Sometimes it was toward the village that he turned his steps; sometimes it was toward the hills back of the town.

Whichever way it was, there was always sure to be something waiting at the end for him and his violin to discover, if it was nothing more than a big white rose in bloom, or a squirrel sitting by the roadside.
Very soon, however, David discovered that there was something to be found in his wanderings besides squirrels and roses; and that was--people.

In spite of the strangeness of these people, they were wonderfully interesting, David thought.

And after that he turned his steps more and more frequently toward the village when four o'clock released him from the day's work.
At first David did not talk much to these people.

He shrank sensitively from their bold stares and unpleasantly audible comments.