I had not liked the look of Brother Solomon, for he seemed cold, and
quiet, and hard. His face looked stiff, as if he never by any chance
smiled; and it appeared to me as if I were going from where I had been
treated like a son to a home where I should be a stranger.
"Yes," he said after looking about him, as if he were going to find
fault, "I sha'n't go back just yet awhile."
"Oh no! you'll have a snap of something first, and Grant here will want
a bit of time to pack up his things."
Old Brownsmith seemed to be speaking more kindly to me now, and this
made me all the more miserable, for I had felt quite at home; and though
Shock and I were bad friends, and Ike was not much of a companion, I did
not want to leave them.
Old Brownsmith saw my looks, and he said: "You will run over now and then to see me and tell me how you get on.
Brother Solomon here never likes to leave his glass-houses, but you can
get away now and then. Eh, Solomon?"
"P'r'aps," said Brother Solomon, looking right away from us. "We shall
see."
My heart sank as I saw how cold and unsympathetic he seemed. I felt
that I should never like him, and that he would never like me. He had
hardly looked at me, but when he did there was to me the appearance in
his eyes of his being a man who hated all boys as nuisances and to make
matters worse, he took his eyes off a bed of onions to turn them
suddenly on his brother and say: "Hadn't he better go and make up his bundle?"
"Yes, to be sure," said Old Brownsmith. "Go and tell Mrs Dodley you
want your clean clothes, my boy; and tell her my brother Solomon's going
to have a bit with us."
"And see whether your boy has given my horse his oats, will you?" said
Brother Solomon.
I went away, feeling very heavy-hearted, and found Shock in the stable,
in the next stall to old Basket, watching a fine stoutly-built cob that
had just been taken out of a light cart. The horse's head-stall had
been taken off, and a halter put on; and as he munched at his oats,
Shock helped him, munching away at a few that he took from one hand.
I was in so friendly a mood to every one just then that I was about to
go up and shake hands with Shock; but as soon as he saw me coming he
dived under the manger, and crept through into old Basket's stall, and
then thrust back his doubled fist at me, and there it was being shaken
menacingly, as if he were threatening to punch my head.