Page:The book of Betty Barber (IA bookofbettybarbe00andr).pdf/103

 “Ellessdee, Ellessdee, are you there?”

Only his own voice sounded through the empty house, the building was deserted, too.

“Well, this is queer, indeed,” he said, looking about him, “and never do I remember seeing such an untidy house. Ellessdee, my young friend, you certainly ought to be at home clearing up this mess. Wrong sums lying about mixed up with right sums, pence and pounds lying about on the floor. It is quite evident that something has gone wrong with poor old Ellessdee.”

But in the small building next door Thirteen-fourteenths found pretty nearly the same state of thingscompound addition sums lying about, papers and books not sorted. There was not quite such untidiness, not quite so much mess, for there was never as much work in the addition as in the subtraction building; people in the world seem to find it easier to take money away than to pile it up. Thirteen-fourteenths began to feel very sad and sorry as he walked through house after house, and found confusion and disorder everywhere, and not even a cipher to speak to.

At last, from one of the windows, he caught sight of two figures hurrying away frowfrom [sic] the store building, where all the paper was kept, carrying large piles of paper.

He recognised the figures, too, and gave a shout of surprise, wonder, and amazement.

“Tare and Tret working! Tare and Tret busy!” he cried. “Then, indeed, something is terribly wrong! I must find out what is the matter. I have never before seen Tare or Tret do a stroke of work.”

He bounded down the stairs and out of the house, but by the time he reached the door Tare and Tret had disappeared.

Thirteen-fourteenths looked more puzzled than ever.

“They must have walked quickly,” he said, “I didn’t know they could hurry. Hullo! A piece of paper!”

It was a piece of paper lying on the ground, and further on he could see another piece.

“Hurrah!” he shouted, “they can’t work properly, they are 83