PHILIPPE FINDS OUT
So Tom went out next day and purchased some lace at a very cheap price.
He and the two children packed their things, and started on their
journey.
Philippe's plan succeeded, and Tom was delighted with the way the
lace-gowned dog drew the crowds. Philippe and Zelie sang together, and
people thought the two children very attractive. They brought in much
money for Tom.
From town to town they traveled.
Tom always seemed gay and pleasant. The only times he ever showed his
ill nature was when the children did not bring in enough money. Then his
scowls were very disagreeable to see. But usually he was pleased with
what Philippe and Zelie and Trompke made.
They arrived at the fair in Ostend, a famous beach resort of Belgium.
They attracted the attention of many children along the wide beach. Here
they saw hundreds of bathing machines.
[Illustration: BATHING BEACH AT OSTEND]
These machines are little houses on wheels, in which people dress and
undress. Horses are hitched to the houses. They pull them to the water's
edge, where the bathers jump into the sea for their swim.
From Ostend they journeyed to Courtrai (=kōō-trĕ'=) and the flax
fields.
Philippe noticed how much the Belgian people living near the border of
France resemble the French people.
In sections of Belgium close to Holland, the people wear wooden shoes
and look very Dutch. Their language, Flemish, is indeed almost the
same as the Dutch language.
As they wandered through the Belgian villages the smell of cows and
fresh hay greeted their nostrils.
Nearly everyone is poor in these villages. The women wear bedroom
slippers in the street.
They now came to Tournai (=toor-nĕ'=), which is one of the most ancient
towns in Belgium. It dates from the time of Julius Caesar.
As they approached the city of Mons, (=môns=) they passed great coal
mines. These mines were taken over by the Germans during the World War.
While armies were fighting in France and destroying French property,
Belgian farms and factories were being well run by the Germans. That is
why our travelers, wandering over the country of Belgium, saw few
ruins.
They trudged along black roads and passed great chimney stacks.
Several times Philippe had sent money home to his parents.
But one day Tom said, "I must ask you to give me all the money you make.
It is I who feed and clothe you. And now you belong to me."
Philippe had a strange feeling then.
He answered, "But I must send my parents some of what I make. It is only
fair."
Tom scowled fearfully and snapped, "You will do as I say!"
After that time Philippe worried. He told Zelie, but she said nothing.
She looked very sad, however.
Then one evening while they were having supper by the side of the road,
Tom announced, "It is time that Philippe learned our business, eh,
Zelie?"
Zelie started and turned very pale, but she did not answer.
"Listen," continued Tom. He leaned over toward Philippe. "Do you see
that farm over there?"
He pointed to a little peaceful-looking farm in the distance. Philippe
nodded. He wondered what Tom was going to say. Tom had never talked like
this before.
"Tonight we shall go to that farm," Tom went on, "and we shall take a
wheelbarrow along, and we shall help ourselves to all the fine
vegetables there. Tomorrow we shall set up in the market place. You have
sold vegetables in market places before, eh, my Philippe?"
But the boy could not answer. He was horrified.
It all came to him then. This was the vegetable thief--the man who had
stolen his own father's vegetables! Tom! Oh, what a foolish boy he had
been! Why hadn't he listened to his parents? He was traveling with a
thief!
Tom said in an irritable voice, "Come on, boy! Don't stare at me like
that! Wake up, and we shall teach you!"
But Philippe had jumped up quickly and stood before Tom. His fists were
clenched and his cheeks burned.
"No, no! I won't steal," he cried. "It is wicked to steal! I will not
help you!"
Tom only smiled calmly.
[Illustration: "NO, NO! I WON'T STEAL!"]
Then he said, "Oh, very well, my boy. Do not excite yourself. You need
not come along, since you feel that way. Zelie and I have always done
well. We can still get along without you. You shall do your work by
singing, and we by stealing. That is simple."
But Philippe was angry.
"Oh, you wicked man!" he cried. "I will not stay with you any longer. I
am going home!"
Then Tom caught hold of the boy's arm. Tom's eyes flashed.
"No!" he said firmly, "No. You had better not try that. You are mine,
and you shall stay with me!"
That night Tom locked Philippe in the room of a little hotel while he
and Zelie went to the farm.
Philippe wrote a letter to his father. He told all of what had happened.
He begged forgiveness and asked his father to come and get him.
But when Tom returned, he found the letter and burned it.
"Do not try any tricks," he said, "for you will be sorry."
He yawned sleepily and went to bed.
When Philippe heard Tom's snores, he tried to run away. But Zelie
stopped him at the door.
"Don't go," she said. "Please don't go. He will find you, and then he
will beat you."
"How do you know?" asked Philippe.
"Because," Zelie replied, "he has done it to me!"
And then Philippe knew why Zelie's eyes were so sad and held a look of
fear.
"Oh, Zelie," Philippe cried, "I am so sorry for you. You are so brave."
Zelie then began to cry softly.
"Sometimes I am very sad," she sobbed. "That is why I was so glad to
see you. Before you came, oh, he made me work so hard!"
"Do not cry, Zelie," said Philippe, "but tell me all about it. I will
protect you."
[Illustration: "DO NOT CRY, ZELIE"]
Philippe suddenly felt very brave. He felt like one of those knights he
had seen in the film. He felt like a hero out of a fairy tale. He knew
that he was only a boy, but he had great courage, and he wanted to
protect Zelie.
"We two will escape," he promised the girl. "You'll see. Now tell me
everything."
Then Zelie told Philippe that Tom was not really her father.
"My mother and father died when I was a baby," she told him, "and this
man is my uncle. Oh, he is a very bad man, and he has made me steal, and
if he ever should catch us trying to escape--oh, oh!"
The poor little girl again began to sob.
"Stop, Zelie," urged Philippe. "I have a plan, and we will escape."
Zelie dried her eyes. Then she went to her room, and Philippe started to
think.