“I’ve got rid of her,” she exclaimed, “and now I shall have Tom all to myself.”
But Tom’s own stay in Plympton was to be short, though she did not know it, nor he either.
CHAPTER XII
BAD NEWS FOR TOM.
TOM GOT along tolerably well with the Middletons. They had found out that it was necessary to give him his own way, for he was sure to obtain it sooner or later in a way that annoyed them. They were obliged to considerably improve their frugal table, but after all there was a handsome profit in Tom’s board, and besides, they fared better themselves.
At the end of every month Nathan rode over to Centerville, twelve miles distant, and collected eighty-three dollars and thirty-four cents for Tom’s board. He might have waited for a check, but he was afraid it might be delayed, and besides, he had a chance to combine a little insurance business with his other errand.
So it happened that one October day he stopped his horse before the office of Ephraim Sharp, attorney-at-law, who had charge of Tom’s property. With a pleasant smile, he entered the office and greeted the attorney, who was sitting at a desk, his brow knit with care.
“How do you do, Mr. Sharp?” said Nathan. “Fine morning!”
“Is it?” said the lawyer abruptly. “I hadn’t time to think of the weather.”