Page:The Secret of the Old Mill.pdf/147

Rh city with some packages. But they're never very large."

"Is Mr. Markel related to you?"

"No. I never saw the other two men before Uncle Dock brought me here."

"Is he your real uncle?"

"Oh, yes. He has looked after me for about a year now, ever since my father died."

"Is he good to you?" asked Frank.

"Sometimes. But he won't let me go to school or have any friends, and if I don't do just as he says, he beats me."

"What did he do when he lived in Washington?" inquired Joe. "Did he make breakfast food there, too?"

The boy laughed.

"He didn't do very much of anything. He used to go out at night a lot and leave me all alone. Sometimes he wouldn't come back until nearly morning. He told me he was working in a factory. But sometimes funny looking men would call on him and they'd talk for a long while."

"And he's never told you anything about the breakfast food?"

"Nothing."

"How long do you think you'll be here?"

"I don't know. Uncle Dock says we may be here for a month yet. But he always has a valise packed so we can go any time."