It was yet early, and the young man rode on to breakfast at Schönberg. He and his little pony had then five leagues of constant ascent up the Brenner. After this tough pull, which placed him about six thousand feet above the majority of mankind, he reached the margin of the Eisach, which he followed till he came to a romantic little town, overhung by a picturesque old castle. Here the pony was knocked up; so the young man, having refreshed himself by a good dinner, started for the Passeyrthal alone and on foot, by-paths that he now knew very well. The call to the cows was resounding through the valley, when he came in sight of _am Sand_ in the warm glow of the setting sun. He sprang upon a little knoll, to contemplate it more attentively; and, lo! just beneath him, on the grass, sat a young girl knitting, while beside her fed seven sheep and three goats. "Theresa!" cried he, half doubtfully. She looked up at him in surprise. The next moment he was beside her. "Oh, is it you?" and an innocent blush mantled on her cheek. "You bring news of my dear father?" "He is well; he sends his dear love to you all." "Come to the house--my mother will be so glad to see you! She will have a thousand questions to ask." "First,--are _you_ glad, Theresa, to see me?" "Certainly; very glad, indeed! Come in, by all means. I ought to have driven home the sheep and goats already, but thought I would finish off my knitting first." And, collecting her little flock, she alertly led the way to the house; while Eisenstecken could hardly make up his mind whether to detain her or not. "See," said he, offering her a flower, "here's a pretty little thing I gathered on the mountain." "Ah, don't touch it!" cried Theresa, shrinking from it in dismay. "It's the thunder-rose!" "Thunder-rose!--what's that?" "Whoever gathers it will be unlucky--whoever accepts it will be unlucky. Please, throw it away." "Certainly, I will," said Eisenstecken, looking discomfited, and flinging it as far from him as he could. "I hope it will not be verified in my case." "I hope not. Let us think of something else." He gladly changed the subject, and talked of what was doing in Innsbruck; feeling the moment an unpropitious one for saying what was hovering on his lips. Anna Hofer welcomed him kindly. There was another person present--a young, wounded soldier, sitting at the door, whom Giuseppe would fain have not seen there. It was Rudolf.