"I may have to sell some of those things before I reach the Land of Gold," he thought. "But I'll not dispose of them until I actually have to."
When he went below, he found the housekeeper waiting for him.
"So you are going on a journey," she said. "May I ask where to, Master Mark?"
"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you," he answered, briefly. "To tell the truth, Mrs. Nason, I don't want my step-father to know."
"Oh!" The housekeeper grew doubly interested. "Do you mean to say you are going to run away?"
"I don't think I'll run very much."
"You must have had another quarrel."
"We are quarreling all the time. I can't stand his ways, Mrs. Nason."
"I don't blame you, Master Mark. He is a terrible hard man to get along with. Maybe he means well, but, but——"
"If he does, he doesn't show it. I must be off, for I don't want to meet him. Good-by." He held out his hand.