One day he set me to work cleaning up all round outside the house and
buildings. It took all the time gained and more, but it made the whole
place look different altogether. And that was what Nils wanted--to cheer
the Captain up a little before he left home. And I turned to of my own
accord and fixed up a loose pale or so in the garden fence, straightened
the door of a shed that was wry on its hinges, and such-like. And the barn
bridge, too, needed mending. I thought of putting in new beams.
"Where will you be going when you leave here?" asked the Captain.
"I don't know. I'll be on the road for a bit."
"I could do with you here for a while; there's a lot of things that want
doing."
"Captain was thinking of paintwork, maybe?"
"Painting, too--yes. I'm not sure about that, though; it would be a costly
business, with the outbuildings and all. No, I was thinking of something
else. Do you know anything about timber, now? Could you mark down for
yourself?"
It pleased him, then, to pretend he did not recognize me from the time I
had worked in his timber before.
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