“No, I’ve not forgotten that.”
“You were not alone then; you had some one to look after you. At your age I don’t think it is right to go tramping across the country alone.”
“You don’t want me to bring you news of your children, then?” I asked.
“They told me that you were going to see them all, one after the other,” he replied, “but I am not thinking of us when I ask you to give up this wandering life.”
“And if I do what you ask I should be thinking of myself and not of you… of Lise.”
This time he looked at me for several seconds, then he suddenly took both my hands.
“You have a heart, and I will not say another word, my boy. God will take care of you.”
I threw my arms round his neck; the time had come for me to say good-by. For some moments he held me in silence, then suddenly he felt in his vest pocket and pulled out a large silver watch.
“Here, boy, take this,” he said. “I want you to have it as a keepsake. It isn’t of much value; if it had been I’d have sold it. It doesn’t keep good time, either. When anything is wrong with it, just give it a thump. It is all I have.”
I wanted to refuse such a beautiful present, but he forced it into my closed hands.