Page:Georges Eekhoud - Escal Vigor, a novel.djvu/190

166 expend the treasures of affection which it had accumulated. Stephen chirped like a bird; he was as fair as the other was dark; and the little fellow ordered about the big, wild boy. The old couple, selfish and crotchety to the point of mania, let them wander about together and live as they would.

"When they bathed in the Démer, Gerard admired this youthful frame, so slender and graceful, and knew no pleasure comparable to that of embracing the boy's warm and supple body, carrying him in his arms a long time and very far, deep into the midst of the woods, where they would finally roll about amongst the ferns and mosses. Gerard would tickle Stephen by passing his lips over his rosy skin. And the child would laugh, would attempt to escape, kicking out with his tiny feet, or else would bestow hearty slaps on the robust hinderparts of the big boy, who took these blows as so many caresses.

"This idyll lasted till the day when Stephen's parents received a visit from two cousins, accompanied by Wanna, a fair young girl of Stephen's age, brisk and lively as a clear frosty dawn, and as tasty as a woodland strawberry. The old people on