VI. TODE'S NEW START
A chill seemed to strike to Tode's heart as he stood on the stonesteps and looked up to the windows of the room where the bishop wassleeping, and his eyes were wet as he passed slowly and sorrowfullyout of the gate and turned down the street. Suddenly there was a swiftrush, a quick, joyful bark, and there was Tag, dancing about him,jumping up to lick his fingers, and altogether almost out of his witswith joy.
Tode sat down on the curbstone and hugged his rough, faithful friend,and if he whispered into the dog's ear some of the grief that made thehour such a bitter one--Tag was true and trusty: he never toldit. Neither did he tell how, night after night, he had watched besidethe big house into which he had seen his master carried, nor how manytimes he had been driven away in the morning by the servants. ButTag's troubles were over now. He had found his master.
Adrift Again.]
"Well, ol' fellow, we can't stay here all night. We must go on," Todesaid at last, and the two walked on together to the house where theboy had slept before his accident. The outer door was ajar as usual,and Tode and the dog went up the stairs together.
Tode tried the door of his room. It was locked on the inside.
"They've let somebody else have it," he said to himself. "Well, Tag,we'll have to find some other place. Come on!"
Once the boy would not have minded sleeping on a grating, or adoorstep, but now it seemed hard and dreary enough to him. He shiveredwith the cold and shrank from going to any of his old haunts where hewould be likely to find some of his acquaintances, homeless streetArabs, like himself. Finally he found an empty packing box in analley, and into this he crept, glad to put his bare feet against Tag'swarm body. But it was a dreary night to him, and weary as he was, heslept but little. As he lay there looking up at the stars, he thoughtmuch of the new life that he was to live henceforth. He knew very wellthat it would be no easy thing for him to live such a life, butobstacles in his way never deterred Tode from doing, or at leastattempting to do, what he had made up his mind to. He thought much,too, of the bishop, and these thoughts gave him such a heartache thathe would almost have banished them had he been able to do so--almost,but not quite, for even with the heartache it was a joy to him torecall every look of that noble face--every tone of that voice thatseemed to thrill his heart even in the remembrance.
Then came thoughts of Nan and Little Brother, and these broughtcomfort to Tode's sorrowful heart. He had not forgotten Little Brotherduring the past weeks. There had never been a day when he had notthought of the child with a longing desire to see him, though even forhis sake he could hardly have brought himself to lose a day with thebishop. Now, however, that he had shut himself out forever from whatseemed to him the Paradise of the bishop's home, his thoughts turnedagain lovingly toward the little one, and he could hardly wait formorning, so eager was he to go to him.
Fortunately for his impatience, he knew that the Hunts and Nan wouldbe early astir, and at the first possible moment he went in search ofthem. He ran up the stairs with Tag at his heels, and almost tremblingwith eagerness, knocked at the Hunts' door. Mrs. Hunt herself openedit, and stared at the boy for a moment before she realised who it was.
"For the land's sake, if it isn't Tode! Where in the world have youbeen all this time?" she cried, holding the door open for him toenter, while the children gazed wonderingly at him. "I've beensick--got hurt," replied Tode, his eyes searching eagerly about theroom. "I don't see Nan or Little Brother," he added, uneasily.
"They don't live here no more," piped up little Ned.
Tode turned a startled glance upon Mrs. Hunt.
"Don't live here!" he stammered. "Where do they live?"
"Not far off; just cross the entry," replied Mrs. Hunt,quickly. "Nan's taken a room herself."
"Oh!" cried Tode, in a tone of relief, "I'll go'n see her;" andwaiting for no further words, he went.
"Well," exclaimed Mrs. Hunt, "he might 'a' told us how he got hurt an'all, 'fore he rushed off, I should think."
"Jus' like that Tode Bryan. He don't know nothin'!" remarked Dick,scornfully.
His mother gave him a searching glance. "There's worse boys than TodeBryan, I'm afraid," she said.
"There ye go agin, always a flingin' at me," retorted Dick,rudely. "How's a feller to git on in the world when his own mother'salways down on him?"
"You know I'm not down on you, Dick," replied his mother, tearfully.
"You're always a hintin' nowdays, anyhow," muttered Dick, as hereached over and helped himself to the biggest sausage in the dish.
Mrs. Hunt sighed but made no answer, and the breakfast was eatenmostly in silence.
Meantime, Tode running across the entry, had knocked on the door withfingers fairly trembling with eagerness and excitement. Nan openingit, gave a glad cry at sight of him, but the boy, with a nod, pushedby her, and snatched up Little Brother who was lying on the bed.
The baby stared at him for an instant and then as Tode hugged him moreroughly than he realised, the little lips trembled and the baby beganto sob. That almost broke Tode's heart. He put the child down, cryingout bitterly,
"Oh Little Brother, _you_ ain't goin' to turn against me, sure?"
As he spoke he held out his hands wistfully, and the baby, now gettinga good look at him, recognised his favorite, and with his old smileheld out his arms to the boy, who caught him up again but more gentlythis time, and sat down with him on his knee.
It was some minutes before Tode paid any attention to Nan's questions,so absorbed was he with the child, but at length he turned to her andtold her where he had been and what had happened to him. She listenedto his story with an eager interest that pleased him.
"Wasn't it strange," she said, when he paused, "wasn't it strange, andlovely too, that you should have been taken into the bishop'shouse--and kept there all this time? Did you like him just as much inhis home as in the church, Tode?"
"He's--he's"--began Tode with shining eyes, then as the bishop's facerose before him, he choked and was silent for a moment. "I don'tb'lieve there's any other man like him in _this_ world," he said,finally.
Nan looked at him thoughtfully, at his face that seemed to have beenchanged and refined by his sickness and his new associations, at theneat clothes he wore, then at his bare feet.
"I shouldn't think, if he's so good, that he would have let you comeaway--so," she said, slowly.
Tode flushed as he tried to hide his feet under his chair.
"'Twasn't his fault," he answered, quickly. He too was silent for amoment, then suddenly he sat upright with a look of stern resolve inhis grey eyes, as he added, "Nan, I'll tell you all there is about it,'cause things are goin' to be diff'runt after this. I'm goin' to livestraight every way, I am; I've--promised."
Then he told her frankly the whole story; how he had deceived thebishop, pretending to be deaf and dumb; how Mr. Gibson had come uponhim in the study, and what he had said, and how, finally, he himselfhad come away in the night.
Nan listened to it all with the keenest interest.
"And you had to sleep out of doors," she said; "I'm so sorry, but, ifthe bishop is so good, why didn't you stay and tell him all about it,Tode? Don't you think that that would have been better than comingaway so without thanking him for all he had done--or anything?"
Tode shook his head emphatically. "You don't know him, Nan," hereplied. "He's good, oh better than anybody else in the world, Ib'lieve, but don't you see, just 'cause _he's_ so good, he hatescheatin' an' lyin', just _hates_ 'em; an', oh I _couldn't_tell him I'd been cheatin' him all this time, an' he so good to me."
"I know, 'twould have been awful hard to tell him, Tode, but seems tome 'twould have been best," the girl insisted.
"I _couldn't_, Nan," Tode repeated, sadly, then impatientlythrusting aside his sorrow and remorse, he added,
"Come now, I want to know what you've been doin' while I've beengone. I used to think an' think 'bout you'n him," glancing at thebaby, "an' wonder what you'd be doin'."
"Oh, we've got on all right," answered Nan, "I was worried enough whenyou didn't come, 'specially when one of the Hunt boys went down andfound that your stand had not been opened. I was sure something hadhappened to you, 'cause I knew you never would stay away from us so,unless something was the matter."
"Right you are!" put in Tode, emphatically.
Nan went on, "I was sure there was something wrong, too, when Tag camehere the next day. Poor fellow, I was so sorry for him. One of hislegs was all swollen and he limped dreadfully, and hungry--why, Tode,he acted as if he were starving. But just as soon as I had fed him hewent off again, and didn't come back till the next morning, and he'sdone that way ever since."
Tag had kept his bright eyes fastened on Nan's face while she talked,and he gave a little contented whine as Tode stooped and patted hishead.
"But tell me what you've ben doin', Nan. How'd you get money enoughto hire this room an' fix it up so dandy?" Tode inquired, lookingabout admiringly.
While Nan talked she had been passing busily from table to stove, andnow she said, "Breakfast is ready, Tode. Bring your chair up here andgive me Little Brother."
Tode reluctantly gave up the baby, and took his seat opposite Nan atthe little table.
"You've got things fine," he remarked, glancing at the clean towelthat served for a tablecloth, and the neat white dishes andwell-cooked food. He was hungry enough to do full justice to Nan'scooking, and the girl watched him with much satisfaction, eatinglittle herself, but feeding the baby, as she went on with her story.
"When you didn't come back, I knew I must find some way to sell mycookies and gingerbread and so I made some fresh and went to everyfamily in this house and asked 'em if they would buy their bread andall of me instead of at the bakeshops. I told 'em I'd sell at the sameprice as the shops and give them better things. Some wouldn't, butmost of them had sense enough to see that it would be a good thing forthem, and after they'd tried it once or twice they were ready enoughto keep on. Now I supply this house and the next one. It keeps mecooking all day, but I don't mind that. I'm only too glad that I canearn our living--Little Brother's and mine. Of course, I couldn't becooking all day on Mrs. Hunt's stove, and besides they have no room tospare and we crowded 'em, and so, as soon as I got money enough, Ihired this room. I'm paying for the furniture as fast as I can. It wasall secondhand, of course."
Tode looked admiringly at the girl, as she ceased speaking.
"You've got a head," he remarked. "But now about cooking for mystand. Will you have time to do that too?"
"Yes indeed," replied Nan, promptly. "I'll find time somehow."
Tode hesitated, moved uneasily in his chair and finally said, "'Spectyou'll have to trust me for the first lot, Nan. I ain't got no money,ye know."
"Why, Tode, have you forgotten that ten dollars you asked me to keepfor you?"
"No--'course I ain't forgot it, but I thought maybe you'd had to useit. Twould 'a' been all right if you had, you know."
"Oh no, I didn't have to use that. Here it is," and Nan brought it outfrom some hidden pocket about her dress.
"Then I'm all right," exclaimed the boy, in a tone ofsatisfaction. "I've got to get some clothes first an' then I'll beready for business."
"What's the matter with those clothes?" questioned Nan.
"Oh, I've got to send these back to the bishop." Tode's face was graveas he spoke.
"But--I don't see why. He won't want em," Nan remonstrated.
"It's this way, Nan." Tode spoke very earnestly. "If I'd been what hethought I was, I know I could have kept all he gave me, but, you see,if he'd known I was cheatin' an' lyin' to him all the time he wouldn't'a' given me a single thing, so don't ye see, I ain't no business tokeep 'em, an' I ain't goin' to keep 'em a minute longer'n I have to."
Nan shook her head, for Tode's reasoning had not convinced her, butseeing how strong was his feeling in the matter she said no more, andin a few minutes the boy went out, his face radiant with satisfaction,because Little Brother cried after him.
He invested half his ten dollars in some second-hand clothes,including shoes and stockings. They were not very satisfactory afterthe garments he had been wearing of late, but he said to himself,"They'll have to do till I can get better ones an' sometime I'm agoin'to have some shirts an' have 'em washed every week, too."
Tode's trade, that day, was not very heavy, for it was not yet knownamong his regular customers that he had reopened his stand, but hetook care to advertise the fact through those whom he met and he didnot fear but that his business would soon be prospering again.
That afternoon he succeeded in securing a tiny room in the house withNan. It was a dismal little closet, lighted only from the hall, but itwas the best he could do, and Tode considered himself fortunate tohave his dark corner to himself, even though a broken chair and acanvas cot without bedding of any sort were all the furniture he couldput into it then. Nan shook her head doubtfully when he showed her theroom.
"Dark and dirty," she said, with a sniff of disgust, as the boy threwopen the door. "You must get somebody to scrub it for you, Tode, andthen whitewash the walls. That will make it sweeter and lighter."
"So it will," responded the boy, promptly, "but I'll have to do thescrubbin' an' white-washin' both, myself."
Nan looked at him doubtfully. "I wonder if you'd get it clean," shesaid. "Scrubbing's hard work."
"You'll see. What'll I scrub it with--a broom?"
"You ought to have a scrub-brush, but I haven't any. You'll have to doit with an old broom and a cloth. I can let you have the broom and Iguess we can get a cloth of Mrs. Hunt. You going to do it now?" sheadded, as Tode began to pull off his coat.
"Right now," he answered. "You see, Nan, I've got loads of things todo, an' I can't be wastin' time."
"What things?" questioned Nan, curiously.
"Oh--I'll tell you about them after awhile," replied the boy. "Thebroom in your room?"
"Yes, I'll bring it to you," and Nan hurried off.
She came back with an old pail full of hot water, a piece of soap, abroom and a cloth, and then she proceeded to show Tode how to cleanthe woodwork and floor, thoroughly, with special attention to the darkcorners which looked, indeed, as if they had never been visited by abroom. Nan was a thorough little housewife, and she longed to do thewhole work herself, but Tode would not allow that, so she could onlystand and look on, wondering inwardly how a boy could handle a broomso awkwardly. But if he was slow and awkward about it, Tode was inearnest, and he looked with much satisfaction at the result of hislabor when it was completed.
"You'll have to wash the floor again after you've whitewashed thewalls," Nan said, "but it needed two scrubbings, anyhow."
Tode looked at it ruefully. "Oh, did it?" he said. "I think one suchscrubbing as that ought to last it a year."
Nan laughed. "If you'll carry out my bread and things to-morrow, I'lldo your whitewashing for you," she said.
But Tode shook his head. "I'll carry out your stuff all right," heanswered, "but I ain't a-goin' to have a girl doin' my work for me."
He bought the lime and paid also for the use of a pail and brush, andthe next day he put a white coat on his walls, and when this was done,he was much better satisfied with his quarters. Nan offered to lendhim her shawl in place of a blanket, but he guessed that she needed itherself and refused her offer.