CHAPTER XXIV
FRIENDSHIP THAT IS TRUE
I LOVED Mattia when we arrived at Mendes, but when we left the town I loved him even more. I could not tell him before the barber how I felt when he cried out: "Leave my friend!"
I took his hand and squeezed it as we tramped along.
"It's till death doth us part now, Mattia," I said.
"I knew that long ago," he replied, smiling at me with his great, dark eyes.
We heard that there was going to be an important cattle fair at Ussel, so we decided to go there and buy the cow. It was on our way to Chavanon. We played in every town and village on the road, and by the time we had reached Ussel we had collected two hundred and forty francs. We had to economize in every possible manner to save this sum, but Mattia was just as interested and eager to buy the animal as I. He wanted it to be white; I wanted brown in memory of poor Rousette. We both agreed, however, that she must be very gentle and give plenty of milk.
As neither of us knew by what signs one could tell a good cow, we decided to employ the services of a veterinarian. We had heard many stories of
