"
Tode looked at it ruefully. "Oh, did it?" he said. "I think one such
scrubbing as that ought to last it a year."
Nan laughed. "If you'll carry out my bread and things to-morrow, I'll
do your whitewashing for you," she said.
But Tode shook his head. "I'll carry out your stuff all right," he
answered, "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, and
the 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 lend
him her shawl in place of a blanket, but he guessed that she needed it
herself and refused her offer.
VII. AFTER TODE'S DEPARTURE
In the bishop's household, Mrs. Martin was always one of the earliest
to rise in the morning, and just as Tode sat down to breakfast with
Nan and Little Brother, the housekeeper was going downstairs. Tode's
door stood open and she saw that he was not in the room. Her quick
eyes noted also the pile of neatly folded garments on a chair beside
the bed. She stepped into the room and looked around. Then she hurried
to the study, knowing that the boy loved to stay there, but the study
was unoccupied.
By the time breakfast was ready she knew that the boy had left the
house, but the bishop refused to believe it, nor would he be convinced
until the house had been searched from attic to cellar.
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