therewasrovingbloodinyourfather’sfamily，andit’scomeoutinyou。Iexpectyourownwayoflifesuitsyoubest。“Mrs。
EricsonhaddroppedintoablandlyagreeabletonewhichNilswellremembered。Itseemedtoamusehimagooddealandhiswhiteteethflashedbehindhispipe。Hismother’sstrategieshadalwaysdivertedhim，evenwhenhewasaboy——theyweresoflimsyandpatent，soillyproportionedtohervigorandforce。
“They’vebeenwaitingtoseewhichwayI’djump，“hereflected。
HefeltthatMrs。Ericsonwasponderinghiscasedeeplyasshesatclickingherneedles。
“Idon’tsupposeyou’veevergotusedtosteadywork，“shewentonpresently。“Menain’tapttoiftheyroamaroundtoolong。It’sapityyoudidn’tcomebacktheyearaftertheWorld’sFair。Yourfatherpickedupagoodbitoflandcheapthen，inthehardtimes，andIexpectmaybehe’dhavegiveyouafarm。it’stoobadyouputoffcomin’backsolong，forIalwaysthoughthemeanttodosomethingbyyou。“
Nilslaughedandshooktheashesoutofhispipe。“I’dhavemissedalotifIhadcomebackthen。ButI’msorryIdidn’tgetbacktoseefather。“
“Well，Isupposewehavetomissthingsatoneendortheother。Perhapsyouareaswellsatisfiedwithyourowndoings，now，asyou’dhavebeenwithafarm，“saidMrs。Ericsonreassuringly。
“Land’sagoodthingtohave，“Nilscommented，ashelitanothermatchandsheltereditwithhishand。
Hismotherlookedsharplyathisfaceuntilthematchburnedout。“Onlywhenyoustayonit！“shehastenedtosay。
Ericcameroundthehousebythepathjustthen，andNilsrose，withayawn。“Mother，ifyoudon’tmind，EricandIwilltakealittletrampbeforebedtime。Itwillmakemesleep。“
“Verywell；onlydon’tstaylong。I’llsitupandwaitforyou。Iliketolockupmyself。“
NilsputhishandonEric’sshoulder，andthetwotrampeddownthehillandacrossthesandcreekintothedustyhighroadbeyond。
Neitherspoke。Theyswungalongatanevengait，Nilspuffingathispipe。Therewasnomoon，andthewhiteroadandthewidefieldslayfaintinthestarlight。Overeverythingwasdarknessandthicksilence，andthesmellofdustandsunflowers。Thebrothersfollowedtheroadforamileormorewithoutfindingaplacetositdown。Finally，Nilsperchedonastileoverthewirefence，andEricsatonthelowerstep。
“Ibegantothinkyouneverwouldcomeback，Nils，“saidtheboysoftly。
“Didn’tIpromiseyouIwould？“
“Yes；butpeopledon’tbotheraboutpromisestheymaketobabies。DidyoureallyknowyouweregoingawayforgoodwhenyouwenttoChicagowiththecattlethattime？“
“Ithoughtitverylikely，ifIcouldmakemyway。“
“Idon’tseehowyoudidit，Nils。Notmanyfellowscould。“
Ericrubbedhisshoulderagainsthisbrother’sknee。
“Thehardthingwasleavinghomeyouandfather。Itwaseasyenough，onceIgotbeyondChicago。OfcourseIgotawfulhomesick；
usedtocrymyselftosleep。ButI’dburnedmybridges。“
“Youhadalwayswantedtogo，hadn’tyou？“
“Always。Doyoustillsleepinourlittleroom？Isthatcottonwoodstillbythewindow？“
Ericnoddedeagerlyandsmiledupathisbrotherinthegreydarkness。
“Yourememberhowwealwayssaidtheleaveswerewhisperingwhentheyrustledatnight？Well，theyalwayswhisperedtomeaboutthesea。Sometimestheysaidnamesoutofthegeographybooks。Inahighwindtheyhadadesperatesound，likesomeonetryingtotearloose。“
“Howfunny，Nils，“saidEricdreamily，restinghischinonhishand。“Thattreestilltalkslikethat，and’mostalwaysittalkstomeaboutyou。“
Theysatawhilelonger，watchingthestars。AtlastEricwhisperedanxiously:“Hadn’twebettergobacknow？Motherwillgettiredwaitingforus。“Theyroseandtookashortcuthome，throughthepasture。
ThenextmorningNilswokewiththefirstfloodoflightthatcamewithdawn。Thewhite-plasteredwallsofhisroomreflectedtheglarethatshonethroughthethinwindowshades，andhefounditimpossibletosleep。Hedressedhurriedlyandslippeddownthehallandupthebackstairstothehalf-storyroomwhichbeusedtosharewithhislittlebrother。Eric，inaskimpynightshirt，wassittingontheedgeofthebed，rubbinghiseyes，hispaleyellowhairstandingupintuftsalloverhishead。WhenhesawNils，hemurmuredsomethingconfusedlyandhustledhislonglegsintohistrousers。“Ididn’texpectyou’dbeupsoearly，Nils，“hesaid，ashisheademergedfromhisblueshirt。
“Oh，youthoughtIwasadude，didyou？“Nilsgavehimaplayfultapwhichbentthetallboyuplikeaclaspknife。“Seehere:Imustteachyoutobox。“Nilsthrusthishandsintohispocketsandwalkedabout。“Youhaven’tchangedthingsmuchuphere。Gotmostofmyoldtraps，haven’tyou？“
Hetookdownabent，witheredpieceofsaplingthathungoverthedresser。“Ifthisisn’tthestickLouSandbergkilledhimselfwith！“
Theboylookedupfromhisshoe-lacing。
“Yes；youneverusedtoletmeplaywiththat。Justhowdidhedoit，Nils？YouwerewithfatherwhenhefoundLou，weren’tyou？“
“Yes。Fatherwasgoingofftopreachsomewhere，and，aswedrovealong，Lou’splacelookedsortofforlorn，andwethoughtwe’dstopandcheerhimup。Whenwefoundhimfathersaidhe’dbeendeadacoupledays。He’dtiedapieceofbindingtwineroundhisneck，madeanooseineachend，fixedthenoosesovertheendsofabentstick，andletthestickspringstraight；strangledhimself。“
“Whatmadehimkillhimselfsuchasillyway？“
Thesimplicityoftheboy’squestionsetNilslaughing。HeclappedlittleEricontheshoulder。“Whatmadehimsuchasillyastokillhimselfatall，Ishouldsay！“
“Oh，well！Buthishogshadthecholera，andallupanddiedonhim，didn’tthey？“
“Suretheydid；buthedidn’thavecholera；andtherewereplentyofbogsleftintheworld，weren’tthere？“
“Well，but，iftheyweren’this，howcouldtheydohimanygood？“Ericasked，inastonishment。
“Oh，scat！Hecouldhavehadlotsoffunwithotherpeople’shogs。Hewasachump，LouSandberg。Tokillyourselfforapig——
thinkofthat，now！“Nilslaughedallthewaydownstairs，andquiteembarrassedlittleEric，whofelltoscrubbinghisfaceandhandsatthetinbasin。Whilehewaspartinghiswethairatthekitchenlookingglass，aheavytreadsoundedonthestairs。Theboydroppedhiscomb。“Gracious，there’sMother。Wemusthavetalkedtoolong。“Hehurriedouttotheshed，slippedonhisoveralls，anddisappearedwiththemilkingpails。
Mrs。Ericsoncamein，wearingacleanwhiteapron，herblackhairshiningfromtheapplicationofawetbrush。
“Goodmorning，Mother。Can’tImakethefireforyou？“
“No，thankyou，Nils。It’snotroubletomakeacobfire，andIliketomanagethekitchenstovemyself“Mrs。Ericsonpausedwithashovelfullofashesinherhand。“Iexpectyouwillbewantingtoseeyourbrothersassoonaspossible。I’lltakeyouuptoAnders’placethismorning。He’sthreshing，andmostofourboysareoverthere。“
