CHAPTER XI “I’D TRY TO LEARN”
“NOW, David, it’s your turn.” Mr. Atkins leaned both hands on the counter. “What did you want?”
“Three pounds of Indian meal, if you please.”
“That’s easy got, an’ it’s fresh an’ sweet.” The storekeeper went over to the big box in the corner.
“Thought I never should get round to wait on you. Beats all how some women trade. That Miss Pride
’ud finger everything in the place, an’ finally buy a lemon. Well, here you be!” He twisted up the
paper bag with an extra twirl and handed it over the counter. “Well now, how’s things over to the
little brown house?”
David reached up with a shaking hand for the paper bag.
Mr. Atkins picked up the knife and cut off a snip¹ from the big yellow cheese, and began to chew it.
“He’s too little,” he said to himself; “no, I’ve got to find some other way to help ’em. Hem²! well—”
and he cut off another snip, “I s’pose Polly finds it pretty easy to keep the little brown house goin’
these days, don’t she?”
David’s face turned quite white. If he could only forget how he had run out that very morning to get
the kindlings behind the wood-pile, and Ben and Polly were talking!
“It’s every bit,” said Ben, turning his old leather purse upside down, “ten cents, Polly.”
“O dear—dear! What shall we do, Ben? The potatoes are ’most gone and everything is so much
worse!”
“Don’t feel so bad, Polly. Things will get better, I guess,” said Ben.
And then Davie, peering around the wood-pile, saw him pat Polly’s shoulder.
“Ben,” said Polly, and she threw her arms around his neck, “we must think up some more ways to
help Mamsie. We must, Ben.”
Ben held Polly closely, but he said nothing, for he couldn’t for his life think of a word of comfort,
and his face worked dreadfully.
“O dear me!” cried Polly in dismay when she saw that; “don’t look so, Ben. And you mustn’t feel
bad.”
“Polly,” said Ben, drawing a long breath, “we’ll both think hard, and meantime, you and I mustn’t
stop our work. We ought to be at it this very minute.”
“That’s so,” said Polly, breaking away from him, “and Mamsie told me to send Davie down to the

分享到：