her pace until she got to D#rfli, where she was now
even more eagerly questioned than she had been in
the morning. The people wondered what had be-
come of the child, for they all knew Dete, and
whose child Heidi was, as well as all that had be-
fallen her. When from every door and window
Dete was hailed with the questions: "Where is
the child? Dete, what did you do with the child?"
she called back more and more impatiently:
"With the Alm-Uncle! Up with the Alm-Uncle,
I tell you!"

It was the exclamations of the women that made
Dete so uncomfortable, for on every side she heard
them say, "How could you do it!""The poor
little thing!""To think of leaving such a help-
less little child up there!" and then, again and
again, "Oh, the poor thing!"

Dete ran faster and faster, and was glad when
she was beyond the reach of their tongues, for she
felt far from easy about what she had done, es-
pecially when she remembered how her dying
mother had charged her to care for the child. But
she quieted her conscience with the thought that if
she earned a great deal of money, she could before
long do something for Heidi again; and so she was
glad that she would soon be far away from those
who might persuade her otherwise, and in a place
where she would get good wages.

-20-