CHAPTER III
THE FARM IN UPPER AUSTRIA
The following morning the Müller family and Teresa Runkel boarded the boat in the Canal which should take them up current to Linz. It was most exciting for Ferdinand, who had never been on the Danube before, but to Teresa it was quite usual, for she always made the journey to and from her home by way of the river.
There was a great deal of excitement upon the quay—the fish boats had come in with their supply for the day, and fishermen were shouting themselves hoarse in their endeavors to over-shout their competitors.
The children seated themselves in the bow of the boat that they might miss nothing of the scenery which is so delightful near Vienna, with its green banks, its thick forests and its distant mountains.
"Do you know what that grim castle is, over there on the left?" asked Herr Müller.
"Oh, yes," replied Teresa quickly. "That is the Castle of Griefenstein."
"Then you know its history?" asked Herr Müller.
"Yes, indeed," answered the child. "Sometimes the Sister who takes me home tells me, and sometimes father; but doesn't Ferdinand know it?"
"No," answered the boy. "I haven't been on the river before." As if it required some explanation for his seeming ignorance.
"Then tell it to him, please," said Teresa, "for it is a splendid tale."