hazy that we lost ourselves. All this I have
told you already."

"No, no!" cries the owner of a flaxen head
of hair among the little ones, " tell us
something to make us afraid, something where it
is quite dark, and there's a noise, and—"

"I know, Toul, what you like," the
grandfather exclaims; and then, imperceptibly
sinking his voice, "I know what you like to
hear more than I like to tell." The old man's
face grows more and more mysterious as he
adds in a hushed voice, "The Bergmand'l!—is
not that it?"

As he pronounced this awful name, the
children gathered closer together, and
prepared with a fearful pleasure for what was to
follow; and even their father and mother looked
towards " Fellner Franz " with faces not wholly
undisturbed, as he thus began:—

"There was a time, my dear children, when
things were not quite so lively in our valley
as they are now. Once or twice, perhaps, in
the year, a couple of young men would come
here to mount the Schneeberg; but seldom
oftener; for the city gentlefolks are mortally
afraid of walking. Even the few travellers
who did come, had generally empty pockets,
and were mostly students—quite young
lads. The landlady yonder, in Buchberg,
kept neither horse nor ass, and I—I was the
only guide. At this time the way over the
'Hengst' was not so good as it is now, and
the wood was thicker; so that you might
sometimes fancy, when you looked up, that
God had made a sky of green leaves. There
was no use for the wood then; railways had
not begun, and the Vienna lords were not
obliged to send so far for fire-wood.—Well,
once upon a time, just as it was growing
dark, the landlady sent her little boy
over here to say that two travellers, with
large, large beards, had arrived, and that
they wished to go up the Schneeberg that
evening, to be able to see the sun rise in the
morning. Young and fresh as I was then,
I threw my jacket over my arm, seized the
crooked stick you all remember, and prepared,
without thinking any more about it, to go
along with them. There was something,
however, in the appearance of the travellers
which did not please me from the first. They
spoke in a language which I was sure no good
man could understand; and they had eyes, for
all the world, like the eagle that Count Hoyos's
game-keeper shot last Christmas; and then
they laughed in a very strange way whenever
I looked at them or they at me. Still I
would not let myself be frightened, and went
on boldly with them, with the basket full of
provisions slung over my shoulder, trying
to whistle as we wound slowly up the valley.
It was quite dark when we reached the wood
and began to climb the mountain-side. Now
you must know that it was St. Algidy's day
(1st of September), which is the greatest of all
holydays to us country-people. So, when we
got deeper into the wood, and I noticed that,
though the two travellers were following me,
I could not hear their footsteps, I began to
pray to the good saint with all my might; for
I leave you to guess who I thought they
were."

At this appeal to their discernment there
was a slight stir among the listeners, and the
grandfather continued:—

"A little further on there is an opening in
the wood, forming a sort of meadow, in the
midst of which is the stump of a great tree,
which was hewn down long ago. One side
being much higher than the other, you can sit
down and lean against it, just as if you were
sitting in a chair: indeed, it looks very
like a chair. I knew long before, from my
grandfather, that it was here the Bergmand'l
loved best to seat himself; and I always
crossed myself piously whenever I passed the
spot, even in the day-time. I was now,
however, too hot and excited to think of it. I had
already taken a drop or two of schnaps at
Buchberg while waiting for the travellers,
who had kept me a long time before they
were ready; and since, upon the road, I had
drank some several times more, to keep up
my spirits; which were getting very much
disturbed. As we came to this meadow, the
moon was shining solemnly through the trees,
and I saw—mercy on me!—The Bergmand'l
sitting on the stump of the tree, and looking
and winking at me, and pointing significantly
at my companions, as if to warn me from
going any farther with them.

"'What is the matter?' they called out from
behind.

"'My good kind gentleman,' cried I, ' in
the name of the Virgin, let us go back! I
tell you that we shall never get on any further
without some dreadful accident happening
to us.'

"'Ay? why shall not we go on?' asked the
eldest.

"'Don't you see the Bergmand'l sitting on
the stump yonder, threatening, and making
signs to us?' I said.

"'Blockhead!' cried the other, 'there is
nothing sitting there; and, to show you
that there is not, I will go and sit there
myself.' So saying, the demon, as I cannot
help thinking him, really went up to the
tree stump; and the Bergmand'l, motioning
to me with his finger in a threatening
manner, then vanished. I grew more and
more afraid to go on with men whom, it was
now plain, had made a contract with the
Evil One, and did not mind openly showing
that they had done so. I cannot remember
very clearly what followed, except that they
forced me on with them, by the Kaltenwasser
and the Waxriegel, to the Ochsenboden.
How beautifully the sun rose! The Kaiserstein
glowed like a man in armour. I had
just sat down to rest myself a little, when, all
at once, I missed my two companions. They
had vanished as mysteriously as they came,
and I never saw them more."