Kathy had been so many years
in the house that she knew exactly how things ought to be. Everyone sat
down now and Uncle Philip was amusingly talking. Everything he had
ordered for the meal tasted so delightfully that it seemed like a feast
to them and Salo said, "I should never have been able to conceive such a
wonderful end of my holidays, if I had imagined the most marvellous thing
in the world."
"If Salo could only stay here a few days, if only _one_ day more," Bruno
urged. All the rest were of the same opinion and they loudly begged
Uncle Philip to persuade him to spend the next day with them. They
thought that even one day together would be perfect for everyone.
"Yes, and for me most of all," said Salo, "but I cannot. My teacher and
comrades are coming to fetch me at Sils to-morrow at ten o'clock. This
is absolutely settled and there is not the slightest chance for my
staying here, even if I wished it more than anything in the world."
"That is right, Salo, that is the way to talk," Uncle Philip said. "What
has to be, has to be, even if we don't like it. Please do not beg him
any more to stay. Let us play a nice game now and let us enjoy ourselves
while he is with us."
Uncle Philip soon started the game, and their merry mood returned with
the fun.
At the exact time when their mother always called the little ones for bed
Lippo cried, "Uncle Philip, we must sing the evening song now and after
that Maezli and I must go to bed.
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