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this, and he still did it, and all the neighbours,
without exception, thought he was a little simple.
But in the shop he did his work as well as anyone,
and Gerbrand never had to find fault with him
either for his weighing or his calculating. Whereas
Diderik, whom everyone considered to be much
quicker-witted, often made mistakes and was not
so conscientious about his work. Gerbrand believed
that their mother had been right when she said that
he and Frans were the most scrupulous about their
duties ; Diderik was rather indifferent, and the black
sheep was Kasper, who had left home years ago
now. The heedlessness couldn't come from her, for
only the three youngest were her children. The
tendency to wander might well derive from the
Werendonks. There were still old people in the
street who shook their heads and said : c That fellow
Werendonk! * More than that Gerbrand had
never heard, but he had understood well enough
that this was a reference to the thoughtlessness
which he and the other children had never known
about.
Frequently, while he was at his figures, he laid
his pen down, looked at the clock and thought of
the old days. How many times had it happened
that he had heard them talking in the room over-
head, his father and his stepmother ; all at once her
voice would be raised so that he could hear what
she was saying : ' Oh, don't do it! * And then he