“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。“