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wandering up and down like a shadow beside the
lamp-posts. When he saw Minke's boy standing
there, he ran round the corner; the boy had
followed him and had seen him hiding behind a tree.
Warner's wife had seen him coming out of the lane
when she was fastening the shutter of the cellar, she
had asked him if he would like a currant-bun, but he
darted to one side. Wherever he was mentioned it
was with pity, for he looked miserable and neglected ;
his jacket was torn, his shoes in tatters, his cheeks
sunken and hollow. They all knew that Werendonk
was unable to do anything ; his leg was bad again,
and he was rarely in the shop, besides which there
was his hand that he couldn't use.
It had become the custom for Floris to arrive
about half-past nine ; he walked with bent head,
and they could see that he was on the watch. On
wet autumn evenings the street was always quiet
at that time, for nobody would be out shopping, and
at nearly every window was the face of someone
peeping to see him come and go away again.
Jansje, too, although as a rule she went home earlier
now because she was getting too old for the work,
had been seen returning about half-past nine. They
had questioned her—they knew she was against
Werendonk taking the boy into his house again.
But she had become a cantankerous old woman,
and gave them sharp answers. fi Give heed to your
own faults ; keep your spying for your own homes/