It is well for man to be conscious of his shortcoming,
for those who are not perpetually on the watch will
soon stumble.' It might even happen that in the
midst of these homilies Floris's eyes would fill with
tears. Frans noticed it and he couldn't make out
what could be wrong with the boy, who only recently
had been coming home so happily every day. In
the afternoon, after office hours, and in the evening,
after supper, he no longer hurried out, it couldn't
be because of the weather, for usually he would
go out regardless of the rain. One day he asked
Uncle Gerbrand if he might whitewash the ceiling
of his bedroom himself, and, to the astonished
question : c Whatever for ? * he answered, a bright
flush suddenly suffusing his face, that so many flakes
fell down from the old whitewash. Werendonk
refused his permission, saying that the old wood
couldn't be remedied with new paint. He often
flushed up at an ordinary question. c Have you
been in the forest ? ' Uncle Gerbrand asked. He
lowered his eyes and said nervously : * Yes,' with
an expression on his face that Frans mistrusted. In
the kitchen, too, they talked it over. Stien thought
that perhaps there was something wrong between
him and the girl. ' Possibly/ said Jansje, * but he
was seen out with her only yesterday, and they
seemed very friendly and were walking arm-in-arm.
He's telling lies again, that's clear, but I don't
understand why, for, so far as we know, he hasn't