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The Box Car Children - Gertrude Chandler Warner · Children’s Stories Library

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chapter one, The Flight. About seven o'clock one hot summer evening,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a strange family moved into the little village of Middlesex.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Nobody knew where they came from or who they were,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: but the neighbors soon made up their minds what they
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: thought of the strangers. For the father was very drunk.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: He could hardly walk up the rickety front steps of
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: the old tumble down house, and his thirteen year old
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: son had to help him. Toward eight o'clock, a pretty
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: capable looking girl of twelve came out of the house
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and bought a loaf of bread at the baker's, and
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: that was all the villagers learned about the newcomers that night.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: There are four children, said the bake shop woman to
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: her husband the next day, and their mother is dead.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: They must have some money, for the girl paid for
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the bread with a dollar bill. Make them pay for
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: everything they get, growled the baker, who was a hard man.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: The father is nearly dead with drink now, and soon
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: they will be only beggars. This happened sooner than he thought.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: The next day, the oldest boy and girl came to
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: ask the bakeshop woman to come over. Their father was dead.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: She went over willingly enough for some one had to go,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: but it was clear that she did not expect to
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: be bothered with four strange children, with the bakery on
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: her hands and two children of her own. Haven't you
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: any other folks, she asked the children. We have a
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: grandfather in Greenfield, spoke up the youngest child, before his
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: sister could clap her hand over his mouth. Hush, benny,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: she said anxiously. This made the bake shop woman suspicious.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: What's the matter with your grandfather, she asked. He doesn't
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: like us, replied the oldest boy reluctantly. He didn't want
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: my father to marry my mother, and if he found us,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: he would treat it cruelly. Did you ever see him,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Jess as once she saw him, well, did he treat
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: you cruelly? Asked the woman, turning upon Jess. Oh he
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: didn't see me, replied Jess. He was just passing through
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: our where we used to live, and my father pointed
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: him out to me. Where did you used to live?
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Went on the questioner, but none of the children could
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: be made to tell. We will get along all right alone,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: won't we, Henry, declared Jess. Indeed we will, said Henry,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I will stay in the house with you tonight, said
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the woman. At last, and tomorrow we will see what
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: can be done. The four children went to bed in
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the kitchen and gave the visitor the only other bed
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: in the house. They knew that she did not at
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: once go to bed, but sat by the window in
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: the dark. Suddenly they heard her talking to her husband
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: through the open window. They must go to their grandfather,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: that's certain, Jess heard her say. Of course, agreed her husband. Tomorrow,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: we will make them tell us what his name is.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Soon after that, Jess and Henry heard her snoring heavily.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: They sat up in the dark. Mustn't we surely run away,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: whispered Jess in Henry's ear. Yes, whispered Henry. Take only
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: what we need most. We must be far off before morning,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: or they will catch us. Jess sat still for a moment, thinking,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: for every motion she made must count. I will take
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: both loaves of bread, she thought, and Violet's little work bag.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Henry has his knife, and all father's money is in
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: my pocket. She drew it out and counted it in
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: the dark, squinting her eyes in the faint light of
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the moon. It amounted to nearly four dollars. You'll have
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: to carry Benny until he gets waked up, whispered Jess.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: If we wake him up here he might cry. She
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: touched Violet. The shites spoke, sh Violet, come, we're going
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: to run away, she whispered. The little girl made no sound.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: She sat up obediently and tried to make out the
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: dim shadow of her sister. What shall I do, she asked,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Light as a breath. Carry this, said Jess, handing her
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the work bag and a box of matches. Jess tiptoed
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: over to the tin box on the table, drew out
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the two loaves of bread and slipped them into the
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: laundry bag. She peered around the room for the last time,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: and then dropped two small clean towels and a cake
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: of soap into the bag. All right, pick him up,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: she said to Henry. Henry bent over the sleeping child
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: and lifted him carefully. Jess took the laundry bag, turned
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: the door knob ever so softly, opened the door, ever
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: so slowly, and they tiptoed out in a ghostly procession.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Jess shut the door with as much care as she
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: had opened it, listened to the bake shop woman's heavy
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: snoring for a moment, and then they turned and picked
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: their way without a sound, to the country road. She
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: may wake up before morning, you know, whispered Henry. We
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: must do our fastest walking before then. If we can
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: only get to another town before they find out we're gone,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: they won't know which way to go. Jess agreed, and
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: they all walked briskly along in the faint moonlight. How
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: far can you carry Benny, asked Violet. Oh, at least
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: a mile, said Henry confidently, although his arms were beginning
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: to ache. Benny was five years old, and he was
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: a fat, healthy boy as well. I think we could
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: all walk faster if we woke him up, said Jess. Decidedly.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: We could each take his hand and almost carry him along.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Henry knelt down by the roadside and set the little
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: fellow against his knee. Come, Benny, you must wake up
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: now and walk, said Jess, coaxingly.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: Go away.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Benny mumbled with his eyes shut, trying to lie down again.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Let me try, Violet offered softly. Say, Benny, you know,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: little cinnamon bear ran away to find a nice warm
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: bed for the winter. Now you play your cinnamon and
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Henry and Jess will help you along and we'll find
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: a bed. Violet's little plan worked. Benny was never too
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: cross to listen to the wonderful stories his sister Violet
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: could tell about Cinnamon Bear. He stood up bravely and
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: marched along, yawning, while his big brother and sister almost
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: swung him between them. Not a soul passed them on
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: the country road. All the houses they saw were dark
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: and still, and when the first faint streaks of morning
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: light showed in the sky, all four children were almost
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: staggering with sleep. I must go to sleep, Henry, Jess.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: At last, little Benny was asleep already, and Henry was
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: carrying him again. The first place we come to, then,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: panted Henry. Violet said nothing, but she kept her eyes open.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Finally she caught Henry's sleeve. Couldn't we make that haystack, do,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: she asked, pointing across a newly mowned field. Indeed we could,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: said Henry, thankfully. What a big enormous one it is.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: I was too sleepy to see it, I guess, and
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: see how far are we from the farmhouse and barn?
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: It is too, echoed Jess. The sight gave them new courage.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: They climbed over two stone walls, got across a brook
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: somehow with a heavy child, and arrived at the haystack.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Henry laid his brother down and stretched his aching arms
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: while Jess began to burrow into the haystack. Violet, after
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: a moment of watching her, did the same. Here's his nest,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: said Jess, sleepily, taking her head out of the deep
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: round hole she had made. Henry lifted the child into
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: the opening and was pleased to see that he curled
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: up instantly, smiling in his sleep. Jess pulled wisps of
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: hay over the opening so that it was absolutely invisible,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: and then proceeded to dig out a similar burrow for herself.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: We can stay here, Jest, as long as we like,
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: can't we, Henry, she murmured, digging with her eyes shut.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: We sure can, replied Henry, you're an old brick, Jess,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Get in and I'll pull the hay over the hole.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Violet was already curled up in her nest, which was
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: hidden so completely that Henry spoke to her to see
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: if she were there. Then he wriggled himself backward into
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: the haycock, without stopping to hollow it out, pulled a
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: handful of hay over his head, and laid his head
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: on his arm. Just as he did so, he heard
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: a heavy voice say, now, then, lass, get along. Then
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: he heard the rumble of a milk wagon coming down
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: a nearby lane, and he realized, thankfully that they had
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: hidden themselves just before the first farmer in the neighborhood
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: had set off toward Middlesex with his milk cans. He
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: will say he didn't meet us coming this way, thought Henry.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: So they will hunt for us the other way, and
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: that will give us time to cover a lot more ground.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: He dropped asleep just as the roosters all over the
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: valley began to answer each other. End of Chapter one,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Chapter two. The second night, the roosters crowed and the
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: hens clucked. The farmer's wife began to get breakfast, and
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: the four children slept on. Dinner time came and went,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: and still they slept, for it must be remembered that
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: they had been awake and walking during the whole night.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: In fact, it was nearly seven o'clock in the evening
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: when they awoke. Luckily, all the others awoke before Benny,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: can you hear me, Jess, said Henry, speaking very low
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: through the wall of hay. Yes, answered Jess softly. Let's
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: make one big room of our nests. No sooner said
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: than done. The boy and girl worked quickly and quietly
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: until they could see each other. They pressed the hay
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: back firmly until they had made their way into Violet's
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: little room, and then she, in turn groped until she
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: found Benny. Hello, Little Cinnamon, whispered Violet playfully, and Benny
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: had once made up his mind to laugh instead of cry,
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: but laughing out loud was almost as bad. So Henry
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: took his little brother on the hay beside him and
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: talked to him seriously. You're old enough now, Benny to
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: understand what I say to you. Now listen when I
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: tell you to keep still after this, that means you're
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: to stop crying if you're crying, or stop laughing if
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: you're laughing, and be just as still as you possibly can.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: If you don't mind, you will be in danger. Do
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: you understand. Don't I have to mind Jess and Violet too,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: asked Benny absolutely, said Henry, you have to mind us, all,
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: every one of us. Benny thought a minute, can't I
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: ask for what I want any more, he said, indeed
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: you can, cried Jess and Henry together. What is it
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: you want? I'm awful hungry, said Benny anxiously. Henry's brow cleared,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Good old Benny, he said, we're just going to have supper,
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: or is it breakfast. Jess drew out the fragrant loaf
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: of bread. She cut it with Henry's jackknife into four quarters,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and she and Henry took the two crusty ends themselves.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: That's because we have to be the strongest, and crusts
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: make you strong, explained Jess. Violet looked at her older sister.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: She thought she knew why Jess took the crust, but
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: she did not speak. We will stay here till dark,
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: and then we'll go on with our journey, said Henry cheerfully.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: I want a drink, announced Benny. A drink you'll have,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Henry promised, But you'll have to wait till it's really dark.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: If we should creep out to the brook now and
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: any one saw us, he did not finish his sentence,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: but Benny realized that he must wait. He was much
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: refreshed from his long sleep and felt very lively. Violet
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: had all she could do to keep him amused, even
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: with Cinnamon Bear and his five brothers. At last, Henry
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: peeped out. It was after nine o'clock. There were lights
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: in the farmhouse still, but they were all up stairs.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: We can at least get a drink now, he said,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: and the children crept quietly to the noisy little brook
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: not far from the haystack. Cup said Benny. No, you'll
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: have to lie down and with your mouth, Jess explained,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: and so they did. Never did water taste so cool
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: and delicious as it did that night to the thirsty children.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: When they had finished drinking, they jumped the brook, ran
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: quickly over the fields to the wall, and once more
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: found themselves on the road. If we meet anyone, said Jess,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: we must all crouch behind bushes until he has gone by.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: They walked along in the darkness with light hearts. They
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: were no longer tired or hungry. Their one thought was
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: to get away from their grandfather if possible. If we
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: can find a big town, said Violet, Won't it be
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: better to stay in than a little town? Why, asked Henry,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: puffing up the hill. Well, you see, there are so
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: many people in the big town nobody will notice us,
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: and in a little village every one would be talking
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: about us. Finished Henry, admiringly, you've got brains, Violet. He
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: had hardly said this when a wagon was heard behind
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: them in the distance. It was coming from Middlesex. Without
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: a word, the four children sank down behind the bushes
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: like frightened rabbits. They could plainly hear their heart's beat.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: The horse trotted nearer, and then began to walk up
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: the hill. If we hear nothing in Townshend, they heard
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: a man say, we have plainly done our duty. It
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: was the baker's voice. More than our duty, said the
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: baker's wife, tiring out a horse with going a full
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: day from morning until night. There was silence as the
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: horse pulled the creaky wagon. At least we will go
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: on to Townsend tonight, continued the baker, and tell them to
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: watch out. We need not go to Intervale, for they
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: never could walk so far. We are well rid of them,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: i should say, replied his wife. They may not have
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: come this way. The milkman did not see them, did he.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: The baker's reply was lost, for the horse had reached
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: the hilltop, where he broke into a canter. It was
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: some minutes before the children dared to creep out of
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: the bushes again. One thing is sure, said Henry when
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: he got his breath. We will not go to Townsend,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: and we will go to Intervale, said Jess, with a
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: definite goal in mind. At last, the children set out
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: again with a better spirit. They walked until two o'clock
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: in the morning, stopping often this time to rest and
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: to drink from the horse's watering troughs. And then they
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: came upon a fork in the road with a white
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: sign post shining in the moonlight. Townsend four miles, Intervale
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: six miles, read Henry aloud. Any one feel able to
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: walk six more miles? He grinned. No one had the
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: least idea how far they had already walked. We'll go
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: that way at least, said Jess. Finally that we will,
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: agreed Henry, picking up his brother for a change and
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: carrying him pig back, Violet went ahead. The new road
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: was a pleasant, woody one with grass growing in the middle.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: The children could not see the grass, but they could
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: feel it as they walked. Not many people passed this way,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: I guess, remarked Violet. Just then she caught her toe
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: in something and almost fell, but Jess caught her. The
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: two girls stooped down to examine the abstruction, Hey, said, Jess,
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Hey repeated Violet, Hey said, Henry, coming up, What did
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: you say? It must have fallen off somebody's load, said Jess.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: We'll take it with us. Henry decided wisely, load on
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: all you can carry, Jess for Benny, thought Violet to herself.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: So the odd little party trudged on for nearly three hours,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: laden with hay, until they found that the road ended
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: in a cart path through the woods. Oh, dear, exclaimed Jess,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: almost ready to cry with disappointment. What's the matter, demanded
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Henry in astonishment. Isn't the woods a good place to sleep?
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: We can't sleep in the road, you know, it does
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: seem nice and far away from people, admitted Jess. And
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: it's almost morning. As they stood still at the entrance
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: to the woods, they heard the rumble of a train.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: It roared down the valley at a great rate and
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: passed them on the other side of the woods, thundering
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: along toward the city. Never mind the train, either, remarked Henry.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: It isn't so awfully near, and even if it were,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: it couldn't see us. He set his brother down and
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: peered into the woods. It was very warm. Listen, said Benny. Listen,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: echoed Violet. More water, Benny cried, catching his big brother
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: by the hand. It is only another brook, said Henry
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: with a thankful heart. He wants a drink. The trickle
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: of water sounded very pleasant to all the children as
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: they lay down once more to drink. Benny was too
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: sleepy to eat. Jess quickly found a dry spot thick
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: with moss between two stones. Upon this moss, the three
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: older children spread the hay in the shape of an
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: oval bed. Benny tumbled into it with a great sigh
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: of satisfaction, while his sisters tucked the hay around him.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Pine needles up here, Jess called Henry from the slope.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Each of them quickly scraped together a fragrant pile for
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: a pillow, and once more lay down to sleep with
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: hardly a thought of fear. I only hope we won't
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: have a thunder storm, said Jess to herself, as she
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: shut her tired eyes, and she did not open them
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: for a long time. Although the dark gray clouds piled
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: higher and more thickly, over the sleeping children. End of
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: Chapter two, Chapter three, Shelter. When Jess opened her eyes,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: it must have been about ten o'clock in the morning.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: She sat up and looked all around her. She could
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: dimly see the opening where they had come into the woods.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: She looked around to see that her family was still
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: safely by her. Then she looked up at the sky.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: At first she thought it must still be night, and
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: then she realized that the darkness was caused by an
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: approaching storm. Whatever, whatever shall we do now, demanded Jess
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: of the air. She got up and looked in every
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: direction for shelter. She even walked quite a little way
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: into the woods and down a hill, and there she stood,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: not knowing what to do next. I shall have to
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: wake Henry up, she said at last, Only how I
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: hate too. As she spoke, she glanced into the forest,
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: and her feet felt as if they were nailed to
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: the ground. She could not stir. Faintly, outlined among the trees,
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Jess saw an old freight or box car. Her first
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: thought was one of fear, her second hope for shelter.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: As she thought of shelter, her feet moved and she
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: stumbled toward it. It really was a freight car, she
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: felt of it. It stood on rusty, broken rails, which
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: were nearly covered with dead leaves. Then the thunder cracked overhead.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: Jess came to her usual senses and started back for Henry,
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: flying like the wind. He was awake, looking anxiously overhead.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: He had not noticed that Jess was missing. Come, panted Jess,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: I've found a place. Hurry, hurry. Henry did not stop
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: to ask questions. He picked up Benny, telling Violet to
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: gather up the hay, and then they ran headlong through
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: the thick underbrush in Jess's wake, seeing their way only
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: too well by the sharp flashes of lightning. It's beginning
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: to sprinkle, gasped Henry. We'll get there, all right, Jess
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: shouted back, it's not far. Be all ready to help
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: me open the door when we get there. By sheer
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: good fortune, a big tree stump stood under the door
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: of the freight car, or the children never could have
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: opened it as it was. Jess sprang up on the stump,
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: and Henry, pausing to lay Henry down, did likewise. Together
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: they rolled back the heavy door about a foot. That's enough,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: panted Jess. How get in, and you hand Benny up
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: to me. No, said Henry quietly, I must see first
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: if anyone is in there, it will rain, protested Jess.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: Nothing will hurt me. But she knew it was useless
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: to argue with Henry, so she hastily groped in the
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: bag for the matches and handed them to her brother.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: It must be confessed that Jess held her breath while
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Henry struck one and peered about inside the car. All's well,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: he reported, Come in, everybody. Violet passed the hay up
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: to her brother and crawled in herself. Then Jess handed
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: Benny up like a package of grocery, and, taking one
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: last look at the angry sky and waving trees, she
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: climbed in after him. The two children managed to roll
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: the door back so that the crack was completely closed
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: before the storm broke, But at that very instant it
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: broke with a vengeance. It seemed to the children that
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: the sky would split, so sharp were the cracks of thunder,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: but not a drop of rain reached them. In their
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: roomy retreat, they could see nothing at all, for the
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: freight car was tightly made, and all outside was nearly
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: as black as night. Through it all. Benny slept on Presently,
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the thunder grew fainter and rumbled away down the valley,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: and the rain spent itself. Only the drip from the
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: trees on the top of the car could be heard.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: Then Henry ventured to open the door. He knelt on
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: his hands and knees and thrust his head out. The
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: warm sunlight was filtering through the trees, making golden pools
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: of light here and there. The beautiful trees, pines and
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: white birches and oaks grew thickly around, and the ground
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: was carpeted with flowers and wonderful ferns more than a
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: yard high. But most miraculous of all was a miniature waterfall,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: small but perfect, where the same little brown brook fell
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: gracefully over some ledges and danced away down the glen.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: In an instant, Jess and Violet were looking over Henry's
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: shoulder at the pretty sight. How different everything looks with
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the sun shining, exclaimed Jess. Things will soon be dry
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: at this rate. It must be about noon, observed Henry,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: looking at the sun, and as he spoke, the faint
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: echo of mill bells in the distance was heard. Henry
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: said Jess sharply, Let's live here, live here, repeated Henry. Dully, Yes,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: why not, replied Jess. Nobody uses this car, and it's
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: dry and warm. We're quite far away, and yet we
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: are near enough to a town so we can buy things,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: and we're near water, added Violet. Jess hugged her sister.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: So we are, little mouse, she said, the most important
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: thing of all, but began Henry. Please, Henry, said Jess excitedly.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: I could make this old freight car into the dearest
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: little house with beds and chairs and a table and dishes.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: I'd like to live here too, said a determined little
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: voice from the corner. But I don't want to unless
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: unless what asked Henry, panic stricken, unless I can have
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: my dinner, Benny finished anxiously. We'll have something to eat
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: right away, old fellow, said Henry, thankful. It was no worse,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: for he himself was beginning to see what a cozy
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: home the car really would make. Jess cut the last
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: loaf of bread into four pieces, but alas it was
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: very dry, the children were so hungry that they tore
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: it with their teeth like little dogs. But Benny was
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: nearly crying He did not actually cry, however, for just
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: at the crucial moment, Violet started a funny story about
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: cinnamon bear eating bread crusts out of the ash can.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: He ought to have milk, said Jess quietly to Henry.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: He shall have milk, replied Henry, I'll go down the
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: railroad track to the town and get some. Jess counted
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: out a dollar in ten times and handed it to Henry.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: By the time our four dollars are gone, you will
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: have some work to do, she said. All the same,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Henry did not like to begin his trip. How I
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: hate to leave you alone, Jess, he said miserably. Oh,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: don't you worry, began Jess lightly. We'll have a surprise
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: for you when you come back. You just wait and see.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: And she nodded her head wisely as Henry walked off
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: through the woods. The moment he was out of sight,
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: she turned to Benny and Violet. Now children, she said,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: what do you think we're going to do? Do you
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: know what I saw over in the sunny part of
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the woods. I saw some blueberries? Oh oh, cried Benny,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: who knew what blueberries were. Can't we have some blueberries
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: and milk? We certainly began Jess, but the sentence was
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: never finished, for a sharp crackle of dry leaves was heard.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Something was moving in the woods. End of chapter three,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Chapter four, A new home keep still, whispered Jess. Benny obeyed.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: The three children were as motionless as stone images, huddled
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: inside the freight car. Jess opened her mouth in order
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: to breathe at all. Her heart was thumping so wildly.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: She watched like a cat through the open door in
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: the direction of the rustle noise, and in a moment,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: the trembling bushes parted and out crawled a dog. He
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: was an airedale and was pulling himself along on three legs,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: whimpering softly. Jess drew a long breath of relief and
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: said to the children, it's all right, only a dog,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: but he seems to be hurt. At the sound of
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: her voice, the dog lifted his eyes and wagged his
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: tail feebly. He held up his front foot. Poor doggie,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: murmured Jess soothingly. As she clambered out of the car,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Let Jess, see your poor lame foot. She approached the
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: dog carefully, for she remembered that her mother had always
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: told her never to touch a strange dog unless he
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: wagged his tail. But this dog's tail was wagging certainly,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: so Jess bent over without fear to look at the paw.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: An exclamation of pity escaped her when she saw it,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: for a stiff, sharp thorn had been driven completely through
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: one of the cushions of the dog's foot and around
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: it the blood had dried. I guess I can fix that,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: said Jess briskly. But taking the thorn out is going
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: to hurt you, old fellow. The dog looked up at
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: her as she laid his paw down and licked her hand.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Come here, Violet and Benny, directed Jess. She took the
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: animal gently in her lap and turned him on his side.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: She patted his head and stroked his nose with one finger,
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: and offered him the rest of her bread crust, which
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: she had put in her apron pocket. The dog snapped
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: it up as if he were nearly starved. Then she
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: held the soft paw firmly with her left hand and
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: pulled steadily on the thorn with her right hand. The
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: dog did not utter a sound. He lay motionless in
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: her lap until the thorn suddenly let go and lay
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: in Jess's hand good, good, cried Violet. Wet my handkerchief,
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Jess ordered. Briskly. Violet did so, dipping it in the
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: running brook. Jess wrapped the cool wet folds around the
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: hot paw and gently squeezed it against the wound. The dog,
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: meanwhile trying to lick her hands. We'll sprise Henry, won't we,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: laughed Benny, delightedly. Now we got a dog, to be sure,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: said Jess, struck with the thought. But that isn't what
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: I intended for a surprise, you know. I was intending
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: to get a lot of blueberries and maybe find some
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: old dishes in a dump or something. Can't we look
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: while you hold the dog, asked Violet anxiously. Of course
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: you can, pet, said Jess. Look over there by those rocks.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: Benny and Violet scrambled through the underbrush to the place
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: Jess pointed out and investigated. But they did not hunt long,
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: for the blueberries were so thick that the bushes almost
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: bent over with their weight. Oh, Jessie, screamed Benny.
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: You never there are so so many in your life?
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: What do we pick em into? Come and get a
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: clean towel, said Jess, who noticed that Benny was already
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: picking into his own mouth. But that's just as well,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: she thought, because he won't get so hungry waiting for
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: the milk. She watched the two children for a moment
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: as they dropped handfuls of the bluish globes on the towel.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: Then she carefully got up with her little patient and
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: went over and sat down in the center of the patch.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: The berries were so thick that she did not have
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: to change her position before the towel held over a quart.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: Oh dear, sighed Jess. I wish I could hunt for
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: some dishes so we could have blueberries and milk. Never mind, tonight,
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: said Violet. We can just eat a handful of berries
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: and then take a drink of milk when Henry comes.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: But it was even better than that, for when Henry came,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: he had two bottles of milk under one arm, a
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: huge loaf of brown bread under the other, and some
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: golden cheese and waxed paper in his pocket. But you
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: should have seen Henry's stare when he saw what Jess
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: was holding. Where in the world began the boy?
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: He came to.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Us, volunteered Benny. He came for a spries for you,
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: and he's a nice doggie. Henry knelt down to look
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: at the visitor, who wagged his tail. It wouldn't be
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: a bad thing to have a watch dog, said Henry.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: I was worried about you all the time I was gone.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Did you bring some milk, inquired Benny, trying to be polite,
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: but looking at the bottles with longing eyes. Bless his heart,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: said Jess, struggling to her feet with the dog. We'll
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: have dinner right away, or is it supper? Call it supper,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: suggested Henry. For it's the last thing we'll have to
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: eat to day, and then tomorrow we'll start having three
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: meals every day, laughed Jess. It was certainly a queer meal,
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: whatever it was. Jess, who liked above all to be orderly,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: spread out the big gray laundry bag on the pine
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: needles for a tablecloth. The brown loaf was cut by
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: a very excited little Hostess into five thick squares, the
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: cheese into four dogs. Don't eat cheese, Benny remarked cheerfully.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: The poor little fellow was glad of it too, for
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: he was very hungry. He could hardly wait for Jess
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: to set the milk bottles in the center of the table,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: and heap the blueberries in four little mounds, one at
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: each place. I'm sorry, we haven't cups, Jess remarked. We'll
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: just have to drink out of the same bottle. No,
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: we won't, said Henry. We'll drink half of each bottle,
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: so that will make at least two things to drink
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: out of. Good for you, Henry, said Jess, much relieved.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: You and Bennie use one, and Violet and I will
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: use the other. So the meal began, look, Benny directed Henry,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: eat a handful of berries. Then take a bite of
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: brown bread, then a nibble of cheese. Now a drink
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: of milk. It's good, it's good, mumbled Benny to himself.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: All through the meal. You must not imagine that the
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: poor wandering dog was neglected, for Jess fed him gently
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: as he lay in her lap, poking morsels of bread
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: into his mouth and pouring milk into her own hand
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: for him to lap up. When the meal was over,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: and exactly half of each bottle of milk remained, Jess said,
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: we are going to sleep on beds tonight, and just
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: as soon as we get our beds made we are
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: all going to be washed. That'll be fun, Benny added Violet.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: We'll wash our paws in the brook, just the way
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: Cinnamon does. First, let's gather armfuls of dry pine needles,
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: ordered Jess. Get those on top that have been lying
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: in the sunshine. Jess laid the dog down on a
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: bed of moss as she spoke and started energetically to
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: scoop up piles of the fragrant needles. Soon a pile
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: is high as her head stood just under the freight
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: car door. I think we have enough, she said at last.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Taking the scissors from Violet's work bag, she cut the
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: laundry bag carefully into two pieces, saving the cord for
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: a clothes sign. One of the big squares was laid
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: across Benny's hay and tucked under that was the softest
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: bed of all, Violet's apron and her own, she cut
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: off at the belt. I'll sleep next to Benny, said Henry,
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: with my head up by the door. Then I can
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: hear what is going on. A big pile of pine
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: needles was loaded into the freight car for Henry's bed
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: and covered with the other half of the laundry bag.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: The remainder of the needles. Jess piled into the farthest
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: corner of the car for herself and Violet. We'll all
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: sleep on one side, so we can call it the bedroom.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: What'll be the other side, inquired Benny. The other side,
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: repeated Jess. Let me think. I guess that'll be the
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: sitting room, and perhaps some of the time the kitchen
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: on rainy days, maybe the dining room, added Henry with
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: a wink. Couldn't it be the parlor, begged Benny. Certainly
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: the parlor. We forgot that, agreed Jess, returning the wink.
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: She was covering the last two soft beds with the
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: two aprons. The tops of these aprons are washcloths, she
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: said severely. Then, armed with the big cake of soap,
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: she led the way to the brook. The dog watched
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: them anxiously, but when Jess said, lie still, he obeyed.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: From the moment Jess drew the thorn from his foot,
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: he was her dog to obey her slightest command and
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: to follow her wherever she went. The clean, cool brook
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: was delightful even to Benny. The children rolled up their
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: sleeves and plunged their dusty arms into its waters. Quarreling
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: good naturedly over the soap and lathering their stained faces
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: and necks with it. When they were well rinsed with
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: clear water, they dried themselves with the towel. Then Jess
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: washed both towels nicely with soap, rinsed them, and hung
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: them on the clothes line of tape, which she had
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: stretched between two slender birch trees. They flapped lazily in
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: the wind. Looks like home already, Jess, said Henry, smiling
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: at the washing. The tired children clambered into the bedroom,
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: Jess coming last with the wounded dog. We'll have to
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: leave the door open, it's so hot, said Henry, lying
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: down with a tired sigh, And in less than ten
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: minutes they were fast asleep dog, and all asleep at
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: six o'clock, asleep, without naming the dog, without locking the door,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: without fear. For this was the first night in four
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: that they had been able to go to sleep at
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: night as children should. End of Chapter four, Chapter five, Housekeeping.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: The next morning, Jess was up before the others, as
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: was fitting for a little housekeeper. That is, she was
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: the first, if we except the dog, who had opened
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: one eye instantly every time his little mistress stirred in
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: her sleep. He sat watching gravely in the door of
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: the car. As Jess descended to get breakfast. She walked
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: from the little waterfall quite a distance down the brook,
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: looking at it with critical eyes. This will be the well,
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: she said to herself, regarding a small but deep and
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: quiet basin just below the falls. Below that she found
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: a larger basin lined with gravel, with flat stones surrounding it.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: This will be the wash tub, she decided. And now
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: I must go back to the refrigerator. This was the
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: strangest spot of all, for behind the little waterfall was
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: a small, quiet pool in which Jess had set the
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: milk bottles the night before. Not a drop of water
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: could get in, but all night long the cool running
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: water had surrounded the bottles. Now they were fairly icy
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: to the touch. Jess smiled as she drew them out.
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: Is it good, asked Benny's voice. There he sat in
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: the door of the car, swinging his legs, his arm
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: around the shaggy dog. It's delicious, declared Jess, cold as ice.
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: She climbed up beside him as she spoke, bringing the
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: breakfast with her. The other two children sat up and
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: looked at it to day. Jess began, Henry, I will
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: go back to town and try to get a job
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: mowing lawns or something. Then we can afford to have
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: something besides milk for breakfast. Milk suited Benny very well, however,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: so the older children allowed him to drink rather more
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: than his share. Henry did not waste any time talking.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: He brushed his hair as well as he could without
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: a brush, rolled down his sleeves, and started for with
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: a second dollar. Glad you've got a dog, Jess, he
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: called back as he waved his straw hat. The children
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: watched him disappear around the curve and then turned to
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: Jess expectantly. They were not mistaken. Jess had a plan,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: we'll explore, she began, mysteriously. We'll begin here at the
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: car and hunt all over these woods until we find
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: a dump. What's a dump, inquired Benny. Oh, Benny answered Violet,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: you know what a dump is all old bottles and
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: papers and broken dishes and wheels. Asked Benny interestedly, will
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: there be any old wheels? Yes, maybe, assented Violet. But cups, Benny,
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: think of drinking milk out of a cup? Again. Oh yes,
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: said Benny politely, but it was clear that his mind
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: was centered on wheels rather than cups. The exploring parties
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: started slowly down the rusty track, with the dog hopping
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: happily on three legs. The fourth paw nicely bandaged with
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: Jess's handkerchief he held up out of harm's way. I
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: think this is a spur track, said Jess. They built
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: it in here so they could load wood on the cars,
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: and then when they had cut all the wood, they
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: didn't need the track any more. This explanation seemed very likely.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: For here and there were stumps of trees and decaying chips.
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: Violet took note of these chips and remembered them some
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: days later. In fact, both girls kept their eyes open
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: and pointed out things of interest to each other. Remember
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: these logs, Violet, if we should ever need any, said Jess,
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: pointing BlackBerry blossoms, returned Violet, briefly, turning one over gently
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: with her foot. Big flat stones, remarked Jess later on,
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: as they came upon a great heap of them. Here
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: the track came out into the open sunshine, and broken
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: pieces of rail showed clearly where it had joined the
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: main track at some time in the past, and here,
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: from the top of the wooded hill, the children could
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: plainly see the city in the valley. They walked along
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: the track, picking out a church steeple here and there,
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: forgetting for a moment the object of their search. There's
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: a wheel, Benny cried triumphantly. From behind. The girls looked down,
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: and with a glad cry of surprise, Jess recognized a
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: dump at the foot of the hill. They found it
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: not composed entirely of ashes and tin cans, either, although
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: both of these were there in great profusion. It was
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: a royal dump, containing both cups and wheels. Oh, Benny,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: cried Jess, if it hadn't been for you. She hugged
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: him wheel and all, and began turning over the rubbish
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: with great delight. Here's a white pitch, Jess Violet called,
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: holding up a perfect specimen with a tiny chip in
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: its nose. Here's a big white cup, said Jess, delightedly,
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: laying it aside. Want a teapot, Jesse inquired Benny, offering
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: her an enormous blue enameled affair without a handle. Yes, indeed,
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: cried Jess, we can use that for water. I've found
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: two cups and a bowl already, and Violet, we ought
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: to be looking for spoons too, Violet pointed, without speaking
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: to her little pile of treasures, there were five iron
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: spoons covered with rust. Wonderful, pronounced Jess with rapture. Indeed,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: it is doubtful if collectors of rare and beautiful bits
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: of porcelain ever enjoyed a search as much as did
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: these adventurers. In the dump heap, Benny actually found four
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: wheels exactly alike, probably from the same cart, and insisted
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: upon carrying them back. To please him, Jess allowed him
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: to add them to the growing pile. Here's a big
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: iron kettle, observed Violet. But we won't really cook with
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: a fire, will we, Jess. We'll take it back, though,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: replied Jess, with a knowing look. We can pile lots
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: of dishes in it. They could, and did, but not
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: until after Benny had discovered his beloved pink cup. It
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: was a tea party cup of bright rose color, with
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: a wreath of gorgeous roses on it, and a little
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: shepherdess giving her lamb a drink from a pale blue brook.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: It had a perfectly good handle, gold into the bargain.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: Its only flaw was a dangerous crack through the lamb's
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: nose and front feet. Jess made a cushion for it
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: out of grass and laid it on top of the
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: kettle full of treasures. All the things, even the wheels,
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: were laid on a wide board, which the two girls
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: carried between them. Can you imagine the dish washing when
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: the game party returned to the freight car. Children do
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: not usually care for dish washing, but never did a
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: little boy hand dishes to his sister so carefully as
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: Benny did. On their hands and knees. Beside the clear, cool,
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: little washtub, the three children soaped, and rinsed and dried
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: their precious store of dishes. Jess scoured the rust from
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: the spoons with sand. There, she said, drying the last
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: polished spoon. The children sat back and looked admiringly at
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: their own handiwork. But they did not look too long.
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: There was too much to be done. Jess exclaimed, Violet,
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you, Violet seldom spoke so excitedly. Even Benny
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: turned around and looked at her. Come and see what
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: I noticed inside the car last night. Both children followed
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: her and peered in at the door. See on the
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: wall right over on the other door, Jess. Now, all
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: jess could see were two thick chunks of wood nailed
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: securely to the closed door opposite the open one. But
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: she whirled around and around as fast as she could,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: clapping her hands. When she could get her breath, however,
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: she skipped over to the board they had carried, dusted
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: it nicely, and laid it carefully across the two wooden projections.
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: It was a perfect shelf there, said Jess. The children
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: could hardly wait to arrange the shining new dishes on
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: the shelf. Violet quietly gathered some feathery white flowers, a
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: daisy or two, and some maidenhair ferns, which she arranged
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: in a glass face filled with water from the well.
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: This she put in the middle, with the broken edge
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: hidden there, said Jess. You said there three times, Jessie, remarked.
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: Benny contentedly. So I did, replied Jess, laughing. But I'm
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: going to say it again. She pointed and said there
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: Henry was coming up the path. End of chapter five,
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: Chapter six, earning a living Henry had all sorts of
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: packages under his arm and in his pockets, but he
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: wouldn't open them or tell a thing about his adventures
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: until dinner was ready. He said, Yes, you're a wonder
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: he exclaimed, when he saw the dishes and the shelf.
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: The big kettle was selected, and they all began to
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: pick blueberries as fast as they could, telling Henry meanwhile
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: all about the wonderful dump. At last, the tablecloth was
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: spread and Henry unwrapped his parcels before the whole excited family.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: I bought some more brown bread, he said, producing the loaves,
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: and some more milk, in the same little store where
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: I went yesterday. It's kept by a little old man,
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: and it's called a delicatessen shop. He has everything in
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: his store to eat. I bought some dried beef because
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: we can eat it in our fingers. And I bought
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: a big bone for the dog. His name is Watch.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: Jess interrupted. All right, said Henry, accepting the name. I
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: bought a bone for Watch. Watch fell on the bone
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: as if he were famished, which indeed he nearly was.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: It was a rapturous moment when Jess poured the yellow
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: milk into four cups or bowls, and each child proceeded
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: to crumble the brown bread into it with a liberal
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: scattering of blueberries, and then when they ate it with spoons,
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: nobody was able to speak a word for several minutes.
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: Then Henry began slowly to tell his tale. I earned
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: a dollar just this morning, he began, proudly. I walked
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: along the first shady street. I came to nice houses,
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: you know, and there was a fellow out mowing his
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: own lawn. He's a nice fellow too, I can tell you,
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: A young doctor. Henry paused to chew blissfully. He was
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: pretty hot. Henry went on, and just as I came
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: to the gate, his telephone rang. I heard it and
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: called after him and asked if he didn't want me
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: to finish up, And he said he did, cried Jess, Yes,
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: he said, for goodness sake, yes, Henry answered, smiling. You see,
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: he wasn't used to it. So I mowed the lawn
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: and trimmed the edges, and he said he never had
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: a boy trim it as well as I did. And
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: then he asked me if I wanted a steady job. Oh, Henry,
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: cried Violet and Jess together. I told him I did,
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: so he said to come back this afternoon any time
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: I wanted, or tomorrow. He said he didn't care, just when,
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: any time. Henry gave his cup a last polish with
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: his spoon and set it down dreamily. It's a pretty house,
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: he went on. And there's a big garden behind it,
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: vegetable garden, and an orchard behind that cherry orchard. He
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: ought to see the cherry trees. Well. When I was
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: trimming the edges near the kitchen door or the cook
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: came and watched me. She's a fat irishwoman, Henry laughed
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: at the recollection. She asked me if I liked cookies. Oh,
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: if you had smelled them baking, you'd have died, laughing,
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: Benny delicious, So I said I did, and she passed
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: me out one, and when she went back in, I
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: put it in my pocket. Did she see, you, asked
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: jess anxiously. Oh no, said Henry confidently, for I carefully
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: chewed away for a long time on nothing at all.
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: Benny began to look fixedly at Henry's pocket. It certainly
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: was still rather bulgy. When I went. The doctor paid
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: me a dollar, and the cook gave me this bag.
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: Henry grinned as he tossed the paper bag to Jess.
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: Inside were twelve ginger cookies with scalloped edges, smelling faintly
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: of cinnamon and sugar. I'm going to keep track of
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: everything I earn and spend, said Henry, watching Jess as
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: she handed around the cookies with reverence. How are you
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: going to write without a pencil, asked Jess. There are
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: pieces of tailor's chalk in my work bag, said Violet.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: Henry gave his younger sister a gentle pat as she
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: returned with her work bag and fished for the chalk.
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: While the girls rinsed the empty dishes in the brook
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: and stored away the food for supper, Henry was beginning
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: his cash account on the wall of his bedroom. It
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: was never erased, and Henry often now looks at the
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: account with great affection. Soon the girls came to inspect it. Meanwhile,
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: Benny looked on with great delight as Watch tried to
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: bury his bone with only one paw to dig with
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: earned one dollar cash on hand, three dollars eighty five cents,
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: read Jess aloud. Below he had written milk twenty four cents,
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: bread ten cents, bread twenty cents, cheese ten cents, milk
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: twenty four cents, beef twenty cents, bone, five cents, cloth
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: ten cents cloth, exclaimed Violet, What on earth? Henry laughed
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: a little and watched her face as he drew out
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: his last package and handed it to her. I thought
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: we ought to have a tablecloth, he explained, So I
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: got a yard at the ten cent store. But it
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: isn't hemmed. Of course, with a cry of delight, Violet
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: unwrapped the brown cloth with its edge of blue. Her
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: clever fingers were already evening the two ends. She was
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: never so happy as when with a needle Henry set
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: off again with a light heart. Here was one sister
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: curled up happily against a big tree, setting tiny stitches
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: into a very straight hem Here was another sister busily
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: gathering pliant twigs into a bundle for a broom with
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: which to sweep the stray pine needles from the house.
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: And here was Benny, curled up sound sleep on the
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: ground with the dog for a pillow. It was quite
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: late when Henry returned, In fact, it was nearly seven o'clock,
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: although he didn't know that several treasures had been added
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: in his absence, the broom stood proudly in the corner
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: with a slim stick for a handle. The new tablecloth
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: had been washed and was drying on the line, and Jess,
• 52:23
  Speaker 1: who had decided to wash one garment a day, had
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: begun with Benny's stockings. When Henry came, they were being
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: put on again with much pride by Benny himself. Violet
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: had darned a big hole in each. This time, Henry
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: himself could not wait to tell his sisters what he had.
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: He passed them the package at once with shining eyes. Butter,
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: cried Jess with a radiant face. It was butter, cool
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: and sweet. Nobody remembered that they had been a week
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: without tasting either butter or meat, when at last they
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: sat down to their royal supper. These are trick spoons,
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: explained Henry. Turned them upside down and use the handle,
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: and they become knives. They were knives anyway. They were
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: used to spread the delicious morsels of butter on the
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: brown loaf, with dried beef and a cookie for dessert.
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: Who could ask for better fare, certainly not the four children,
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: who enjoyed it more than the rarest dainties. I washed
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: the doctor's automobile this afternoon, Henry related. Then I washed
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: both piazzas with the hose, and tomorrow I'm going to
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: hoe in the garden. Oh, wouldn't I love to have
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: a nice cold swim in that brook? Henry was hot
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: and sticky. Certainly, he looked with longing eyes at the
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: waterfall as he finished the last crumbs of his supper.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: I wonder if we couldn't fix up a regular swimming pool,
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: he said half to himself. Of course we could, replied Violet,
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: as if nothing were too difficult. Jess, and I know
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: where there are big life and big flat stones. You do, hey,
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: said Henry, staring at his gentle little sister. Well why
• 54:08
  Speaker 1: couldn't we, Henry struck in Jess. Just a little below this,
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: there is a sort of pool already, only not big enough.
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: We sure could, cried Henry. Some day I'll stay home
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: from work and we'll see. Nobody realized that Henry had
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: been working only one day and all anyway, it seemed
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: as if they had always lived in the comfortable home
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: in the freight car, with Henry plying back and forth
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: from the city each day, bringing them new surprises. Henry
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: went to bed that night with a head full of
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: plans for damming up the brook. He almost shouted when
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: he thought suddenly of Benny's wheels. He began to plan
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: to make a cart to carry the heavy stones to
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: the brook. And that was when he first noticed that
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: Watch was not asleep. He could see his eyes shining
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: red in the darkness. It must have been around eleven o'clock.
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: Henry reached over and patted his rough little back. Watch
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: licked the hand but didn't close his eyes. Suddenly he
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: began to growl. Softly, sh said Henry to the dog.
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: Now thoroughly startled, he sat up. Jess sat up. They
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: did not hear a sound. Better shut the door, breathed Henry.
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: Together they rolled the door very slowly and softly, until
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: it was shut. Still, they did not hear anything, but
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: still Watch continued his uneasy growling. Violet and Benny slumbered on.
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: Jess and Henry sat motionless with their hearts and their mouths.
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: Supposing it was some other tramp, whispered Jess. Somebody that
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: wanted to sleep here. Watch would bite em, whispered Henry briefly.
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: Jess never knew what confidence Henry had in the faithful dog.
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: Then a branch cracked sharply outside, and Watch barked out loud.
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: Jess smothered the dog instantly in her arms, but it
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: had been a bark, and it was loud, clear and unmistakable.
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: That settles it, thought Henry, whoever it is, knows there's
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: someone in here. And the boy waited with the new
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: broom in his hand, expecting every moment to see the
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: door opened from the outside. But nothing happened, nothing at all.
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: The children sat in perfect silence for at least a
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: half hour, and nothing more was heard. Watch sniffed a
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: little when Henry finally rolled the door open again, but
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: he then turned around three times and lay down beside Jess,
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: apparently satisfied at last, taking the dog's conduct as a
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: sure guide. Henry composed himself for sleep. It must have
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: been a rabbit or something, he said to Jess. The
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: occupants of the freight car slept peacefully and morning end
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: of chapter six. Chapter seven. At home, Jess and Henry
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: had a short committee meeting the next morning before the
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: others awoke. It was agreed that nobody should be allowed
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: to stray off into the woods alone, not even the dog,
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: and with much mystery, Henry left some orders with all
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: of them as to what they should build for him
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: during the morning. What for, asked Benny, shan't tell, old fellow,
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: tease Henry. You just build it and you'll see later.
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: So Henry walked briskly through the woods, feeling sure that
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: the noise in the night had been made by a rabbit.
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: Having no watch, Henry made a slight mistake by appearing
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: at the young doctor's door before eight o'clock. He was
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: just in time to meet the doctor coming in from
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: a night call. If Henry had not been so eager
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: to begin work, he would have noticed how the young
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: man's dark eyes examined him from head to foot, even
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: to his plastered hair wet with brookwater. It was not
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: the doctor who directed his work, but the doctor's mother,
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: the sweet faced Missus mc allister, whose heart was centered
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: in her son and her vegetable garden. Her heart warmed
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: to the boy when she saw how carefully he thinned
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: out the carrots which had been sadly neglected. I have
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: been so busy, she declared, that I have actually stayed
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: awake nights worrying about these carrots. There see that. She
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: pulled out a fairly good sized carrot as she spoke.
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: It had to come out, for it was much too
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: near its neighbors. In fact, when Henry had thinned out
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: half a row, he had quite a little pile of
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: eatable carrots, each as large as his thumb. When Missus
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: mc allister saw Henry deftly press the earth back again
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: around the carrots which remained standing, she left him quietly
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: with a smile. Here was a gardener whom she could trust.
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: Henry worked steadily in the hot sun, completing row after
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: row of carrots, parsnips, and onions. When the mill bells
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: rang at noon, he worked on without noticing that his
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: employer was again watching him. When he did at last
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: notice her, he asked her, smiling, what she wanted done
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: with the things he had pulled up. Oh, throw them away,
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: she said, indifferently. Toss them over into the orchard, and
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: sometime we'll burn them when they get dry. Do you
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: mind if I take them myself? Asked Henry hesitatingly. Oh no,
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: said missus mc allister, cordially. Have you chickens? That will
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: be fine. Henry was thankful that she went right along
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: without waiting for an answer, but in a way he
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: did have chickens. He thought, you must stop working now.
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: She said, any time you want to do something, there
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: will be a place for you here. She gave him
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: a dollar bill and left the delighted boy with the
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: piles of precious little vegetables. As long as Henry expected
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: to return so soon, he hastily selected an orderly bunch
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: of the largest of the carrots and the smallest of
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: the onions. He added a few of the miniature parsonents
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: for good measure. They looked like dolls vegetables. When Henry
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: walked down the drive with his bouquet, he would have
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: seen a face at the window if he had looked up,
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: But he did not look up. He was too anxious
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: to get to the little old man's shop and order
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: his meat. So it happened that Henry walked in upon
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 1: his little family at about two o'clock with all the
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 1: materials for a feast. The feast could not be made
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: ready before night, Jess hastened to explain to Benny, who
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: was perfectly satisfied anyway, with bread and milk in his
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: pink cup. Your building is done, Benny informed his brother,
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: I build the lots of it. He really did, agreed, Violet,
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: leading the way to the sunny open spot a trifle
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: behind the house. The building was a fireplace with an
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: enormous amount of labor. The children had made quite a
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 1: hollow at the base of a rock. This was lined
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: completely with flat stones. More flat stones had been set
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: on end to keep out the wind. On top of
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: the stones lay the most wonderful collection of firewood that
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: you can imagine, all ready to light. There were chips
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: and bits of crumpled paper, pine cones, and dry twigs.
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: Beside the big rock was a wood pile. The children
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: had apparently been working like beavers all the morning. Jess
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 1: had found a heavy wire in the dump and had
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: fastened it between two trees. On the wire, the kettle
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: swung merrily. Fine, fine, shouted Henry when he saw it.
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: I couldn't have done it so well myself, and he
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: honestly believed it. We have dinner at night here, observed
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: Jess impressively. What did you buy? When the girls saw
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: the tiny veedged, they began with cries of delight to
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 1: cut them from their stocks. With Henry's knife and a
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: broken paring knife. They scrubbed them in the washed tub,
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: filled the kettle half full of water from the well,
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: and proceeded in great excitement to cut the raw meat
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: into cubes. When this had been dropped into the kettle,
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: Henry lighted the fire. It burned frantically, as if it
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: were trying to encourage the stew to do its best.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 1: Violet laid the tin plate over the top for a cover,
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: and they all stood by to hear the first bubble. Soon,
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 1: the savory stuff in the kettle began to boil in
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: good earnest. Watch sat down gravely near it and gave
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 1: an approving sniff at intervals. Keep it boiling, advised Henry
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: as he departed again. When I come home tonight, I'll
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 1: bring some salt, and for Mercy's sake, don't get on fire.
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: Violet pointed silently at the big teapot. The little girl
• 1:02:58
  Speaker 1: had filled it with water in case of a Maae urgency.
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 1: That's if Benny gets on fire, she explained, or Watch.
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: Henry laughed and went on his way. Happily enough. He
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: wished he might share the delightful task of keeping the
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: fire going and sniffing the stew, But when he found
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: out his afternoon's duties. He changed his mind abruptly. Think
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: you can clean up this garage, asked doctor mc allister quizzically.
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: When he appeared. Henry flashed a look around the place
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: and met the young man's eyes with a smile. It
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: did need cleaning rather badly. When the owner purred out
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 1: in his high powered little car, Henry drew a long
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: breath and began in earnest. He opened all the chests
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: of drawers to begin with. Then he arranged all the
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: tools in the largest deep drawer, and with a long
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: handled brush and a can of black paint that was
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 1: nearly dry, he labeled the drawer tools with neat lettering.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: Another drawer he lettered nails and disorted its contents into
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: a few of the many boxes that were lying around.
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: He folded up the robes he found, swept off the shelves,
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: and arranged the oil cans in orderly ranks. Sorted out
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: innumerable pairs of gloves, and then swept the floor. He
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 1: washed the cement floor with the hose, and while waiting
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: for it to dry, he rinsed his brushes in turpentine.
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 1: To tell the truth, Henry had found a few things
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: in the rubbish, which he had stored in his own pocket.
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: The treasure consisted, in this case of a quantity of
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: bent and rusty nails of all sizes, and a few
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: screws and nuts. When doctor mc allister returned at six o'clock,
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: he found Henry corking up the turpentine and arranging the
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: brushes on the shelf. My word, he exclaimed, staring at
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: his garage with his mouth open. Then he threw back
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: his head and laughed till his mother came down the
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: walk to see what the matter was. Look at my gloves, mother,
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 1: he said, wiping his eyes. All made it up. They
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: never met each other before that, I remember, missus. Mc
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: allister looked the garage over and observed the newly labeled drawers.
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 1: Her son opened one of them up and looked at
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: his four hammers. My tack hammer, mother, he said, your
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 1: tack hammer, and two other hammers. That last one I
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 1: never expected to see again. If you can use it,
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: you may have it, my boy. Now. It is no
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: exaggeration to say that at that moment, if Henry had
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: been asked what he wanted most of anything in the world,
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 1: he would have answered without any hesitation whatever a hammer.
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: He accepted it gratefully, hardly able to stand still, so
• 1:05:43
  Speaker 1: anxious was he to put it into use on the hill.
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: He called home. Tomorrow's Sunday, said the doctor. Shall I
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: see you on Monday? Oh? Yes, replied Henry, who had
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: lost all track of the days. The cherries need picking,
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: said his new friend. We could use any number of
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: jerry pickers if they were as careful as you. He
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 1: gave him an odd look, could you, asked Henry. Eagerly,
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: I'll surely come down with that. He bade his friends
• 1:06:12
  Speaker 1: good bye and started for home, richer by another dollar
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: two doughnuts. The cook had given him a pocket full
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: of crooked nails and the rest of the vegetables. When
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 1: he reached his freight car home, a delicious savor greeted
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: him onions. He shouted, running up to the kettle. The
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 1: cook stood by and took off the cover and put
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: in the salt. It was absolutely the most tantalizing odor
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: that Henry had ever smelled. Years afterward just tried to
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 1: duplicate it with the same kettle, vegetables from the same garden,
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 1: and all stirred with the same spoon, But it didn't
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: equal this stew in flavor. A ladle as sure as
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: I live, gasped Henry. Jess had found a tin cup
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 1: in the dump and fat fastened on a wooden handle
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: with a bit of wire. And when she ladled out
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: four portions on four plates of all sizes, some of
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: them tin, and laid a spoon in each, the children
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: felt that the world held no greater riches. The tiny
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 1: onions floated around like pearls, the carrots melted in your mouth,
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: and the shreds of meat were as tender as possible
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: from long boiling. A bit of bread in one hand
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: helped the feast along wonderfully. The little wanderers ate until
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 1: they could eat no more. I have time before dark
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: to make Benny's cart, observed Henry biting a crisp, sweet
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 1: carrot with my wheels, asked Benny, yes, sir, with your wheels,
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: agreed Henry. Only when it's done, you'll have to cart
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: stones in it, sure, said Benny with satisfaction. Carts stones
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: are anything, we'll need it in making the dam, explained Henry,
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 1: for the benefit of his sisters to morrow's Sunday. So
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 1: I sha'n't work down in the town, Do you think
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 1: it's all right to build the pool on Sunday, Jess,
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: I certainly do, replied Jess, with emphasis, We're just building
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 1: the dam so we can keep clean. I guess if
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: Sunday is your only day off, it'll be all right.
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 1: Henry's conscience was set at rest as he began with
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 1: great delight to hammer out his bent nails. He and
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: Benny ran about finding pieces of wood to fasten the wheels. On.
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: A visit to the dump was necessary at last in
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: order to find just the right piece of timber for
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: a tongue. But before it was too dark to see,
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: Henry had pounded the last nail in place, and trundled
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: the flat cart back and forth just to see it go.
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: The cart seemed valuable enough to all of them to
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 1: take it into the house for the night, and Henry
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: could not afford to laugh at Benny for going to
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: sleep with his hand upon one of his precious wheels,
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: for he himself had tucked his new hammer under his
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: pillow end of chapter seven, Chapter eight, Building the Dam.
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: Even a hammer makes a good pillow if one is
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 1: tired enough. And the freight car family slept until the
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: nine o'clock church bells began to ring faintly in the valley.
• 1:09:18
  Speaker 1: There were at least a dozen churches, and their far
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: away bells sounded sweetly harmonious in so many different keys
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: they almost play a tune, said Violet as she listened.
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 1: I like music all right, replied Henry, in a business
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: like way. But I, for one, shall have to get
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 1: to work. This will be a good day to wash
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: all the stockings, said Jess. We'll all be waiting so
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: much in the brooke anyway. After breakfast, the first thing
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 1: Henry did was to survey with critical eyes the spot
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: they had chosen for a pool. It was a hollow
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: about three yards across. There were no stones in it
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: at all. It's bigging off all already, remarked Henry. At last,
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 1: But it hasn't enough water in it. He measured its
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 1: depth with a stick. We'll have to guess at inches,
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 1: he said. I have a little tape measure in my
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 1: work bag, ventured his sister Violet. Henry flashed a smile
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 1: at her. Is there anything you haven't got in your
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 1: work bag, he asked her. The children measured the wet
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: stick carefully. The water was just ten inches deep in
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: the deepest part. Henry explained his plan of engineering to
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: his sisters. We will have to haul some big logs
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: across this narrow part and stuff them from this end
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 1: with stones and underbrush. It ought to be three feet
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: deep before we get through. Oh, Henry protested Jess, Benny
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 1: would get drowned. Drowned, echoed Henry, how tall do you
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 1: think he is? Anyhow, they measured the little boy and
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: found him to be forty two inches tall. That settled it.
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: The pool was designed to be three feet in depth. Luckily,
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: the largest logs were not far away, but as it was,
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 1: it was a matter of great labor for the builders
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 1: to drag them to the scene of operations. Let's get
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: all the logs up here first, suggested Jess. Then we
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: can have the fun of laying them across. The two
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: older children dragged all the logs, while Violet and Benny
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: attended to the stones with the help of the cart.
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 1: Occasionally Henry was called upon to assist with a heavy stone,
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: but for the most part Benny puffed out his cheeks
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 1: and heaved the stones himself. In fact, Henry decided at
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: this point to let Benny drop them into the water,
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 1: as he gathered them splash him right in Old fellow,
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: he directed, only keep them in a nice straight line
• 1:11:43
  Speaker 1: right across this place, between these two trees. It won't
• 1:11:46
  Speaker 1: make any difference how wet he gets, he added, in
• 1:11:49
  Speaker 1: an aside to Jess, we can dry him in the sun.
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: Jess thought a little differently, although she said nothing. She
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: took off Benny's little crinkled blouse and one pair of
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: bloomers and started to hang them on the line. Good
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: time to wash them, she exclaimed. Let me wash them,
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 1: begged Violet, you're more useful building the dam. There was
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: wisdom in this suggestion, so Jess accepted it gratefully, and
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: even added Henry's blouse to the laundry. When we finish
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: the damp, they will surely be dry, she said. As
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 1: for Henry, he was only too glad to work without.
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 1: It makes me feel lighter, he declared. Rare and beautiful
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: birds came and watched the barefooted children as they scurried
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: around building their wall of masonry. But the children did
• 1:12:38
  Speaker 1: not have any eyes for birds. Then they watched with
• 1:12:41
  Speaker 1: delighted eyes as each stone was added to the wall
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: under the clear water, and it began to rise almost
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: to the surface. That makes a solid foundation for the logs.
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: You see, explained Henry with pride. They won't be floating
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 1: off downstream the minute we lay them on. Then, at
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: last the time arrived when they were to lay the
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: logs on. Let's wedge the first one between these two trees,
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: said Jess with a happy thought. Then if each end
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: of the log is on the upper side of the trees,
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 1: the harder the water pounds, the tighter the dam gets.
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: Good work, exclaimed Henry admiringly. That's just what we'll do.
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: But the children were not at all prepared for what
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: happened the moment the first big log was splashed into
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 1: its place on top of the stone wall, the water
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: defeated in its course down the rocky bed, gurgled and
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: chased about as it met the opposing log, and found
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 1: every possible hole to escape leaks, said Henry briefly, as
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 1: the water began to rush around both ends and pour
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 1: over the top of the log. We'll make the logs
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: so thick it can't get through. We'll lay three logs across,
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 1: with three logs on top of them, and three more
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: on top of that. The children set about stubbornly to
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 1: accomplish this, Violet held great eight sprays of fine underbrush
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: in place until each log was laid. Wetter children never
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 1: were seen, but nobody cared. They resolutely plugged the ends
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 1: with more stones, more underbrush, and more logs. Each time
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: a leak was discovered, someone dropped a stone over it.
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: Even bennicought the fever of conquering the mischievous water, which
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: slipped from their grasp like quicksilver. When the three top
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: logs were at last dropped into place, the excited children
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 1: sat down to watch the pool fill. This it did, slowly,
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: finding now no means of exit. The water was quieter,
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: it rose steadily up the barricade of logs. It widened beautifully.
• 1:14:45
  Speaker 1: Henry could not sit still its slopes. He cried, see
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: how clear it is, and still, see how still it is.
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 1: And then the water began to overflow the logs. It
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: spilled over the top with a del de lightful curve,
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: and on the other side it formed a second waterfall,
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: not high and narrow and graceful like the natural fall above,
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: but very low and wide, just like a regular mill dam,
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: said Henry. He held the measuring stick out as far
• 1:15:16
  Speaker 1: as he could and plunged it into the water. It
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: lacked an inch of being three feet deep, deep enough,
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: he declared. In fact, it looked so deep that Benny
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 1: could not conceal a slight fear. That's the beauty of
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 1: the slope, observed Jess. Benny can wait in just as
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 1: far as he wants to, and no farther. We all
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 1: know what the bed of the pool is like, no
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: holes or stones. The girls had to leave to prepare supper,
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 1: but Henry could not be persuaded to leave the wonderful
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 1: swimming pool. I'd rather swim than eat, he said. Luckily
• 1:15:50
  Speaker 1: for the children, their supply of provisions was the largest
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 1: of any day since their flight. The girls lighted the
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: fire and heated up the remainder of the stew and
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: cut the bread. The butter, hard and cold in the refrigerator,
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 1: was taken out and four portions cut from it. The
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: two doughnuts made four half rings for dessert. The cooks
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: rang the dinner bell. This was an ingenious arrangement hung
• 1:16:15
  Speaker 1: on a low branch. It consisted of a piece of
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: bent steel swung on a string. Violet hit it sharply
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: with another piece of steel It sounded deeply and musically
• 1:16:27
  Speaker 1: through the woods, and the boys understood it and obeyed
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: at once. It was evident the moment they appeared that
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 1: at least three of the family had been swimming. Watch
• 1:16:36
  Speaker 1: shook himself violently at intervals, spattering water drops in all directions.
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: Henry and Benny, fresh and radiant with plastered hair and
• 1:16:46
  Speaker 1: clean dry stockings and blouses, apparently liked to swim and
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: eat too. You can actually swim a few strokes in it, Jess,
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: if you're careful, Henry said, with excusable pride, as he
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 1: sat down to dinner. Building a dam is wonderful sauce
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 1: for a dinner. I think stew is much better. This
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 1: second day, observed Benny eating hungrily. There remained two more
• 1:17:11
  Speaker 1: adventures for the eventful day. The girls cut their hair.
• 1:17:16
  Speaker 1: Violet's dark curls came off first. They're awfully in the way,
• 1:17:20
  Speaker 1: explained Violet, and so much trouble when you're working. They
• 1:17:24
  Speaker 1: were tangled too, and Jess cut them off evenly by
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 1: a string with Violet's little scissors. Jess's chestnut hair was
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: long and silky and nicely braided, but she never murmured
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: as it came off to the two girls ran to
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: the brook mirror to see how they looked. The new
• 1:17:42
  Speaker 1: hair cut was very becoming to both. I like you
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 1: better that way, said Henry, approvingly. Lots more sensible when
• 1:17:49
  Speaker 1: you're living in the woods. Around four o'clock, the children
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: took a long walk in the opposite direction from any
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: of their other explorations. They were rewarded by two discoveries.
• 1:18:01
  Speaker 1: One was a hollow tree literally filled with walnuts, gathered
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: presumably by a thrifty squirrel the previous fall. The other
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: discovery frightened them a little, just at first, for with
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: bristling back and a loud bark, Watch suddenly began to
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: rout out something in the leaves, and that something began
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 1: to cackle and half run and half fly from the intruders.
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 1: It was a runaway hen The children succeeded in catching
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: the dog and reducing him to order, although it was
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: clear he liked very much to chase hens. She had
• 1:18:35
  Speaker 1: some eggs, too, remarked Benny, as if trying to make
• 1:18:38
  Speaker 1: pleasant conversation. Jess bent over incredulously and saw a rude
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: nest in the moss, in which there were five eggs.
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 1: A runaway, hen said Henry, hardly believing his eyes. She
• 1:18:51
  Speaker 1: wants to hide her nest and raise chickens. The children
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 1: had no scruples at all about taking the eggs, Almost
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 1: a gift from Heaven, said Vile, stroking one of the
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 1: eggs with a delicate finger. It wouldn't be polite to
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 1: refuse them. Scrambled eggs made a delicious supper for the children.
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: Jess broke all the eggs into the biggest bowl and
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 1: beat them vigorously with a spoon until they were light
• 1:19:15
  Speaker 1: and foamy. Then she added milk and salt and delegated
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 1: Violet to beat them some more while she prepared the fire.
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: The big kettle, empty and clean, was hung over the
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: low fire, and butter was dropped in. Jess watched it anxiously,
• 1:19:32
  Speaker 1: tipping the kettle slightly in all directions. When the butter
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: had reached the exact shade of brown, Jess poured in
• 1:19:39
  Speaker 1: the eggs and stirred them, carefully, holding her skirts away
• 1:19:43
  Speaker 1: from the fire. She was amply repaid for her care
• 1:19:47
  Speaker 1: when she saw her family attack the meal. Clearly this
• 1:19:51
  Speaker 1: was a feast day. We shall have to be satisfied tomorrow.
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 1: To live on bread and milk she observed scraping up
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 1: the last delicious morsel. But when to morrow came, they
• 1:20:02
  Speaker 1: had more than bread and milk, as you will soon
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 1: see end of Chapter eight, Chapter nine cherry picking. Henry
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: meditated a while all to himself early the next morning
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 1: as to whether he ought to take any one with
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 1: him for the cherry picking. He certainly said he could
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: use more than one, he mused. Failing to decide the question,
• 1:20:28
  Speaker 1: he laid it before his sisters as they ate bread
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: and milk for breakfast. I can't see any reason except
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: one why we shouldn't all go, said Jess. What's that,
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 1: asked Henry. Well, you see, there are four of us,
• 1:20:43
  Speaker 1: and supposing grandfathers looking for us, it will be easier
• 1:20:46
  Speaker 1: to find four than one, true, agreed Henry. But supposing
• 1:20:51
  Speaker 1: we went down the hill and through the streets two
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: by two, and you took watch, It was finally agreed
• 1:20:58
  Speaker 1: that Henry and Benny would attract very little attention. Together,
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 1: Violet and Jess would follow with the dog who would
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 1: trace Henry. And so they set out. They took down
• 1:21:09
  Speaker 1: the clothes line and closed the car door. Everything instantly
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 1: looked as lonesome as heart could wish. Even the merry
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: little brook looked deserted. When the children arrived at the
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 1: McAllister orchard, they soon saw that they were not the
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 1: only workers. Two hired men and the young doctor himself
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 1: were carrying ladders and baskets from the barn, and the
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: Irish crook was bringing piles of square baskets from the house,
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 1: the kind that strawberries are sold in. The girls can
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 1: pick cherries as well as I can, said Henry, introducing
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 1: his sisters. Benny ought not to climb very tall trees,
• 1:21:44
  Speaker 1: but we had to bring him. Benny can carry the baskets, perhaps,
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 1: suggested the doctor, much amused. You see, this is a
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 1: cherry year, and we have to work quickly when we
• 1:21:54
  Speaker 1: once begin. Perhaps he could fill the small baskets from
• 1:21:57
  Speaker 1: the big ones. It was a cherry year, certainly. There
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: were two varieties in the orchard, the pale yellow kind
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 1: with a red cheek, and the deep crimson ones, which
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 1: were just as red in the center as they were
• 1:22:11
  Speaker 1: on the outside. The red ones were huge, bursting with juice,
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 1: and the trees were laid in full with the luscious fruit.
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 1: Even the air was perfumed. It was a pretty sight.
• 1:22:24
  Speaker 1: That the doctor finally turned his back upon when he
• 1:22:26
  Speaker 1: went on his calls. Henry, slim, tanned and graceful, picked
• 1:22:31
  Speaker 1: rapidly from the tallest ladder in the largest tree. The
• 1:22:35
  Speaker 1: two girls, in their sensible bloomer suits, could climb like cats.
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 1: They leaned against the ladders easily about half way up,
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 1: their fluffy, short hair gleaming in the sun. Benny trotted
• 1:22:46
  Speaker 1: to and fro, waiting upon the busy pickers, his cheeks
• 1:22:50
  Speaker 1: as red as the cherries themselves. Eat all you want,
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 1: doctor mc allister called back. They did not really obey
• 1:22:57
  Speaker 1: this command, but occasionally of white teeth bit into one
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 1: of the glorious ox hearts. In less than an hour,
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 1: Benny had made five firm friends. The hired men joked
• 1:23:09
  Speaker 1: with him, the cook petted him, the young doctor laughed
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: at him delightedly, and sweet missus mc allister fell in
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 1: love with him. Finally, he seated himself comfortably at her
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 1: side under the trees, and filled square boxes with great
• 1:23:23
  Speaker 1: care under her direction. I never had such a cheerful
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: crowd of cherry pickers before, Missus mc allister said, at last,
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 1: I'd much rather stay out here than go into the
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 1: house where it is cool. Evidently Mary the cook felt
• 1:23:38
  Speaker 1: the same way, for she kept coming to the orchard
• 1:23:41
  Speaker 1: for some reason or other. When the doctor returned at
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: lunch time, his orchard was ringing with laughter and good
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: natured barks from Watch, who could not feel easy in
• 1:23:51
  Speaker 1: his mind with his mistress so high up in a
• 1:23:53
  Speaker 1: tree where he couldn't follow. Doctor mc allister paused in
• 1:23:58
  Speaker 1: the garage long enough to give a snow to the
• 1:24:00
  Speaker 1: boiling cherries in the kitchen, and then made his way
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 1: to the orchard, where he received a warm welcome. There's
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 1: no use in your going home to lunch, he smilingly observed,
• 1:24:10
  Speaker 1: at the same time, watching Henry's face carefully, you can
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 1: eat right here in the orchard, unless your mother will
• 1:24:16
  Speaker 1: be worrying about you. This remark met with an astounding silence.
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 1: Henry was the first to collect his wits. No, our
• 1:24:24
  Speaker 1: mother is dead, he said evenly, without embarrassment. It was
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 1: the doctor who hastened to change the subject he had introduced.
• 1:24:33
  Speaker 1: I smelled something when I came in, He said to Benny,
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: what did it smell like, inquired Benny. It smelled like
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: cherry slump, replied the doctor with twinkling eyes. Cherry, what,
• 1:24:45
  Speaker 1: asked Jess, struggling down her ladder with a full basket.
• 1:24:49
  Speaker 1: I think that's what they call it, slump, repeated doctor
• 1:24:52
  Speaker 1: mc allister. Do care to try it? At this moment
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: Mary appeared in the orchard with an enormous tray, and
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 1: at first sight of her cookery, nobody cared the least
• 1:25:04
  Speaker 1: what its name was. It was that rare combination of
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 1: dumpling beaten with stoned cherries and cooked gently in the
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: juice of the ox heart cherries in a real cherry year.
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 1: It was steaming in the red juice with the least
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 1: suspicion of melted butter over the hole. Do get two more,
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 1: Mary begged missus mc allister, laughing. It tastes so much
• 1:25:27
  Speaker 1: better under the cherry trees. This was another meal that
• 1:25:31
  Speaker 1: nobody ever forgot. Even the two hired men sitting under
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: another tree devouring the delicious pudding paused to hear Benny laugh.
• 1:25:40
  Speaker 1: Nowadays those two men sometimes meet Henry, but that's another story. Anyway,
• 1:25:47
  Speaker 1: they never will forget that cherry slump made by Irish Mary.
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: Almost as soon as lunch was over, Benny rolled over
• 1:25:55
  Speaker 1: on the grass and went to sleep. His head as
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: usual on the back, but the others worked on steadily.
• 1:26:03
  Speaker 1: Missus mc allister kept an eye on them from the
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: screened porch without their knowledge. Just see how those children
• 1:26:10
  Speaker 1: keep at it, she said to her son. There's good
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 1: stuff in them. I should like to know where they
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 1: come from. Doctor mc allister said nothing. He sauntered out
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 1: into the orchard. When he thought they had worked long enough,
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 1: he paid them four dollars and gave them all the
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 1: cherries they could carry. Although they tried to object. You see,
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: you're better than most pickers because you're so cheerful. He
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 1: noticed that they did not all leave the yard at
• 1:26:37
  Speaker 1: the same time. When the cherry pickers returned to their
• 1:26:42
  Speaker 1: little home, they examined everything carefully. Nothing had been disturbed.
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: The door was still shut, and the milk and butter
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 1: stood untouched in the refrigerator. They made a hilarious meal
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 1: of raw cherries and bread and butter, and before the
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 1: stars came out, they were fast, sleep happy, and dreamless.
• 1:27:04
  Speaker 1: That evening. Very much later, a young man sat in
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 1: his study with the evening paper. He read the news
• 1:27:11
  Speaker 1: idly and was just on the point of tossing the
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: paper aside when this advertisement caught his eye lost four
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 1: children aged thirteen, twelve, ten and five somewhere around the
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 1: region of Middlesex and Townsend. Five thousand dollars reward for information.
• 1:27:30
  Speaker 1: James Henry Cordyce whew whistled the young man, James Henry Cordyce.
• 1:27:38
  Speaker 1: He sat in perfect silence for a long time, thinking,
• 1:27:43
  Speaker 1: Then he went to bed. But long after he had
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 1: gone upstairs, he whistled again, and could have been heard
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 1: to say, if anyone had been awake to hear it,
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 1: James Henry Cordyce of all people. End of chapter nine,
• 1:28:02
  Speaker 1: Chapter ten, the race. The Cordyce steel Mills stood a
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 1: little aside from the city of Greenfield, as if they
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: were a little too good to associate with common factories.
• 1:28:14
  Speaker 1: James Henry Cordys sat in a huge leather chair in
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 1: his private office. He was a man nearly sixty years
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 1: of age, whose dark brown hair was still untouched by gray.
• 1:28:26
  Speaker 1: He had rather hard lines about his mouth, but softer
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: ones around his eyes. Printed on the ground glass top
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 1: of his door were these words in black and gold.
• 1:28:37
  Speaker 1: J H. Cordyce, President Private. Once a year J H.
• 1:28:44
  Speaker 1: Cordyce allowed himself a holiday if he had a weakness.
• 1:28:48
  Speaker 1: It was for healthy boys, boys running without their hats,
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 1: boys jumping, boys, throwing rings, boys swimming, boy's vaulting with
• 1:28:57
  Speaker 1: a long pole. And in company with three other extremely
• 1:29:01
  Speaker 1: rich men, he arranged once a year a field day
• 1:29:04
  Speaker 1: for the town of Intervale. The men attended it in
• 1:29:08
  Speaker 1: person and supplied all the money. This was field day.
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 1: All through the spring and early summer months. Boys were
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 1: in training for miles around getting ready for Intervale's field day,
• 1:29:23
  Speaker 1: and not only boys, but men also old and young,
• 1:29:27
  Speaker 1: and girls of all ages into the bargain. Prizes were
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 1: offered for tennis, baseball, rowing, swimming, running, and every imaginable
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 1: type of athletic feet. But usually the interest of the
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: day centered on a free for all race of one mile,
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: which everyone enjoyed and a great many people entered. A
• 1:29:47
  Speaker 1: prize of twenty five dollars was offered to the winner
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 1: of this race, and also a silver trophy cup with
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 1: little wings on its handles. Sometimes this cup was won
• 1:29:58
  Speaker 1: by a middle aged man, sometimes by a girl, and
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 1: sometimes by a trained athlete. Mister Cordyce smiled about his
• 1:30:06
  Speaker 1: eyes as he closed his desk, ordered his limousine and
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 1: went out and locked the door of his office. The
• 1:30:13
  Speaker 1: mill had been closed down for the day everyone attended
• 1:30:17
  Speaker 1: field day. Henry was washing the concrete drives at doctor
• 1:30:21
  Speaker 1: mc allister's at this moment. He heard the doctor call
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 1: to him from the road, so he promptly turned off
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 1: the hose and ran out to see what was wanted.
• 1:30:30
  Speaker 1: Hop In commanded the doctor, not stopping his engine, you
• 1:30:34
  Speaker 1: ought to go to see the stunts at the athletic meet.
• 1:30:36
  Speaker 1: It's field day. Henry did not wish to delay the doctor,
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 1: so he hopped in. Can't go myself, said doctor mc allister.
• 1:30:45
  Speaker 1: I'll just drop you at the grounds. There's no charge
• 1:30:47
  Speaker 1: for admittance. You just watch all the events and report
• 1:30:50
  Speaker 1: to me who wins. Henry tried to explain to his
• 1:30:54
  Speaker 1: friend that he ought to be working, but there was
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: actually no time, and when he found himself seated on
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: the bleachers and the stunts began, he forgot everything in
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 1: the world except the exciting events before his eyes. Henry
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 1: had no pencil, but he had an excellent memory. He
• 1:31:12
  Speaker 1: repeated over and over the name of each winner as
• 1:31:15
  Speaker 1: it appeared on the huge signboard. It was nearly eleven
• 1:31:19
  Speaker 1: o'clock when the free for all running race was announced.
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: What do they mean free for all? Asked Henry, of
• 1:31:25
  Speaker 1: a small boy at his side. Why just anybody, explained
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 1: the boy curiously. Didn't you ever see one? Didn't you
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 1: see the one last year? No, said Henry. The boy laughed.
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 1: Kat was a funny one, he said. There was a
• 1:31:40
  Speaker 1: college runner in it, and a couple of fat men,
• 1:31:43
  Speaker 1: and some girls, lots of people, and the little colored
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 1: boy over there won it. You just thought to have
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 1: seen that boy run. He went so fast you couldn't
• 1:31:52
  Speaker 1: see his legs beat the college runner, you know, Henry
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 1: gazed at the winner of last year's race. He was
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 1: smaller than him, Henry, but apparently older. In a few minutes,
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 1: Henry had quietly left his place on the bleachers. When
• 1:32:07
  Speaker 1: the boy turned to speak to him again, he was gone.
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 1: He had gone, in fact, to the dressing room, where
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 1: boys of all sizes were putting on sandals and running trunks.
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 1: A man stepped up to him quickly want to enter,
• 1:32:21
  Speaker 1: he asked, No time to waste, yes, replied Henry. The
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 1: man tossed him a pair of white shoes and some
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 1: blue trunks. He liked the look of Henry's face as
• 1:32:31
  Speaker 1: he paused to ask in an undertone, where did you train?
• 1:32:35
  Speaker 1: Never trained, replied Henry. I suppose you know these fellows
• 1:32:39
  Speaker 1: have been training all the year, observed the man. You
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 1: don't expect to win. Oh no, replied Henry, apparently shocked
• 1:32:46
  Speaker 1: at the idea. But it's lots of fun to run,
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 1: you know. He was dressed and ready by this time.
• 1:32:52
  Speaker 1: How light he felt. He felt as if he could
• 1:32:54
  Speaker 1: almost fly. Presently, the contestants were all marshaled out to
• 1:32:59
  Speaker 1: the running track. Henry was number four. Now, Henry had
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 1: never been trained to run, but the boy possessed an
• 1:33:07
  Speaker 1: unusual quantity of common sense. It's a mile race, he
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 1: thought to himself, and it's the second half mile that counts.
• 1:33:16
  Speaker 1: So it happened that this was the main thought in
• 1:33:18
  Speaker 1: his mind. When the starter's gong sounded and the racers
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 1: shot away down the track in almost no time, Henry
• 1:33:26
  Speaker 1: was far behind the first half of the runners, but
• 1:33:29
  Speaker 1: strangely enough, he did not seem to mind this greatly.
• 1:33:33
  Speaker 1: It's fun to run, anyhow, he thought. It was fun.
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 1: Certainly he felt as if his limbs were strung together
• 1:33:40
  Speaker 1: on springs. He ran easily, without effort, each step bounding
• 1:33:45
  Speaker 1: into the next like an elastic. After a few minutes
• 1:33:49
  Speaker 1: of this, Henry had a new thought. Now you've tried
• 1:33:52
  Speaker 1: how easy you can run, Let's see how fast you
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 1: can run. And then not only Henry himself, but the
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 1: enormous crowd as well began to see how fast he
• 1:34:02
  Speaker 1: could run. Slowly, he gained on the fellow ahead of
• 1:34:06
  Speaker 1: him and passed him. With the next fellow as a goal,
• 1:34:10
  Speaker 1: he gradually crept alongside and passed him with a spurt.
• 1:34:15
  Speaker 1: The crowd shouted itself hoarse. The field all along the
• 1:34:18
  Speaker 1: course was black with people. Henry could hear them cheering
• 1:34:22
  Speaker 1: for number four as he pounded by. Six runners remained
• 1:34:26
  Speaker 1: ahead of him. Here was the kind of race the
• 1:34:29
  Speaker 1: crowd loved, not an easily won affair between two runners,
• 1:34:33
  Speaker 1: but a gradual victory between the best runner and overpowering odds.
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 1: Henry could see the finish flag now in the distance.
• 1:34:41
  Speaker 1: He began to spurt. He passed numbers fourteen and three.
• 1:34:46
  Speaker 1: He passed twenty five, six and one, almost in a bunch.
• 1:34:51
  Speaker 1: Number sixteen remained ahead. Then Henry began to think of winning.
• 1:34:56
  Speaker 1: How much the twenty five dollar prize would mean to
• 1:34:59
  Speaker 1: Jess and the rest Number sixteen must be passed. I'm
• 1:35:04
  Speaker 1: going to win this race, he said quietly in his
• 1:35:07
  Speaker 1: own mind. I'll bet you I am. The thought lent
• 1:35:10
  Speaker 1: him speed Number four. Number four yelled the crowd. Henry
• 1:35:16
  Speaker 1: did not know that the fellow ahead had been ahead
• 1:35:18
  Speaker 1: all the way, and just because he Henry had slowly
• 1:35:22
  Speaker 1: gained over them, all the crowd loved him best. Henry
• 1:35:27
  Speaker 1: waited until he could have touched him. He was within
• 1:35:30
  Speaker 1: three yards of the wire. He bent double and put
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 1: all his energy into the last elastic bound. He passed
• 1:35:37
  Speaker 1: number sixteen and shot under the wire. Then the crowd
• 1:35:42
  Speaker 1: went wild. It scrambled over and under the fence, cheering
• 1:35:47
  Speaker 1: and blowing its horns. Henry felt himself lifted on many
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: shoulders and carried panting up to the reviewing stand. He bowed,
• 1:35:55
  Speaker 1: laughing at the sea of faces, and took the silver
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 1: cup with its little wee in a sort of dream.
• 1:36:02
  Speaker 1: It is a wonder he did not lose the envelope
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 1: containing the prize, for he hardly realized when he took
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 1: it what it was. Then some one said what's your name? Boy?
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 1: That called him to earth. He had to think quickly
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 1: under cover of getting his breath, Henry James. He replied,
• 1:36:20
  Speaker 1: this was perfectly true as far as it went. In
• 1:36:23
  Speaker 1: a moment, the enormous sign board flashed out the name
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 1: Henry James n four, aged thirteen, winner of Free for All. Meanwhile,
• 1:36:33
  Speaker 1: the man of the dressing room was busy locating mister
• 1:36:35
  Speaker 1: Cordyce of the Cordyce Mills. He knew that was exactly
• 1:36:39
  Speaker 1: the kind of story that old James Henry would like. Yes, sir,
• 1:36:43
  Speaker 1: he said, smiling. I says to him, you don't expect
• 1:36:46
  Speaker 1: to win, of course, and he says to me, oh no,
• 1:36:49
  Speaker 1: but it's lots of fun to run, you know. Thank you, sir,
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 1: returned mister Cordyce, that's a good story. Bring the youngster
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: over here, if you don't mind. When Henry appeared, a
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 1: trifle shaken out of his days and anxious only to
• 1:37:03
  Speaker 1: get away, mister Cordyce stretched out his hand. I like
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 1: your spirit, my boy, he said. I like your running too,
• 1:37:10
  Speaker 1: but it's your spirit that I like best. Don't ever
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: lose it, thank you, said Henry, shaking hands. And there
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 1: was only one in the whole crowd that knew who
• 1:37:20
  Speaker 1: was shaking hands with whom least of all James, Henry
• 1:37:24
  Speaker 1: and Henry James. End of chapter ten, Chapter eleven, More Education.
• 1:37:33
  Speaker 1: With twenty five dollars in his hand, Henry felt like
• 1:37:37
  Speaker 1: a millionaire as he edged through the crowd to the gate.
• 1:37:40
  Speaker 1: That's the boy, he heard many a person say when
• 1:37:43
  Speaker 1: he was forced to hold his silver cup in view
• 1:37:45
  Speaker 1: out of harm's way. When doctor mc allister drove into
• 1:37:49
  Speaker 1: his yard, he found a boy washing the concrete drives,
• 1:37:52
  Speaker 1: as calmly as if nothing had happened. He chuckled quietly,
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 1: for he had stopped at the fair grounds for a
• 1:37:58
  Speaker 1: few minutes himself and held a little conversation with the scorekeeper.
• 1:38:03
  Speaker 1: When Henry faithfully repeated the list of winners, however, he
• 1:38:07
  Speaker 1: said nothing about it. What are you going to do
• 1:38:09
  Speaker 1: with the prize, queried doctor mc allister. Put it in
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 1: the savings bank, I guess, replied Henry. Have you an account,
• 1:38:17
  Speaker 1: asked his friend. No, but Jess, as it's high time
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 1: we started one. Good for Jess, said the doctor absently.
• 1:38:25
  Speaker 1: I remember an old uncle of mine who put two
• 1:38:27
  Speaker 1: hundred dollars in the savings bank and forgot all about it.
• 1:38:30
  Speaker 1: He left it in there till he died, and it
• 1:38:32
  Speaker 1: came to me. It amounted to sixteen hundred dollars. Whew,
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 1: said Henry. He left it alone for over forty years,
• 1:38:40
  Speaker 1: you see, explained doctor mc allister. When Henry arrived at
• 1:38:44
  Speaker 1: his little home in the woods with the twenty five
• 1:38:47
  Speaker 1: dollars for he never thought of putting it in the bank.
• 1:38:49
  Speaker 1: Before Jess saw it, he found a delicious lunch waiting
• 1:38:53
  Speaker 1: for him. Jess had boiled the little vegetables in clear water,
• 1:38:58
  Speaker 1: and the moment they were done, she had reined off
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: the water in a remarkable drainer and heaped them on
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 1: the biggest dish with melted butter on top. His family
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 1: almost forgot to eat while Henry recounted the details of
• 1:39:10
  Speaker 1: the exciting race, and when he showed them the silver
• 1:39:13
  Speaker 1: cup and the money, they actually did stop eating, hungry
• 1:39:17
  Speaker 1: as they were. I said, my name was Henry, James
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 1: repeated Henry. That's all right, so it is, affirmed Jess.
• 1:39:25
  Speaker 1: It's clever too. You can use that name for your
• 1:39:28
  Speaker 1: bank book, so I can, said Henry, delighted. I'll put
• 1:39:32
  Speaker 1: it in the bank this very afternoon. And by the way,
• 1:39:35
  Speaker 1: I brought something for dinner to night. Jess looked in
• 1:39:39
  Speaker 1: the bag. There were a dozen smooth brown potatoes. I
• 1:39:44
  Speaker 1: know how to cook those, said Jess, nodding her head wisely.
• 1:39:47
  Speaker 1: You'd just wait, can't wait hardly, Henry called back as
• 1:39:51
  Speaker 1: he went to work. When he had gone, Benny frolicked
• 1:39:56
  Speaker 1: around noisily with the dog. Benny. Jess exclaimed suddenly, as
• 1:40:01
  Speaker 1: she hung her dish towels up to dry. It's high
• 1:40:03
  Speaker 1: time you learned to read. No school now, said Benny hopefully. No,
• 1:40:09
  Speaker 1: but I can teach you if I only had a primmer.
• 1:40:14
  Speaker 1: Let's make one, suggested Violet, shaking her hair back. We
• 1:40:18
  Speaker 1: have saved all the wrapping paper off the bundles, you know.
• 1:40:22
  Speaker 1: Jess was staring off into space, as she always did
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 1: when she had a bright idea. Violet, she cried, at last,
• 1:40:29
  Speaker 1: remember those chips. We could whittle out letters like type,
• 1:40:33
  Speaker 1: make each letter backwards, you know, and stamp them on paper,
• 1:40:37
  Speaker 1: finished Violet. There would be only twenty six in all.
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 1: It wouldn't be awfully hard, said Jess. We wouldn't bother
• 1:40:43
  Speaker 1: with capitals. What could we use for ink? Violet wondered,
• 1:40:48
  Speaker 1: wrinkling her forehead. BlackBerry juice, cried Jess. The two girls
• 1:40:53
  Speaker 1: clapped their hands. Won't Henry be surprised when he finds
• 1:40:56
  Speaker 1: that Benny can read. Now from this conversation, Benny gathered
• 1:41:01
  Speaker 1: that this type business would take his sisters quite a
• 1:41:05
  Speaker 1: while to prepare, so he was not much worried about
• 1:41:08
  Speaker 1: his part of the work. In fact, he sorted out
• 1:41:11
  Speaker 1: chips very cheerfully and watched his sisters with interest as
• 1:41:14
  Speaker 1: they dug carefully around the letters with the two knives.
• 1:41:18
  Speaker 1: We'll teach him two words to begin with, said Jess.
• 1:41:21
  Speaker 1: Then we won't have to make the whole alphabet at once.
• 1:41:24
  Speaker 1: Let's begin to teach him C. That's easy, agreed Violet.
• 1:41:29
  Speaker 1: And then we won't have to make but two letters
• 1:41:32
  Speaker 1: S and E. And the other word will be me,
• 1:41:36
  Speaker 1: cried Jess. So only three pieces of type in all, Violet.
• 1:41:41
  Speaker 1: Jess cut the wiggly s because she had the better knife,
• 1:41:45
  Speaker 1: while Violet struggled with the E. Then Jess cut out
• 1:41:48
  Speaker 1: a wonderful M while Violet sewed the primmer down the
• 1:41:51
  Speaker 1: back and gathered a cupful of blackberries as she sat by,
• 1:41:56
  Speaker 1: crushing the juice from the berries with a stick. Jess,
• 1:41:59
  Speaker 1: play and the ink pad. We'll have to use a
• 1:42:02
  Speaker 1: small piece of the washcloth, I'm afraid, she said. At last,
• 1:42:07
  Speaker 1: But finally they were obliged to cut off only the
• 1:42:10
  Speaker 1: uneven bits of cloth which hung around the edges. These
• 1:42:14
  Speaker 1: they used for stuffing for the pad, and covered them
• 1:42:17
  Speaker 1: with a pocket, which Violet carefully ripped from her apron.
• 1:42:20
  Speaker 1: When this was sewed firmly into place and put into
• 1:42:24
  Speaker 1: a small saucer, Jess poured on the purple juice. Even
• 1:42:28
  Speaker 1: Benny came up on his hands and knees to watch
• 1:42:30
  Speaker 1: her stamp the first s. It came out beautifully on
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 1: the first page of the primmer, purple and clean cut.
• 1:42:38
  Speaker 1: The e was almost as good, and as for the
• 1:42:41
  Speaker 1: m Jess's hand shook with pure pride as she stamped
• 1:42:45
  Speaker 1: it evenly on the page. At last, the two words
• 1:42:48
  Speaker 1: were completed. In fact, they were done long before Benny
• 1:42:52
  Speaker 1: had the slightest idea his sisters were ready for him.
• 1:42:56
  Speaker 1: He came willingly enough for his first lesson, but he
• 1:42:59
  Speaker 1: could not tell the two words apart. Don't you see, Benny,
• 1:43:03
  Speaker 1: Jess explained patiently, this one with a wiggly s says see.
• 1:43:08
  Speaker 1: But Benny did not see. I'll tell you, Jess, said Violet.
• 1:43:13
  Speaker 1: At last, let's print each word again on a separate card.
• 1:43:16
  Speaker 1: That's the way they do at school, and then let
• 1:43:19
  Speaker 1: him point to see. The girls did this using squares
• 1:43:23
  Speaker 1: of stiff brown paper. Then they called Benny. Very carefully,
• 1:43:28
  Speaker 1: Jess explained again which word said, see hissing like a
• 1:43:33
  Speaker 1: huge snake, to show him how the s sounded. Then
• 1:43:36
  Speaker 1: she mixed the cards and said, encouragingly, now Benny point
• 1:43:40
  Speaker 1: to see. Benny did not move. He sat with his
• 1:43:46
  Speaker 1: finger on his lip. But the children were nearly petrified
• 1:43:49
  Speaker 1: with astonishment to see watch cock his head on one
• 1:43:53
  Speaker 1: side and gravely put his paw on the center of
• 1:43:56
  Speaker 1: the word. Now this was only an accident. Watched it
• 1:44:00
  Speaker 1: not really know one of the words from the other,
• 1:44:02
  Speaker 1: but Benny thought he did. And was he going to
• 1:44:05
  Speaker 1: let a dog get ahead of him? Not Benny. In
• 1:44:09
  Speaker 1: less time than it takes to tell it, Benny had
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 1: learned both words perfectly. Good old watch, said Jess. It
• 1:44:17
  Speaker 1: isn't really hard at all, said Benny, is it watch?
• 1:44:21
  Speaker 1: During all this experiment, Jess had not forgotten her dinner.
• 1:44:25
  Speaker 1: When you are living outdoors all the time, you do
• 1:44:27
  Speaker 1: not forget things like that. In fact, both girls had
• 1:44:31
  Speaker 1: learned to tell the time very accurately by the sun.
• 1:44:34
  Speaker 1: Jess started up a beautiful little fire of cones as
• 1:44:38
  Speaker 1: they turned into red hot ashes, and began to topple
• 1:44:41
  Speaker 1: over one by one into the glowing pile. Jess laughed delightedly.
• 1:44:46
  Speaker 1: She had already scrubbed the smooth potatoes and dried them carefully.
• 1:44:51
  Speaker 1: She now poked them one by one into the glowing
• 1:44:53
  Speaker 1: ashes with a stick from a birch tree. Whenever a
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 1: potato lit up dangerously, she gave it a poke into
• 1:45:00
  Speaker 1: a new position. And when Henry found her, she was
• 1:45:04
  Speaker 1: just rolling the charred balls out onto the flat stones,
• 1:45:09
  Speaker 1: burned them up, queried Henry. Burned nothing, cried Jess energetically.
• 1:45:14
  Speaker 1: You just wait. Can't wait, hardly, replied Henry, smiling. You
• 1:45:19
  Speaker 1: said that a long time ago, said Benny. Well, isn't
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 1: it true, demanded Henry, rolling his brother over on the
• 1:45:26
  Speaker 1: pine needles. Come, said Violet, breathlessly, forgetting to ring the bell.
• 1:45:31
  Speaker 1: Hold them with leaves, directed Jess, because they're terribly hot.
• 1:45:36
  Speaker 1: Knock them on the side and scoop them out with
• 1:45:38
  Speaker 1: a spoon, and put butter on top. The children did
• 1:45:41
  Speaker 1: as the little cook requested, sprinkled on a little salt
• 1:45:45
  Speaker 1: from the salt shaker and took a taste. Ah, said Henry.
• 1:45:51
  Speaker 1: It's good, said Benny, blissfully. It was about the most
• 1:45:56
  Speaker 1: successful meal of all. In fact, when the children and
• 1:45:59
  Speaker 1: later years recalled their different feasts, they always came back
• 1:46:03
  Speaker 1: to the baked potatoes roasted in the ashes of the
• 1:46:06
  Speaker 1: pine cones. Henry said it was because they were poked
• 1:46:09
  Speaker 1: with a black birch stick. Benny said it was because
• 1:46:12
  Speaker 1: Jess nearly burned them up. Jess herself said maybe it
• 1:46:16
  Speaker 1: was the remarkable salt shaker, which had to stand on
• 1:46:19
  Speaker 1: its head always because there was no floor to it.
• 1:46:23
  Speaker 1: After supper, the children still were not too sleepy to
• 1:46:26
  Speaker 1: show Henry the new primmer and allow Benny to display
• 1:46:29
  Speaker 1: his first reading lesson. Henry, greatly taken with the idea,
• 1:46:34
  Speaker 1: sat up until it was almost dark, chipping out the
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 1: remaining letters of the alphabet. If you should ever care
• 1:46:41
  Speaker 1: to see this interesting primmer, which was finally ten pages
• 1:46:45
  Speaker 1: in length, you might examine this faithful copy of its
• 1:46:48
  Speaker 1: first page, which required four days for its completion. Illustration
• 1:46:55
  Speaker 1: See me see me, Oh, oh, see me, Come come
• 1:47:06
  Speaker 1: to me, Come to see me, cat rat. Henry always
• 1:47:18
  Speaker 1: insisted that the rat's tail was too long, but Jess
• 1:47:22
  Speaker 1: said his knife must have slipped when he was making
• 1:47:24
  Speaker 1: the a so they were even after all. End of
• 1:47:30
  Speaker 1: chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, jinseng what doctor mc allister ever
• 1:47:36
  Speaker 1: did before Henry began to work for him would be
• 1:47:39
  Speaker 1: hard to guess. There were certainly as many duties always
• 1:47:43
  Speaker 1: waiting for him as he had time to do, and
• 1:47:46
  Speaker 1: it made no difference to the industrious boy what the
• 1:47:48
  Speaker 1: job was. Nothing was too hard or too dirty for
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 1: him to attempt. One day, the doctor set him at
• 1:47:56
  Speaker 1: the task of clearing out his little laboratory. The boy
• 1:48:00
  Speaker 1: washed bottles, pasted labels, and cleaned instruments for one whole morning,
• 1:48:05
  Speaker 1: and more than one broken flask on its way to
• 1:48:08
  Speaker 1: the rubbish heap, was carefully carried up the hill to
• 1:48:11
  Speaker 1: the hidden family. While Henry was busy carefully lettering a
• 1:48:15
  Speaker 1: sticky label, he noticed a young man in the outer
• 1:48:18
  Speaker 1: office who was talking with a doctor. Can you tell
• 1:48:22
  Speaker 1: me if this is real? Jin saying, Henry heard him say,
• 1:48:25
  Speaker 1: it certainly is, returned, doctor mc allister. They will give
• 1:48:29
  Speaker 1: you two dollars a pound for the root at any
• 1:48:31
  Speaker 1: of the drug stores. Henry ventured to steal a peep
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 1: and found he could readily see the plant the man
• 1:48:38
  Speaker 1: was holding. It was about a foot high, with branching
• 1:48:42
  Speaker 1: leaves and a fine, feathery white flower. Henry knew it
• 1:48:46
  Speaker 1: was exactly the same white puffball that he had noticed
• 1:48:50
  Speaker 1: in Violet's vase that very morning. When the young man
• 1:48:54
  Speaker 1: had gone, Henry said, I know where I can find
• 1:48:57
  Speaker 1: a whole lot of that plant? Is that so? Oh?
• 1:49:00
  Speaker 1: Replied the doctor kindly. It's only the root, you know,
• 1:49:03
  Speaker 1: that is valuable, But any one who wants the bother
• 1:49:06
  Speaker 1: of digging it up can sell any quantity of that.
• 1:49:10
  Speaker 1: When Henry went home at noon, he related enough of
• 1:49:13
  Speaker 1: this incident to set his sisters to work in good earnest.
• 1:49:17
  Speaker 1: They started out with both knives and two strong iron
• 1:49:20
  Speaker 1: spoons and the kettle, and with Benny to run about
• 1:49:24
  Speaker 1: finding every white flower he could. The girl succeeded with
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 1: a great deal of hard digging in finding enormous quantities
• 1:49:31
  Speaker 1: of jinseng root. In fact, that first afternoon's work resulted
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 1: in a kettleful, not counting a single leaf or stem.
• 1:49:41
  Speaker 1: Henry was delighted when he saw the result of their work,
• 1:49:44
  Speaker 1: and took it next day to the largest drug store,
• 1:49:47
  Speaker 1: where he received three dollars for the roots. Without any hesitation,
• 1:49:52
  Speaker 1: Henry paid a visit to the dry goods store and
• 1:49:55
  Speaker 1: came home with a pair of new brown stockings for Benny.
• 1:49:59
  Speaker 1: That was a great day in the woods. Benny gave
• 1:50:02
  Speaker 1: them no peace at all until they had admired his
• 1:50:04
  Speaker 1: wonderful new stockings and felt of each rib. There had
• 1:50:08
  Speaker 1: been one other thing that Benny had given them no
• 1:50:11
  Speaker 1: peace about. On the night when the children had crept
• 1:50:14
  Speaker 1: so quietly away from the baker's wife, Jess had forgotten
• 1:50:18
  Speaker 1: to take Benny's bear. This bear was a poor looking
• 1:50:21
  Speaker 1: creature which had once been an expensive, bright eyed teddy
• 1:50:25
  Speaker 1: bear made of brown plush. But Benny had taken it
• 1:50:28
  Speaker 1: to bed every single night for three years, and had
• 1:50:32
  Speaker 1: loved it by day, so that it was not attractive
• 1:50:35
  Speaker 1: to anyone but himself. Both eyes were gone, and its
• 1:50:39
  Speaker 1: body was very limp. But Benny had certainly suffered a
• 1:50:42
  Speaker 1: great deal trying to sleep in a strange bed without
• 1:50:45
  Speaker 1: his beloved bear. Jess therefore had plans on foot. The
• 1:50:49
  Speaker 1: moment she saw Benny's new stockings, she washed the old
• 1:50:53
  Speaker 1: brown stockings with their many neat darns and hung them
• 1:50:57
  Speaker 1: up to dry, and early in the afternoon, she and
• 1:51:00
  Speaker 1: Violet sat with a work bag between them, each with
• 1:51:04
  Speaker 1: a stocking, with Benny sitting by to watch proceedings. Jess
• 1:51:09
  Speaker 1: mapped out a remarkable teddy bear. One stocking carefully trimmed,
• 1:51:14
  Speaker 1: made the head and body, while the other furnished material
• 1:51:17
  Speaker 1: for two arms, two legs, and the stuffing. Jess worked
• 1:51:22
  Speaker 1: hard over the head, pushing the padding well into the
• 1:51:25
  Speaker 1: blunt nose. Violet embroidered two beautiful eyes in black and
• 1:51:30
  Speaker 1: white and a jet black nose tip.
• 1:51:33
  Speaker 2: You must make a tail, too, Jesse.
• 1:51:35
  Speaker 1: Said Benny, watching her snip the brown rags. Bears don't
• 1:51:39
  Speaker 1: have tails, Benny argued Jess, although she wasn't exactly sure,
• 1:51:43
  Speaker 1: she was right. Your old bear didn't have any tail,
• 1:51:46
  Speaker 1: you know. But this bear has a tail, though, returned Benny,
• 1:51:51
  Speaker 1: knowing that Jess would put on two tails if he insisted,
• 1:51:55
  Speaker 1: And it was true, his bear finally did have a tail.
• 1:52:00
  Speaker 1: What kind of tail, asked Jess helplessly. At last, bushy
• 1:52:05
  Speaker 1: long and slim or cotton tail long and slim, decided
• 1:52:11
  Speaker 1: Benny with great satisfaction. So I can pull it, Penny
• 1:52:16
  Speaker 1: cried jess, laughing in spite of herself. But she made
• 1:52:20
  Speaker 1: a tail long and slim, exactly as Benny ordered, and
• 1:52:24
  Speaker 1: sewed it on very tightly, so that it might be
• 1:52:27
  Speaker 1: pulled if desired. She fastened on the legs and arms
• 1:52:31
  Speaker 1: with flat hinges so the bear might sit down easily,
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 1: and added at last a pair of cunning flappy ears
• 1:52:38
  Speaker 1: and a gay collar of braided red string from a bundle.
• 1:52:42
  Speaker 1: What's his name, Jessie, inquired Benny, when the wonderful bear
• 1:52:46
  Speaker 1: was finally handed over to him. His name, repeated Jess. Well,
• 1:52:51
  Speaker 1: you know he's a new bear. He isn't your old one,
• 1:52:55
  Speaker 1: so I wouldn't call him Teddy. Oh no, said Benny, shocked.
• 1:53:00
  Speaker 1: This is not Teddy. This has a pretty tale, of course,
• 1:53:05
  Speaker 1: agreed Jess, trying not to laugh. Well, you know we
• 1:53:09
  Speaker 1: sold that jinseng to pay for your new stockings, and
• 1:53:12
  Speaker 1: if you hadn't had your new ones, we couldn't have
• 1:53:15
  Speaker 1: made this bear out of your old ones. You want
• 1:53:18
  Speaker 1: tis name to be Stockings, asked Benny politely. Stockings, no,
• 1:53:23
  Speaker 1: answered Jess. I was thinking of Jinseng. Jinseng, echoed Benny,
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 1: thinking deeply, that's a nice name. All right, I think
• 1:53:34
  Speaker 1: Jinseing will be a good bear if what she doesn't
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 1: bark at him. And from that moment the bear's name
• 1:53:41
  Speaker 1: was Jinseng as long as he lived, and he lived
• 1:53:44
  Speaker 1: to be a very old bear. Indeed, end of Chapter twelve,
• 1:53:51
  Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, Trouble. The days went merrily by for the
• 1:53:57
  Speaker 1: Freightkarr family. Hardly a day passed, however, without some exciting adventure.
• 1:54:04
  Speaker 1: Missus mc allister, finding out in some way that Violet
• 1:54:07
  Speaker 1: was a clever seamstress, sent home fine linen handkerchiefs for
• 1:54:11
  Speaker 1: her to him. Each one had a tiny colored rose
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 1: in the corner, and Violet was delighted with the dainty work.
• 1:54:19
  Speaker 1: She sat sewing daily by the swimming pool, while Benny
• 1:54:22
  Speaker 1: sailed wonderful boats of chips and waded around to his
• 1:54:26
  Speaker 1: heart's content. The freight car pantry now held marvelous dishes
• 1:54:31
  Speaker 1: rescued from the dump, such rarities as a regular bread knife,
• 1:54:36
  Speaker 1: a blue and gold soap dish, and half of a
• 1:54:39
  Speaker 1: real cut glass bowl. Henry proudly deposited thirty one dollars
• 1:54:45
  Speaker 1: in the savings bank under the name of Henry James,
• 1:54:48
  Speaker 1: and worked eagerly for his kind friend who never asked
• 1:54:51
  Speaker 1: him any more embarrassing questions. Benny actually learned to read
• 1:54:56
  Speaker 1: fairly well. The girls occupied their time making balsam pillows
• 1:55:00
  Speaker 1: for the four beds and trying to devise wonderful meals
• 1:55:04
  Speaker 1: out of very little material. Violet kept a different bouquet
• 1:55:08
  Speaker 1: daily in a little vase. She had a perfect genius
• 1:55:11
  Speaker 1: for arranging three purple irises to look like a picture,
• 1:55:15
  Speaker 1: or a single wood lily with its leaves like a
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 1: Japanese print. Each day the children enjoyed a cooked dinner,
• 1:55:24
  Speaker 1: filling in the chinks with perfect satisfaction, with bread and butter,
• 1:55:28
  Speaker 1: or bread and milk, or bread and cheese. They named
• 1:55:32
  Speaker 1: their queer house home for Tramps, and printed this title
• 1:55:36
  Speaker 1: in fancy lettering inside the car. One day, Jess began
• 1:55:41
  Speaker 1: to teach Benny a little arithmetic. He learned very readily
• 1:55:45
  Speaker 1: that two and one make three. I knew that before,
• 1:55:50
  Speaker 1: he said, cheerfully. But it was a different matter when
• 1:55:53
  Speaker 1: Jess proposed to him that two minus one left one. No,
• 1:55:58
  Speaker 1: it does not left one, said Benny indignantly.
• 1:56:02
  Speaker 2: It left two.
• 1:56:04
  Speaker 1: Why, Benny, cried Jess in astonishment. Supposing you had two
• 1:56:09
  Speaker 1: apples and I took one away. Wouldn't you have one left?
• 1:56:13
  Speaker 1: You never would, objected Benny with confidence. No, but supposing
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 1: Watch took one, suggested Jess. Watch, you wouldn't take one, neither,
• 1:56:23
  Speaker 1: said Benny. Would you doggy? Watch opened one eye and
• 1:56:28
  Speaker 1: wagged his tail. Jess looked at Violet in despair. What
• 1:56:33
  Speaker 1: shall I do with him? She asked. Violet took out
• 1:56:36
  Speaker 1: her chalk and printed clearly on the outside of the
• 1:56:39
  Speaker 1: freight car the following example two minus one equals Now, Benny,
• 1:56:46
  Speaker 1: don't you see? She began that if you have two
• 1:56:49
  Speaker 1: things and somebody takes away one, that you must have
• 1:56:53
  Speaker 1: one left. I'll show you myself, agreed Benny finally, with resignation.
• 1:57:00
  Speaker 1: Now see the two. He actually made a respectable figure
• 1:57:04
  Speaker 1: too on the freight car. Now he's a nice one. Now, s'posen,
• 1:57:11
  Speaker 1: I take away the one, don't you see? The two's
• 1:57:14
  Speaker 1: left right on the car. He covered the figure one
• 1:57:18
  Speaker 1: with his chubby hand and looked about at his audience expectantly.
• 1:57:24
  Speaker 1: Jess rolled over against a tree trunk and laughed till
• 1:57:28
  Speaker 1: she nearly cried. Violet laughed until she really did cry.
• 1:57:33
  Speaker 1: And here we come to the first unpleasant incident in
• 1:57:36
  Speaker 1: the Story of the Runaway Children. Violet could not stop crying, apparently,
• 1:57:42
  Speaker 1: and Jess soon made up her mind that she was
• 1:57:44
  Speaker 1: really ill. She helped her carefully into the car and
• 1:57:49
  Speaker 1: heaped all the pine needles around and under her, making
• 1:57:52
  Speaker 1: her the softest bed she could. Then she wet clothes
• 1:57:56
  Speaker 1: in the cool water of the brook and laid them
• 1:57:58
  Speaker 1: across her little sister hot forehead. How glad I am
• 1:58:02
  Speaker 1: that it is time for Henry to come, she said
• 1:58:05
  Speaker 1: to herself, holding Violet's slender brown hands and her cool ones.
• 1:58:10
  Speaker 1: Henry came promptly at the usual time. He thought she
• 1:58:13
  Speaker 1: had a cold, he said, and this seemed likely, for
• 1:58:17
  Speaker 1: Violet began to cough gently while the rest ate a
• 1:58:20
  Speaker 1: hasty supper. We don't want to let her go to
• 1:58:23
  Speaker 1: a hospital if we can possibly help it, said Henry,
• 1:58:27
  Speaker 1: more trouble than he cared to show. If she goes there,
• 1:58:31
  Speaker 1: we'll have to give her name, and then grandfather will
• 1:58:34
  Speaker 1: find us. Surely, Jess agreed, and together the two older
• 1:58:38
  Speaker 1: children kept changing the cool cloths on Violet's aching head.
• 1:58:43
  Speaker 1: But about ten o'clock that night, Violet had a chill.
• 1:58:48
  Speaker 1: She shivered and shook, and her teeth chattered so that
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 1: Jess could plainly hear them. Apparently nothing could warm the
• 1:58:55
  Speaker 1: little girl, although she was completely packed in hay and
• 1:58:58
  Speaker 1: pine needles. I'm going down to doctor mc allister's, said
• 1:59:03
  Speaker 1: Henry quietly. I'm afraid Violet is very ill. Nobody ever
• 1:59:08
  Speaker 1: knew how fast he ran down the hill. Even in
• 1:59:11
  Speaker 1: his famous race, Henry hardly touched his present speed. He
• 1:59:16
  Speaker 1: was so thoroughly frightened that he never stopped to notice
• 1:59:19
  Speaker 1: how quickly the doctor seemed to understand what was wanted.
• 1:59:22
  Speaker 1: He did not even notice that he did not have
• 1:59:24
  Speaker 1: to tell the doctor which way to drive his car
• 1:59:27
  Speaker 1: in order to reach the hill. When the car reached
• 1:59:30
  Speaker 1: the road at the base of the hill, doctor mc
• 1:59:32
  Speaker 1: allister said shortly, stay here in the car, and disappeared
• 1:59:36
  Speaker 1: up the hill alone. When the doctor returned, he was
• 1:59:41
  Speaker 1: carrying Violet in his arms. Jess and Benny and Watch
• 1:59:44
  Speaker 1: were following closely. Nobody spoke during the drive to the
• 1:59:48
  Speaker 1: mc allister house as they flew through the darkness. When
• 1:59:52
  Speaker 1: they stopped at last, the doctor said three words to
• 1:59:55
  Speaker 1: his mother, who opened the door anxiously. The three words
• 1:59:59
  Speaker 1: were pneumonia. I'm afraid they all heard it Irish Mary
• 2:00:05
  Speaker 1: appeared from the kitchen with hot water bottles and warm blankets,
• 2:00:09
  Speaker 1: and Missus mc allister flew around, opening beds and bringing pillows.
• 2:00:14
  Speaker 1: A trained nurse in a white dress appeared like magic
• 2:00:17
  Speaker 1: from nowhere in particular. They all worked as best they
• 2:00:21
  Speaker 1: could to get the sick child warmed up. Soon the
• 2:00:24
  Speaker 1: hot blankets, hot water and steaming drinks began to take effect,
• 2:00:29
  Speaker 1: and the shivering stopped. Missus mc allister left the sick
• 2:00:33
  Speaker 1: room then to attend to the other children. Henry and
• 2:00:37
  Speaker 1: Benny were left in a large spare room with a
• 2:00:40
  Speaker 1: double bed. Jess was put in a little dressing room
• 2:00:43
  Speaker 1: just out of missus mc allister's own room. Upon receiving
• 2:00:47
  Speaker 1: assurances that Violet was warm again, they went to sleep.
• 2:00:52
  Speaker 1: But Violet was not out of danger, for she soon
• 2:00:56
  Speaker 1: grew as hot as she had been cold, and the
• 2:01:00
  Speaker 1: doctor never left her side until ten o'clock the next morning. Violet,
• 2:01:05
  Speaker 1: although very ill, did not have pneumonia. At about nine
• 2:01:10
  Speaker 1: o'clock the doctor had a visitor. It was a man
• 2:01:13
  Speaker 1: who said he would wait. He did wait in the
• 2:01:16
  Speaker 1: cool front parlor for over half an hour. Then Benny
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 1: drifted in. Where is the doctor? Asked the man, sharply,
• 2:01:24
  Speaker 1: of Benny. He's an upstairs, answered Benny readily. This means
• 2:01:29
  Speaker 1: a lot of money to him, if he only knew it,
• 2:01:31
  Speaker 1: said the visitor impatiently. Oh, that wouldn't make any difference,
• 2:01:35
  Speaker 1: Benny replied with great assurance, as he started to go
• 2:01:39
  Speaker 1: out again. But the man caught him. What do you
• 2:01:42
  Speaker 1: mean by that, Sonny, he asked curiously. What's he doing.
• 2:01:47
  Speaker 1: He's taking care of my sister Violet. She's sick. An
• 2:01:52
  Speaker 1: you mean he wouldn't leave her even if I gave
• 2:01:54
  Speaker 1: him a lot of money. Yes, that's it, said Benny politely,
• 2:01:58
  Speaker 1: That's what I mean. The visitor seemed to restrain his
• 2:02:02
  Speaker 1: impatience with a great effort. You see, i've lost a
• 2:02:07
  Speaker 1: little boy somewhere, he said. The doctor knows where he is.
• 2:02:10
  Speaker 1: I think he would be about as old as you are. Well,
• 2:02:14
  Speaker 1: if you don't find him, you can have me. I
• 2:02:16
  Speaker 1: shouldn't wonder, observed Benny comfortingly. I like you, you do,
• 2:02:22
  Speaker 1: said the man, in surprise. That's because you've got such
• 2:02:25
  Speaker 1: a nice soft suit on, explained Benny, stroking the man's
• 2:02:30
  Speaker 1: knee gently. The gentleman laughed heartily. No, I guess it's
• 2:02:35
  Speaker 1: because you have such a nice soft laugh, said Benny,
• 2:02:39
  Speaker 1: changing his mind. The fact was that Benny himself did
• 2:02:43
  Speaker 1: not know why he liked this stranger, who was so
• 2:02:46
  Speaker 1: gruff at times and so pleasant at others. He finally
• 2:02:50
  Speaker 1: accepted the man's invitation and climbed into his lap to
• 2:02:53
  Speaker 1: see his dog's picture in his watch, feeling of the
• 2:02:56
  Speaker 1: nice soft suit on the way. The doctor found him
• 2:03:00
  Speaker 1: there when he came down at ten o'clock. Better go
• 2:03:03
  Speaker 1: and find Watch, Benny suggested the doctor. Perhaps some day
• 2:03:08
  Speaker 1: I'll come again, observed Benny to his new friend. I
• 2:03:12
  Speaker 1: like your dog, and I'm sorry he's dead. With that,
• 2:03:16
  Speaker 1: he scampered off to find Watch, who was very much alive.
• 2:03:20
  Speaker 1: I expected you, mister Cordyce, said the doctor, smiling, only
• 2:03:24
  Speaker 1: not quite so soon. I came the moment I heard
• 2:03:27
  Speaker 1: your name hinted at, said James Cordyce. My chauffeur heard
• 2:03:31
  Speaker 1: two workmen say that you knew where my four grandchildren were.
• 2:03:34
  Speaker 1: That's all I waited to hear. Is it true? And
• 2:03:37
  Speaker 1: where are they? That was one of them, said the
• 2:03:40
  Speaker 1: doctor quietly. That was one of them, repeated the man.
• 2:03:45
  Speaker 1: That beautiful little boy, yes he is beautiful, assented doctor
• 2:03:50
  Speaker 1: mc allister. They all are. The only trouble is they're
• 2:03:54
  Speaker 1: all frightened to death to think of your finding them.
• 2:03:57
  Speaker 1: How do you know that, asked mister Cordyce sharply. They've
• 2:04:01
  Speaker 1: changed their name, at least the older boy did in public.
• 2:04:04
  Speaker 1: Two What did he change it to? Doctor mc allister
• 2:04:09
  Speaker 1: watched his visitor's face closely while he pronounced the name clearly,
• 2:04:14
  Speaker 1: Henry James. A flood of recollections passed over the man's face,
• 2:04:19
  Speaker 1: and he flushed deeply. That boy, he exclaimed, that wonderful
• 2:04:25
  Speaker 1: running boy. Then events began to move along rapidly. End
• 2:04:32
  Speaker 1: of chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen caught. They never will go
• 2:04:40
  Speaker 1: with you in this world, declared missus mc allister finally
• 2:04:44
  Speaker 1: to the distracted grandfather, unless you give us time to
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 1: break the news gradually, and above all, when Violet is
• 2:04:51
  Speaker 1: so ill, couldn't I see them, begged the man, Almost
• 2:04:56
  Speaker 1: like a boy, I could pretend I was a friend
• 2:04:58
  Speaker 1: of yours, visiting you, you who liked children. I would
• 2:05:02
  Speaker 1: promise not to tell them until you consented. That might do,
• 2:05:06
  Speaker 1: said doctor mc allister, if they grew to like you
• 2:05:09
  Speaker 1: before they knew who you were, it would make things easier,
• 2:05:13
  Speaker 1: certainly so. James Henry Cordyce's chauffeur was sent for a
• 2:05:18
  Speaker 1: gold monogrammed suit case and his young man to wait
• 2:05:21
  Speaker 1: upon him. And Irish Mary held up her hands in
• 2:05:24
  Speaker 1: despair when she learned for whom she must cook. Don't
• 2:05:28
  Speaker 1: you worry, Mary bridget Flynn, said doctor mc allister with emphasis.
• 2:05:33
  Speaker 1: You could cook for the King of England. Just make
• 2:05:35
  Speaker 1: one of your peach short cakes for lunch and broil
• 2:05:38
  Speaker 1: a chicken, and I'll answer for him. When lunch time came,
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 1: j H. Cordyce saw all his grandchildren except Violet. He
• 2:05:48
  Speaker 1: smiled with delight when he saw Jess coming down the
• 2:05:51
  Speaker 1: stairs in her womanly fashion. Henry shook hands with him
• 2:05:55
  Speaker 1: before he sat down, but he kept glancing at the
• 2:05:58
  Speaker 1: stranger all through the meal. Where have I seen that
• 2:06:01
  Speaker 1: man before? He thought missus. Mc allister had given the
• 2:06:06
  Speaker 1: children's names clearly when she introduced them, Jess, Benny and
• 2:06:10
  Speaker 1: Henry Henry James she had added, but she had not
• 2:06:15
  Speaker 1: added the man's name. She forgot, thought Jess, because she
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 1: knows him so well, she thinks we do. But although nameless,
• 2:06:23
  Speaker 1: the stranger caught their attention. He told them wonderful stories
• 2:06:28
  Speaker 1: about a steel rail which held up an entire bridge
• 2:06:31
  Speaker 1: until the people had time to get off, about his
• 2:06:34
  Speaker 1: Collie dog, about a cucumber in his garden growing inside
• 2:06:38
  Speaker 1: of a glass bottle. Henry was interested, Benny was fascinated.
• 2:06:43
  Speaker 1: I'd like to see the cucumber, said Benny, pausing in
• 2:06:47
  Speaker 1: the middle of his shortcake. Would you, indeed, said mister Cordyce, delighted.
• 2:06:52
  Speaker 1: Some day, if missus mc allister is willing, you and
• 2:06:55
  Speaker 1: I will ride over to my garden and pick it
• 2:06:58
  Speaker 1: and will bring it to Violet, asked Benny, waiting breathlessly
• 2:07:02
  Speaker 1: for an answer. We'll bring it to Violet, agreed mister Cordyce,
• 2:07:07
  Speaker 1: resuming his short cake. After lunch, he went to sleep
• 2:07:11
  Speaker 1: in the easy chair in the doctor's big office. That is,
• 2:07:15
  Speaker 1: he threw his head back and shut his eyes and
• 2:07:17
  Speaker 1: breathed very heavily. Jess went through the room once with
• 2:07:20
  Speaker 1: ice water, humming for a Violet was better, But the
• 2:07:24
  Speaker 1: moment she saw the stranger asleep, she stopped her singing
• 2:07:28
  Speaker 1: abruptly and tiptoed the rest of the way. Then as
• 2:07:32
  Speaker 1: suddenly she turned round and came back and very carefully
• 2:07:36
  Speaker 1: shoved a cushion under the man's feet. It was so
• 2:07:39
  Speaker 1: gently done that even if he had been really asleep,
• 2:07:43
  Speaker 1: he would never have wakened. As it was, he could
• 2:07:46
  Speaker 1: not resist opening one eye the slightest crack, to see
• 2:07:49
  Speaker 1: the bright chestnut hair as it passed out of sight. No,
• 2:07:54
  Speaker 1: he thought to himself, if she really hated me, she
• 2:07:57
  Speaker 1: would never have done that. But the children and were
• 2:08:00
  Speaker 1: very far from hating him. They liked him immensely, And
• 2:08:04
  Speaker 1: when at last one day he was allowed to see
• 2:08:07
  Speaker 1: Violet and came softly into her room with a nosegay
• 2:08:10
  Speaker 1: of fragrant English double violets for her, they loved him.
• 2:08:16
  Speaker 1: He won all their hearts when he patted her dark
• 2:08:18
  Speaker 1: head and told her very simply that he was sorry
• 2:08:21
  Speaker 1: she had been sick. It would be hard to say
• 2:08:25
  Speaker 1: that J. H. Cordyce ever had a favorite grandchild, but
• 2:08:29
  Speaker 1: certainly his manner with Violet was very gentle. It was
• 2:08:32
  Speaker 1: clear to everyone, even to the anxious nurse, that the
• 2:08:36
  Speaker 1: stranger was not tiring the sick child. He told her
• 2:08:40
  Speaker 1: in a pleasant everyday voice, about his garden and his
• 2:08:43
  Speaker 1: greenhouses where the violets came from, about the old Swede Garden,
• 2:08:48
  Speaker 1: who always said he must walter the violets. I'd love
• 2:08:53
  Speaker 1: to see him, said Violet earnestly. How long are you
• 2:08:57
  Speaker 1: going to stay here? Benny piped up. It was not
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 1: altogether a polite question, but it was clear to them
• 2:09:03
  Speaker 1: all that Benny wanted him to stay, so they all laughed.
• 2:09:07
  Speaker 1: As long as they'll let me, my boy, answered the
• 2:09:10
  Speaker 1: stranger quietly. Then he left the sick room, for he
• 2:09:14
  Speaker 1: knew he should not stay long. But something in the
• 2:09:17
  Speaker 1: man's last sentence rang in Henry's ears. He repeated it
• 2:09:22
  Speaker 1: over and over in his mind, trying to remember where
• 2:09:25
  Speaker 1: he had heard that same voice say, my boy. He
• 2:09:30
  Speaker 1: made an excuse to work in the flower beds along
• 2:09:32
  Speaker 1: the Verandah in order to glance occasionally at the man's
• 2:09:35
  Speaker 1: face as he sat under a tree reading Often, Henry
• 2:09:40
  Speaker 1: thought he had caught hold of his truant memory. Then
• 2:09:43
  Speaker 1: the man turned his head and he lost it again altogether.
• 2:09:47
  Speaker 1: But suddenly it came to him as the man smiled
• 2:09:50
  Speaker 1: over his book. It was the man who had shaken
• 2:09:53
  Speaker 1: hands with him on the day of the race, and
• 2:09:55
  Speaker 1: he had said, I like your spirit, my boy. That
• 2:09:59
  Speaker 1: was it. Henry sat down out of sight and weeded
• 2:10:02
  Speaker 1: geraniums for a few moments. It is a wonder he
• 2:10:05
  Speaker 1: did not pull up geraniums instead of weeds. His mind
• 2:10:09
  Speaker 1: was so far away. I didn't remember him at first,
• 2:10:12
  Speaker 1: because I was so jolly excited when he shook hands
• 2:10:15
  Speaker 1: with me, decided Henry. Then he was apparently thunderstruck afresh.
• 2:10:20
  Speaker 1: He sat with his weeder on his knee and his
• 2:10:23
  Speaker 1: mouth open. He's the man who passed me the cup
• 2:10:27
  Speaker 1: with the wings. He stole another look around the corner,
• 2:10:31
  Speaker 1: and this satisfied him. Same man exactly, he said. When
• 2:10:36
  Speaker 1: he had finished the flower bed, he thought he heard
• 2:10:39
  Speaker 1: the young doctor moving in the office. He stuck his
• 2:10:42
  Speaker 1: head in the open door. The doctor sat at his desk,
• 2:10:46
  Speaker 1: taking notes from a book. Do you know who presented
• 2:10:49
  Speaker 1: the prizes? Field Day, asked Henry curiously, know what his
• 2:10:54
  Speaker 1: name was? James Cordyce of the Steel Mills, replied the
• 2:10:58
  Speaker 1: doctor carelessly, J H. Cordyce over in Greenfield. Doctor mc allister,
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: to all appearances, returned to his notes. His eyes were
• 2:11:07
  Speaker 1: lowered at any rate, But for Henry, the skies were reeling.
• 2:11:12
  Speaker 1: He withdrew his head and sat still on the step
• 2:11:16
  Speaker 1: that delightful man, his grandfather. It was impossible. He was
• 2:11:21
  Speaker 1: too young to begin with. Henry expected a white haired
• 2:11:25
  Speaker 1: gentleman with a cane and a terrible voice. But all
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 1: the time he knew in his soul that it was
• 2:11:31
  Speaker 1: not only possible, but really true. He recalled the man's
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 1: reply to Benny's direct question. He had said he was
• 2:11:40
  Speaker 1: going to stay as long as they would let him.
• 2:11:43
  Speaker 1: Could it be that the man knew them without introducing himself.
• 2:11:47
  Speaker 1: A perfect torrent of thoughts assailed Henry as he crouched
• 2:11:50
  Speaker 1: on the office steps. It was clear to him now
• 2:11:53
  Speaker 1: that missus mc allister had failed to mention his name
• 2:11:56
  Speaker 1: on purpose. It was a wonder Benny hadn't asked what
• 2:11:59
  Speaker 1: it was us long before this, He noticed that the
• 2:12:03
  Speaker 1: man was getting out of his chair under the trees.
• 2:12:06
  Speaker 1: It's now or never, thought Henry, I've got to know.
• 2:12:10
  Speaker 1: He walked eagerly after the man, who was going toward
• 2:12:13
  Speaker 1: the garden with his back turned. Henry easily caught up
• 2:12:16
  Speaker 1: with him, breathing with difficulty. The man turned round, Are
• 2:12:21
  Speaker 1: you James, Henry Cordyce of Greenfield, panted? Henry, I am
• 2:12:26
  Speaker 1: my boy, returned the man with a long look. Does
• 2:12:30
  Speaker 1: that question of yours mean that you know that I
• 2:12:33
  Speaker 1: know that you are Henry James Cordyce, Yes, said Henry simply.
• 2:12:39
  Speaker 1: The man's eyes filled with tears, and J. H. Cordyce
• 2:12:44
  Speaker 1: of the Steel Mills shook hands for the third time
• 2:12:47
  Speaker 1: with his grandson H. J. Cordyce of the Home for
• 2:12:51
  Speaker 1: Tramps end of Chapter fourteen, Chapter fifteen, a new grandfather.
• 2:13:01
  Speaker 1: In less than an hour, the town was buzzing with
• 2:13:04
  Speaker 1: the news. The chaffeur told the maids, and the maids
• 2:13:07
  Speaker 1: told the grocery man, and the grocery man went from
• 2:13:10
  Speaker 1: house to house telling that old James Cordyce had found
• 2:13:13
  Speaker 1: his four grandchildren at last. In fact, the biggest part
• 2:13:18
  Speaker 1: of the town knew it before the children themselves. Jess
• 2:13:22
  Speaker 1: and Benny came across the lawn to select some white
• 2:13:25
  Speaker 1: moonflowers for Violet's tray. They were just in time to
• 2:13:29
  Speaker 1: hear Henry say, but grandfather, grandfather, echoed Jess, whirling around
• 2:13:35
  Speaker 1: to gaze at them. Yes, Jess said Henry eagerly. He's
• 2:13:39
  Speaker 1: the man we've been running away from all this time.
• 2:13:43
  Speaker 1: I thought you was old, observed Benny, an awfully cross
• 2:13:48
  Speaker 1: Jess said, so I didn't know, Benny, said Jess, turning pink,
• 2:13:54
  Speaker 1: to think of running away from this kind friend. But
• 2:13:57
  Speaker 1: her grandfather did not seem to mind. He stroked her short,
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 1: silky hair and proposed that they all go up into
• 2:14:04
  Speaker 1: Violet's room with the moonflowers. There was no stopping Benny.
• 2:14:09
  Speaker 1: He rushed into Violet's room, dragging his grandfather by one
• 2:14:13
  Speaker 1: hand and shouting, it's grandfather, Violet, and he's nice after all,
• 2:14:17
  Speaker 1: I shouldn't wonder. When Violet at last understood just what
• 2:14:22
  Speaker 1: Benny was trying to tell, she was perfectly happy to
• 2:14:25
  Speaker 1: rest against her ruffled pillows with one hand curled about
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 1: her grandfather's arm, and listened to the rest. Where have
• 2:14:33
  Speaker 1: you been living, demanded mister Cordyce. At last, the whole
• 2:14:38
  Speaker 1: company looked at each other, even doctor mc allister and
• 2:14:41
  Speaker 1: his mother. Then they all laughed as if they would
• 2:14:45
  Speaker 1: never stop. You just ought to see, observed doctor mc allister,
• 2:14:51
  Speaker 1: wiping his eyes. What, said the children all at once.
• 2:14:55
  Speaker 1: You never saw it in the daytime. You don't mean it,
• 2:14:59
  Speaker 1: returned the doctor, teasing them, I have seen it quite
• 2:15:02
  Speaker 1: a number of times in the daytime. Seen what in
• 2:15:05
  Speaker 1: Heaven's name, asked mister Cordyce. At last, then they told him,
• 2:15:10
  Speaker 1: interrupting each other, to tell about the beds of pine needles,
• 2:15:14
  Speaker 1: the wonderful dishes, the freight car, roof over all, the fireplace,
• 2:15:19
  Speaker 1: and the swimming pool that's where Violet got her bronchitis.
• 2:15:24
  Speaker 1: Observed the doctor sitting by that pool. She shouldn't have
• 2:15:27
  Speaker 1: done it. I thought so from the first you thought so,
• 2:15:32
  Speaker 1: repeated Henry, puzzled, How did you know she sat by it?
• 2:15:36
  Speaker 1: I'm sure I didn't myself. I was your most frequent visitor,
• 2:15:40
  Speaker 1: declared the doctor, enjoying himself hugely. I hope you were
• 2:15:45
  Speaker 1: our only one, said Jess, with her mouth open. Well
• 2:15:49
  Speaker 1: I think I was, said the doctor. The first night
• 2:15:52
  Speaker 1: after Henry mode my lawn, I followed him as far
• 2:15:55
  Speaker 1: as the hill to see where he lived. Why did
• 2:15:58
  Speaker 1: you do that, interrupted mister Cordyce. I liked his looks,
• 2:16:02
  Speaker 1: returned the doctor, and I noticed that he didn't tell
• 2:16:05
  Speaker 1: much about himself, so I was curious. But you surely
• 2:16:09
  Speaker 1: didn't see the freight car, then, said Jess. No, but
• 2:16:12
  Speaker 1: I came back that night and hunted around, replied doctor
• 2:16:15
  Speaker 1: mc allister. At about eleven o'clock, Henry cried. The doctor assented.
• 2:16:22
  Speaker 1: Our rabbit, said, Henry and Jess together, I made as
• 2:16:26
  Speaker 1: little noise as possible when I saw the freight car.
• 2:16:29
  Speaker 1: Then I saw the door move, so I thought some
• 2:16:31
  Speaker 1: one was inside. And when I heard the dog bark,
• 2:16:34
  Speaker 1: I was sure of it and went home. But you
• 2:16:37
  Speaker 1: came back, questioned Jess. Yes, every time I knew all
• 2:16:42
  Speaker 1: of you were safe in my garden, I made you
• 2:16:44
  Speaker 1: a little visit, just to be sure you were having
• 2:16:46
  Speaker 1: enough to eat and enough dishes. The doctor laughed. When
• 2:16:50
  Speaker 1: I found you had a strainer and a vase of flowers,
• 2:16:53
  Speaker 1: and a salt shaker and a cut glass punch bowl.
• 2:16:57
  Speaker 1: I stopped worrying. Didn't you suspect they were my children?
• 2:17:00
  Speaker 1: Demanded mister Cordyce. Didn't you see my advertisement? Why didn't
• 2:17:04
  Speaker 1: you notify me at once? They were having such a
• 2:17:08
  Speaker 1: good time, confessed the doctor, And I was too. I
• 2:17:12
  Speaker 1: just wanted to see how long they could manage their
• 2:17:14
  Speaker 1: own affairs. It was all tremendously interesting. Why that boy
• 2:17:18
  Speaker 1: and girl of yours are born business managers, mister Cordyce.
• 2:17:22
  Speaker 1: Mister Cordyce took note of this, But I don't see yet.
• 2:17:26
  Speaker 1: How you knew Violet sat by the pool, said Jess. Curiously.
• 2:17:30
  Speaker 1: You couldn't know that, of course, replied the doctor. I
• 2:17:34
  Speaker 1: went up twice when I knew Henry had taken the
• 2:17:36
  Speaker 1: dog down to my barn to catch rats. I hid
• 2:17:39
  Speaker 1: behind the big white rock with the flat top. That's
• 2:17:42
  Speaker 1: lookout rock, explained Jess, where we used to let Benny
• 2:17:46
  Speaker 1: watch for Henry. But we didn't hear you. No, said
• 2:17:49
  Speaker 1: doctor mc allister. I didn't even snap a twig those times.
• 2:17:54
  Speaker 1: But I had the very best time when I went
• 2:17:56
  Speaker 1: with mother. Have you seen it too, cried the children.
• 2:18:00
  Speaker 1: I have indeed, returned missus mc allister. I even had
• 2:18:04
  Speaker 1: a drink from your well. Every one has seen it
• 2:18:08
  Speaker 1: but me, said mister Cordyce. Patiently. We'll show it to you,
• 2:18:12
  Speaker 1: screamed Benny, and I'll show you my wheels made on
• 2:18:16
  Speaker 1: a cart, and my bed out of hay, and my
• 2:18:19
  Speaker 1: pink cup. Good for you, Benny, said mister Cordyce, pleased.
• 2:18:24
  Speaker 1: When Violet gets well, we'll all go up there, and
• 2:18:27
  Speaker 1: if you'll show me your house, i'll show you mine.
• 2:18:30
  Speaker 1: Have you got a house, asked Benny in surprise. Yes,
• 2:18:34
  Speaker 1: you can live there with me if you like it,
• 2:18:36
  Speaker 1: replied mister Cordyce, I have been looking for you for
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 1: nearly two months. Under missus mc allister's wonderful care, Violet
• 2:18:45
  Speaker 1: soon became strong again, but she had been skipping around
• 2:18:49
  Speaker 1: the garden for several days before the doctor would allow
• 2:18:52
  Speaker 1: the visit to the freight car house. When at last
• 2:18:55
  Speaker 1: the whole party started out in the great limousine, many
• 2:18:58
  Speaker 1: people looked out of their way windows to watch after
• 2:19:01
  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce and his grandchildren. Many of them knew Henry
• 2:19:05
  Speaker 1: as the boy who won the race, and were glad
• 2:19:08
  Speaker 1: that he had found such a friend. But when the
• 2:19:11
  Speaker 1: children reached their beloved home, they were like wild things,
• 2:19:16
  Speaker 1: watch capered about furiously, taking little swims in the pool,
• 2:19:20
  Speaker 1: and sniffing at all the dear, old, familiar things. Mister
• 2:19:24
  Speaker 1: Cordyce seated himself on a rock and watched them all,
• 2:19:28
  Speaker 1: exchanging a glance now and then with missus mc allister
• 2:19:31
  Speaker 1: and her son. See our building, shouted Benny, for that
• 2:19:36
  Speaker 1: was what he always called the fireplace. It burns really too.
• 2:19:40
  Speaker 1: And this is the well, and this is the dishpan,
• 2:19:43
  Speaker 1: and this is thefrigerator. At last, everyone climbed into the
• 2:19:48
  Speaker 1: car itself, and mister Cordyce saw the beds, the cash
• 2:19:52
  Speaker 1: account on the wall, the wonderful shelf, and each separate dish.
• 2:19:57
  Speaker 1: Each dish had a story of its own. That's more
• 2:20:00
  Speaker 1: than my dishes have, observed, mister Cordyce. Missus mc allister,
• 2:20:05
  Speaker 1: who knew what his dishes were, was silent. They ate
• 2:20:09
  Speaker 1: chicken sandwiches on the very same tablecloth, and Benny drank
• 2:20:14
  Speaker 1: from his pink cup, and Watch couldn't understand why they
• 2:20:17
  Speaker 1: went away at all, but it was a trifle cool
• 2:20:20
  Speaker 1: on the hill now when the sun began to sink,
• 2:20:24
  Speaker 1: and after rolling the door shut, they left regretfully. Tomorrow,
• 2:20:29
  Speaker 1: suggested mister Cordyce, as they drove home. Will you all
• 2:20:32
  Speaker 1: come and see my house?
• 2:20:34
  Speaker 2: Oh?
• 2:20:34
  Speaker 1: Yes, agreed the children happily, little dreaming what was in
• 2:20:38
  Speaker 1: store for them on the next day and all the
• 2:20:41
  Speaker 1: days to come. End of Chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen, A
• 2:20:49
  Speaker 1: united family. Mister Cordyce had been planning this day for
• 2:20:55
  Speaker 1: more than a week. He had sent his most trusted
• 2:20:58
  Speaker 1: foreman to his own beauty full home to superintend matters. There.
• 2:21:03
  Speaker 1: The house was being remodeled entirely after mister Cordyce's own plans,
• 2:21:08
  Speaker 1: and everywhere were carpenters, painters, and decorators. On the very
• 2:21:13
  Speaker 1: day that mister Cordyce received word that it was finished,
• 2:21:16
  Speaker 1: he suggested the drive. Do you live all alone? Grandfather
• 2:21:22
  Speaker 1: asked Benny, all alone, answered mister Cordyce, no company at all.
• 2:21:28
  Speaker 1: At first, Benny did not consider this the exact truth.
• 2:21:32
  Speaker 1: He considered a cook company, and also a butler and
• 2:21:35
  Speaker 1: a housekeeper, And when he saw the array of maids,
• 2:21:39
  Speaker 1: he kept perfectly quiet. The house was enormous, certainly, it
• 2:21:44
  Speaker 1: was at least a quarter of a mile from its
• 2:21:46
  Speaker 1: own front gate, and everywhere were gardens. Do you live here,
• 2:21:52
  Speaker 1: said Henry thunderstruck, as they rolled quietly along the beautiful drive.
• 2:21:57
  Speaker 1: You do too, if you like it, observed his grandfather,
• 2:22:01
  Speaker 1: watching his face. The inside of the house was more
• 2:22:05
  Speaker 1: wonderful than even the older children had ever dreamed. The
• 2:22:09
  Speaker 1: velvet rugs were so thick and soft that no footfall
• 2:22:12
  Speaker 1: could be heard. Everywhere were flowers. The great stairway with
• 2:22:17
  Speaker 1: steps of marble, rose from the center of the big hallway.
• 2:22:21
  Speaker 1: But it was upstairs that the children felt most at home.
• 2:22:25
  Speaker 1: Here the rooms were not quite so large. They were
• 2:22:28
  Speaker 1: sunny and homelike. This is Violet's room, cried Benny. It
• 2:22:34
  Speaker 1: was unmistakable. There were violets on the wallpaper. The bed
• 2:22:38
  Speaker 1: was snow white with a thick quilt of violet silk.
• 2:22:42
  Speaker 1: On the little table were English violets, pouring their fragrance
• 2:22:46
  Speaker 1: into the room. What a beautiful room, sighed Violet, sinking
• 2:22:51
  Speaker 1: down into one of the soft cushioned chairs. But all
• 2:22:55
  Speaker 1: the children shouted when they saw Benny's room. The wallpaper
• 2:22:58
  Speaker 1: was blue, covered with large figures of cats and dogs,
• 2:23:02
  Speaker 1: the Three Bears and Peter Rabbit. There was a swinging
• 2:23:06
  Speaker 1: rocking horse nearly as tall as a real horse, a blackboard,
• 2:23:11
  Speaker 1: a tool chest, and low tables and chairs exactly the
• 2:23:15
  Speaker 1: right size for Benny. There was an electric train with
• 2:23:18
  Speaker 1: cars nearly as large as the boy himself. Can I
• 2:23:21
  Speaker 1: run the cars all day? Asked Benny. Oh no, replied
• 2:23:26
  Speaker 1: Henry quickly. You're going to school as soon as it begins.
• 2:23:30
  Speaker 1: This was the first that his grandfather had heard about school,
• 2:23:33
  Speaker 1: but he agreed with Henry and chuckled to himself. The
• 2:23:37
  Speaker 1: finest schools in the country, he said. This came true
• 2:23:42
  Speaker 1: for all the children finally went to the public schools,
• 2:23:45
  Speaker 1: and are they not the finest schools in the country.
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 1: In Jess's room, Benny discovered a bed for Watch. It
• 2:23:52
  Speaker 1: was in fact a regular dog's straw hamper, but it
• 2:23:56
  Speaker 1: was lined with heavy quilted silk and padded with wool.
• 2:24:01
  Speaker 1: Watch got in at once, sniffed in every corner, turned
• 2:24:04
  Speaker 1: around three times, and lay down. Just then a distant
• 2:24:09
  Speaker 1: door bell rang. It had such a low musical chime
• 2:24:13
  Speaker 1: that the children listened delightedly, never once giving a thought
• 2:24:17
  Speaker 1: as to who it might be. But almost at once
• 2:24:20
  Speaker 1: a soft footed servant appeared, saying that a man wanted
• 2:24:23
  Speaker 1: to see mister Cordyce about the dog. The moment just
• 2:24:28
  Speaker 1: heard that word dog, she was frightened. She had never
• 2:24:32
  Speaker 1: thought Watch a common runaway dog, and it always made
• 2:24:35
  Speaker 1: her uncomfortable to see passers by gaze curiously at him
• 2:24:39
  Speaker 1: as he ran by her side. They won't take Watch away,
• 2:24:43
  Speaker 1: she whispered to Henry, her breath almost gone. Indeed they
• 2:24:48
  Speaker 1: will not, declared, Henry will never never give him up. However,
• 2:24:53
  Speaker 1: Henry followed his grandfather and Jess with great anxiety. It
• 2:24:58
  Speaker 1: was indeed about Watch that the man wanted to talk,
• 2:25:02
  Speaker 1: and Jess's heart sank again when she saw the dog
• 2:25:04
  Speaker 1: jump delightedly upon the man and return his caresses with
• 2:25:08
  Speaker 1: short barks. He's a runaway, sir, from my kennel's out
• 2:25:12
  Speaker 1: in Townsend, the man explained to mister Cordyce, I have
• 2:25:16
  Speaker 1: two hundred airdales out there, and this one was sold
• 2:25:19
  Speaker 1: the day before he ran away, So you see, I
• 2:25:21
  Speaker 1: have to turn him over to the lady I sold
• 2:25:23
  Speaker 1: him to. Oh no, you don't, returned mister Cordyce, quickly,
• 2:25:27
  Speaker 1: I will give you three times what the dog is worth.
• 2:25:30
  Speaker 1: The man glanced around uneasily. I couldn't do that, sir,
• 2:25:34
  Speaker 1: he explained. You see, it isn't a question of money.
• 2:25:38
  Speaker 1: It's a question of my promised word to the lady.
• 2:25:41
  Speaker 1: Mister Cordyce failed to see she can find another dog
• 2:25:45
  Speaker 1: among two hundred airedales. I guess he returned. And besides,
• 2:25:49
  Speaker 1: you don't know positively that this is the right dog.
• 2:25:53
  Speaker 1: Excuse me, replied the man, very much embarrassed. He's the dog,
• 2:25:57
  Speaker 1: all right, he knows me, as you see, and his
• 2:26:00
  Speaker 1: name is rough number three. He has a black spot
• 2:26:03
  Speaker 1: inside his ear. It was too true, indeed, at the
• 2:26:07
  Speaker 1: mere mention of his name. The dog cocked an ear
• 2:26:10
  Speaker 1: and wagged his tail, but he had seated himself as
• 2:26:13
  Speaker 1: close to Jess as possible, and licked her hand when
• 2:26:16
  Speaker 1: she patted him. But it appeared that Henry could understand
• 2:26:20
  Speaker 1: the man's position, even if mister Cordyce could not. He
• 2:26:24
  Speaker 1: now put in a timid word of his own. If
• 2:26:28
  Speaker 1: the lady would agree to let the dog go, would
• 2:26:31
  Speaker 1: you be willing, sure, said the man, shooting a glance
• 2:26:34
  Speaker 1: at Henry. I almost know anyone would let us keep Watch, grandfather,
• 2:26:39
  Speaker 1: said Henry earnestly, if they knew how much he had
• 2:26:42
  Speaker 1: done for us. I'm sure of it, my boy, returned
• 2:26:45
  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce kindly. The fact that Henry had been the
• 2:26:49
  Speaker 1: first to make headway with the dog, Fancier had not
• 2:26:52
  Speaker 1: escaped him. But it was clear that Jess would not
• 2:26:55
  Speaker 1: be able to sleep until the matter had been settled.
• 2:26:58
  Speaker 1: So the moment the man was gone, the children set
• 2:27:01
  Speaker 1: out from their beautiful new home to the address of
• 2:27:03
  Speaker 1: the lady who had bought Watch. The big car purred
• 2:27:07
  Speaker 1: along from Greenfield to Townsend in no time, and the
• 2:27:10
  Speaker 1: whole family, including Watch himself, trooped up the veranda steps
• 2:27:15
  Speaker 1: to interview the lady who held it in her power
• 2:27:18
  Speaker 1: to break their hearts or to make them very happy.
• 2:27:22
  Speaker 1: She was not terrible to look at. In fact, she
• 2:27:25
  Speaker 1: was quite young, quite lively, and very very pretty. She
• 2:27:30
  Speaker 1: asked them all to sit down, which they did gravely,
• 2:27:33
  Speaker 1: for even Benny was worried about losing Watchee, his favorite pillow.
• 2:27:38
  Speaker 1: He could not wait for his grandfather to begin. He
• 2:27:41
  Speaker 1: struggled down from his chair and dashed over to the
• 2:27:44
  Speaker 1: young lady, saying, in one breath, you'll let us.
• 2:27:47
  Speaker 2: Keep Watchee, please, won't you? Because we want him so
• 2:27:51
  Speaker 2: bad and just didn't know he was your dog by degrees.
• 2:27:56
  Speaker 2: The lady understood just what dog it was. We have
• 2:27:59
  Speaker 2: had him so long, explained Henry eagerly. It would be
• 2:28:02
  Speaker 2: almost like letting Benny go away. Watch never leaves us
• 2:28:06
  Speaker 2: even for a minute, ever since just took the brier out.
• 2:28:09
  Speaker 1: Of his foot. So you are the children who lived
• 2:28:13
  Speaker 1: in the freight car, observed a lively young lady. I've
• 2:28:16
  Speaker 1: heard all about that. How did you like it? All? Right?
• 2:28:20
  Speaker 1: Replied Henry with an effort. But we never could have
• 2:28:23
  Speaker 1: done it without Watch. He stayed and looked after the
• 2:28:26
  Speaker 1: girls while I was away, and he just thinks everything
• 2:28:29
  Speaker 1: of Jess. Well, said the young lady, laughing, I can
• 2:28:33
  Speaker 1: see you're worrying terribly about that dog. Now listen, I
• 2:28:37
  Speaker 1: wouldn't take that dog away from you any more than
• 2:28:39
  Speaker 1: i'd take Benny. In fact, not so much. I think
• 2:28:43
  Speaker 1: maybe I'd like to keep Benny instead. Benny was apparently
• 2:28:47
  Speaker 1: quite willing that she should. He climbed into her lap
• 2:28:50
  Speaker 1: before anyone could stop him and gave her one of
• 2:28:53
  Speaker 1: his best bear hugs, and from that moment they were
• 2:28:57
  Speaker 1: firm friends. But the children always spoke of her as
• 2:29:00
  Speaker 1: the lady who owns Watch. Although mister Cordyce paid for
• 2:29:04
  Speaker 1: the dog in less time than you can imagine, it
• 2:29:07
  Speaker 1: made no difference to the children that Watch was a
• 2:29:10
  Speaker 1: very valuable dog. They had loved him when he had
• 2:29:13
  Speaker 1: not been worth a cent, and now they loved him
• 2:29:16
  Speaker 1: more simply because they had so nearly lost him. It
• 2:29:21
  Speaker 1: was a happy and reunited family which gathered around the
• 2:29:25
  Speaker 1: Courdice dining table that evening. The maids smiled in the
• 2:29:29
  Speaker 1: kitchen to hear the children laugh, and the children laughed
• 2:29:32
  Speaker 1: because Watch actually sat up at the table in the
• 2:29:35
  Speaker 1: seat of honor beside Jess, and was waited upon by
• 2:29:39
  Speaker 1: a butler. End of chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen, safe would
• 2:29:50
  Speaker 1: you ever dream that four children could be homesick in
• 2:29:54
  Speaker 1: such a beautiful house as mister Cordyce's. Jess was the
• 2:29:58
  Speaker 1: first one to long for the old freight car, Oh, grandfather,
• 2:30:02
  Speaker 1: She said, one morning, I wish I could cook something
• 2:30:05
  Speaker 1: once more in the old kettle. Go out in the kitchen,
• 2:30:08
  Speaker 1: said her grandfather, and mess around all you like. The
• 2:30:12
  Speaker 1: maids will help you. Just brightened up at once and
• 2:30:16
  Speaker 1: flew out into the kitchen, where three or four maids
• 2:30:19
  Speaker 1: brought her everything she wanted to cook with. And Benny
• 2:30:23
  Speaker 1: was the last one to wish for his old home grandfather.
• 2:30:27
  Speaker 1: He said, one day, I wish I could drink this
• 2:30:30
  Speaker 1: milk out of my own pink cup. This set mister
• 2:30:35
  Speaker 1: Cordyce to thinking he had plenty of pink cups, it
• 2:30:38
  Speaker 1: is true, but none of them were as dear to
• 2:30:41
  Speaker 1: Benny as his own. I think I shall have to
• 2:30:45
  Speaker 1: surprise you children, said mister Cordyce at last. But before
• 2:30:49
  Speaker 1: the surprise comes, perhaps you would like to see Benny's pony.
• 2:30:54
  Speaker 1: Then he led the way to the stables. He owned
• 2:30:56
  Speaker 1: several beautiful horses already, and nearly a dozen wonderful cars,
• 2:31:02
  Speaker 1: but nothing was half so interesting as the pony. He
• 2:31:06
  Speaker 1: was very small, and very fat and black. His wavy
• 2:31:10
  Speaker 1: tail was so long that it nearly touched the ground,
• 2:31:14
  Speaker 1: and his name was Cracker because his birthday fell on
• 2:31:17
  Speaker 1: the fourth of July, when fire crackers were popping. Benny
• 2:31:21
  Speaker 1: took a short ride around the stable, being held on
• 2:31:24
  Speaker 1: by a groom, But the second time around he said, Carat,
• 2:31:28
  Speaker 1: that doesn't need you to hold on to him, I
• 2:31:30
  Speaker 1: shouldn't wonder, and trotted around with great delight without help.
• 2:31:36
  Speaker 1: All the others sat down on the fragrant hay to
• 2:31:39
  Speaker 1: watch him ride. What am I going to do when
• 2:31:42
  Speaker 1: I grow up, grandfather asked Henry. You're going to take
• 2:31:46
  Speaker 1: my place Henry as president of the steel mills. Replied
• 2:31:49
  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce, you will do it better than I ever have.
• 2:31:53
  Speaker 1: And one day this came true, just as most of
• 2:31:57
  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce's prophecies did. And what am I going to do?
• 2:32:02
  Speaker 1: Asked Jess curiously. All you children must go to school
• 2:32:06
  Speaker 1: and then to college. Then you may do whatever you
• 2:32:09
  Speaker 1: choose for a living. Replied mister Cordyce. This also came true.
• 2:32:14
  Speaker 1: Of course, I have more than enough money to support us.
• 2:32:17
  Speaker 1: All went on, mister Cordyce. But if you have something
• 2:32:20
  Speaker 1: to do, you will be happier. This not only came true,
• 2:32:24
  Speaker 1: but it is always and forever true all over the world.
• 2:32:29
  Speaker 1: Am I going to college tomorrow? Asked Benny, stopping his
• 2:32:33
  Speaker 1: little pony in front of the group. Not tomorrow, Benny,
• 2:32:36
  Speaker 1: said his grandfather, laughing, But I'm glad you reminded me.
• 2:32:40
  Speaker 1: All your children must go over to doctor mc allister's
• 2:32:43
  Speaker 1: tomorrow and stay while the surprise comes. Is this surprise
• 2:32:48
  Speaker 1: very nice? Asked Benny. No, not very replied mister Cordyce
• 2:32:53
  Speaker 1: with a twinkle. Does it cost a great deal? Asked Jess.
• 2:32:59
  Speaker 1: It didn't cost me anything, answered her grandfather. The only
• 2:33:02
  Speaker 1: thing I shall have to pay will be express. He
• 2:33:05
  Speaker 1: didn't tell them that the express cost him several hundred dollars. However,
• 2:33:11
  Speaker 1: next day the children rode gladly over to see the
• 2:33:14
  Speaker 1: kind doctor. They stayed until mister Cordyce telephoned to them
• 2:33:18
  Speaker 1: that the surprise was ready, and then missus mc allister
• 2:33:22
  Speaker 1: and her son rode back with them in the big car.
• 2:33:26
  Speaker 1: Mister Cordyce was as happy as a boy. He led
• 2:33:29
  Speaker 1: the merry little procession out through his mini gardens, passed
• 2:33:33
  Speaker 1: the rose garden, through the banks of purple asters. Then
• 2:33:37
  Speaker 1: they came to an Italian garden with a fountain in
• 2:33:40
  Speaker 1: the middle and a shady little wood around the edge.
• 2:33:44
  Speaker 1: Among the trees was the surprise. It was the old
• 2:33:48
  Speaker 1: freight car. The children rushed over to it with cries
• 2:33:52
  Speaker 1: of delight, pushed back the dear old door, and scrambled in.
• 2:33:57
  Speaker 1: Everything was in place. Here was Benny's pink up, and
• 2:34:00
  Speaker 1: here was his bed. Here was the old knife which
• 2:34:03
  Speaker 1: had cut butter and bread and vegetables, and firewood and string.
• 2:34:08
  Speaker 1: And here were the letters for Benny's primmer. Here was
• 2:34:11
  Speaker 1: the big kettle on the tablecloth, And hanging on a
• 2:34:14
  Speaker 1: nearby tree was the old dinner bell. Benny rang the
• 2:34:18
  Speaker 1: bell over and over again, and watch rolled on the
• 2:34:22
  Speaker 1: floor and barked himself hoarse. The children were never homesick
• 2:34:26
  Speaker 1: after that. To be sure, the dull and ugly freight
• 2:34:30
  Speaker 1: car looked a little strange in a beautiful Italian garden,
• 2:34:33
  Speaker 1: but it was never dull or ugly to the court's
• 2:34:36
  Speaker 1: children or their dog. They were never so happy as
• 2:34:39
  Speaker 1: when showing visitors each beauty of their beloved old home.
• 2:34:44
  Speaker 1: And there were many visitors. Some of them were fascinated
• 2:34:47
  Speaker 1: by the stories of the wonderful dishes and the shelf,
• 2:34:50
  Speaker 1: and the children never grew tired of telling them over
• 2:34:53
  Speaker 1: and over again. One summer day, many years afterward, Watch
• 2:34:59
  Speaker 1: climb out of his beautiful padded silk bed and barked
• 2:35:03
  Speaker 1: until Henry lifted him into the freight car. There he
• 2:35:07
  Speaker 1: lay down on the hard, splintery floor, blinking his eyes
• 2:35:11
  Speaker 1: in the sun and watching the children as they sat
• 2:35:13
  Speaker 1: studying by the fountain. He likes the old home best,
• 2:35:18
  Speaker 1: said Jess Cordyce, smiling at him and patting his rough back.
• 2:35:23
  Speaker 1: And as Benny would say, if he hadn't grown up,
• 2:35:27
  Speaker 1: that's true, I shouldn't wonder. End of Chapter seventeen.