He looked cross, he acted
cross, and it did not take the boy very long to find out that he
was very cross.
He scolded Toby roundly, and launched more oaths at his defenseless
head than Toby had ever heard in his life. He was angry that the
boy had not been on hand to help him, and also that he had been
obliged to hunt for him.
Toby tried to explain that he had no idea of what he was expected
to do, and that he had been on the wagon to which he had been sent,
only leaving it to wash his face; but the angry man grew still more
furious.
"Went to wash your face, did yer? Want to set yourself up for a
dandy, I suppose, and think that you must souse that speckled face
of yours into every brook you come to? I'll soon break you of
that; and the sooner you understand that I can't afford to have
you wasting your time in washing the better it will be for you."
Toby now grew angry, and, not realizing how wholly he was in
the man's power, he retorted: "If you think I'm going round with
a dirty face, even if it is speckled, for a dollar a week, you're
mistaken, that's all. How many folks would eat your candy if they
knew you handled it over before you washed your hands?"
"Oho! I've picked up a preacher, have I? Now I want you to understand,
my bantam, that I do all the preaching as well as the practicing
myself, and this is about as quick a way as I know of to make you
understand it.
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