Tode turned away from her and resumed his drumming while the woman
cast a suspicious glance at the unfinished building.

"She may be there," she muttered and began searching through the piles
of building material on the ground floor.

"Hope she'll break her ol' neck!" thought Tode, vengefully, as he
whistled with fresh vigor.

The woman reappeared presently, and casting a threatening glance and a
torrent of bad language at the boy, went lumbering heavily down the
street with the crowd of noisy, curious children straggling along
behind her.

When they had all disappeared around the corner of the street, Tode
sprang down and putting his mouth to the opening at the bottom of the
barrel whispered hastily,

"Keep still 'til I see if she's gone sure," and he raced up to the
corner where he watched until the woman was out of sight. Then he ran
back and lifted the barrel off, saying,

"It's all right--she's gone, sure 'nough."

The girl cast an anxious glance up and down the street as she sprang
up.

"Oh dear!" she exclaimed. "I don't know where to go!" and Tode saw
that her eyes were full of tears.