The Treasure of Netherstrand

Chapter 3

It was more than Timothy could fathom. His heart was beating with wild delight as he gazed into the little mirror which had been set in his room. The place looked homier than it had before. There was a small, old rug covering the rough board floor; and two plain white curtains hung over the windowpane. The room had taken a small transformation over the last hours of Sunday. Timothy, on the other hand, had taken a rather large transformation.

"There, what do you think of yourself?" Hannover asked, helping him tie a white neckerchief on and straightening the boy's clothes. Tim was wearing a brand-new suit, and he had little shoes on his feet. They were the cheapest clothes money could buy, and they made him look very humble indeed. But Timothy was delighted with them.

"Oh, sir! I'm as 'appy as I fink I ever could be!" the little boy giggled.

"Well, you certainly look more respectable now. But mind, I didn't buy those clothes for you out of charity. You will work hard enough to pay for them, or I assure you, I will take them back without hesitation."

"'Course, sir!" the boy agreed. "I'd never fink o' takin' somefing I 'adn't earned!"

"An honorable ethic," his new master stated. "Where did you learn such things?"

"I dunno," Tim answered with a laugh and a shrug. "Only, I fink an awful lot about 'ow Jesus would be. An' I try very 'ard t' be like 'im."

"A bit of religion goes a long way to bettering a man's character. Who taught you to be a Christian?"

"I dunno that anybody taught me t' be one, sir. But, once a long time ago, it was rainin' so 'ard that I was gettin' soaked all the way through. An' I seen a whole lot o' people wiv umbrellas a-goin' into a pretty 'owse. An' oh! It looked so awful warm, sir, wiv all the candles lightin' it from the inside out. So I goes quietly t' the door, an' I slips in t' get dry. That's when I found out it was a church. An' I 'eard such nice fings there 'bout God, an' his Son, an' 'ow he come t' save us. So I started goin' just as often as I could spare the time on a Sunday. I've learned ever so many nice fings. D'ya wanna know me very favorite fing?"

"Not particularly. It is getting late, and I have business to attend to. If you are hungry, Mary will give you something to eat down in the kitchen."

"An' 'ow do I earn that?" Timothy asked.

"You will earn it in time. For now, just take it and be grateful. It is Sunday, and since the day is nearly over, you may have it at your leisure. Tomorrow, however, will be a completely different story. Tomorrow, your time is subject to my commands. Be in my office by six o'clock sharp. Understand?"

"Yes, sir. Only, I dunno when six o'clock is!" Tim answered.

Hannover rolled his eyes, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He gave the little boy a small, cheap pocket watch and impatiently taught the child to read the time.

I really don't know why I am doing all of this, he kept telling himself. I could find far more sophisticated and far more capable workers than this young vagabond!

It wasn't Hannover's way to be charitable. He was a man whose mind and heart were fixed on gain, and he had high doubts that this little boy would be much of a benefit to him. But there was something about Timothy's happy face, and his willing attitude which drew his heart to the child.

Well, if he proves himself in a week's time, I shall allow him to stay. If not, it's back to The Silver Wing for him, he determined.