Antonio and Jose lay down upon the soft, fine grass, under a tall palm-tree, and looked out over the wide view which the rocky crag gave. The mole-crickets made a soft churr-churring sound around them. Blackbirds in the tree-tops gave shrill, crowing calls. From hilly pastures, shepherds among their sheep sang in rivalry with one another. For a long time the brothers were silent. The beauty of the scene almost took away speech. On all sides were purple hills and upon every hill-top stood a hermitage or shrine with a shining cross above it. Far away rose the giant peak of the Penha, a mountain covered with green up the greater part of its height, then bare granite to its top. Antonio pointed to the southeast: "There on the plain, is Guimarães, with its many roofs and chimneys; and, look, there is the smoke of a railroad train." "Will you take me there some time, Antonio, so that I can see a real train of cars?" "Yes, Jose, we will go there on our next long holiday. Now look over yonder. Half way up the hill do you see some rows of stone wall?" "Yes, Antonio." "There lies the old fortress city, built by the Romans more than a hundred years before Christ was born. It is called Citania now, and it is in ruins. Some day you will read about it in a book of history." Jose sighed as he said: "I fear it will be a long, long time before I can read a book. I can only spell out a few words now,--not much more than I wrote on the post-card to you." "Would you like to go to school this winter, Jose?" "Oh, how I should like it,--more than anything else in all the world! But there is no school, and if there was one, I could not leave the farm-work to go to it." "There is to be a free primary school opened this winter, with a good teacher, in our village where we go on market-days. I want you to attend the school, Jose." "But who will do the work at home, Antonio? You will soon go back to America, I think." Jose never forgot, even in the joy of having Antonio at home, that this big brother might soon go away again. Antonio was silent a long time. Then he said slowly, looking off to the far Penha Mountain: "Jose, how would you feel if I told you I will stay at home?" "I should be very happy, oh, so happy, brother." "Well, Jose, I have decided to stay." Jose raised himself upon his elbow and looked eagerly into Antonio's face: "Do you really mean it?" he asked. "Yes, Jose." "Then I _can_ go to school, and learn as much as you know?" Antonio laughed a little sadly: "It is not very much that I know, from books. Most of the small amount I know is what I have learned from men and things in America, and from the newspapers. But I will study in the evenings this winter. I would rather have an education than be a millionaire. There was a school in the village when I was your age. The new school will be better than that."