But with so much before them to be done, they could not linger long to gaze, and presently making up their minds not to stop again, they hurried on as fast as they could, and by the time they reached Mr. Winter’s gate they were too full of their own daring to have any thoughts to spare for anything else.
“I can’t think why people have such horrid noisy stuff put on their paths,” said Loveday, after they had made several vain attempts to creep over the loose pebbles without making a sound. She was glancing up at the windows all the time, for it really seemed to her that their attempts must have roused every one in the house.
“What shall we do first?” she whispered to Aaron. “I think the flower-beds look the worst of all, but if they never draw up the blinds they won’t see how nice we’ve made them.”
And if this was not quite the real reason, and if Loveday’s courage did fail at the thought of setting things right there, who could wonder when one looked at the state of the place? It was a task which would have taken two or three men many days of hard work.
“Shall we begin by weeding the steps and the path before the door?” she suggested, and, Aaron agreeing, they fell to work busily.
“Does Mr. Winter ever come out of this door and walk here?” she asked.
She was very full of curiosity as to Mr. Winter and his doings.
“Yes,” said Aaron; “he comes out this way to go to that garden over there, where they grow fruit and vegetables. He takes a brave bit of interest in that garden.”
Loveday sat back on her heels, and looked in the direction Aaron was pointing.
“He built a high wall all round it, so’s he shouldn’t see the sea and nobody shouldn’t see him.”