Latest / Classic Adventure Books - Daily / 06 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner

Transcript

06 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chapter six, Earning a Living. Henry had all sorts of
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: packages under his arm and in his pockets, but he
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: wouldn't open them or tell a thing about his adventures
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: until dinner was ready. He said, Yes, you're a wonder,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: he exclaimed, when he saw the dishes and the shelf.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: The big kettle was selected, and they all began to
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: pick blueberries as fast as they could, telling Henry meanwhile
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: all about the wonderful dump. At last, the tablecloth was spread,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and Henry unwrapped his parcels before the whole excited family.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I bought some more brown bread, he said, producing the loaves,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: and some more milk, in the same little store where
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I went yesterday. It's kept by a little old man,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: and it's called a delicatessen shop. He has everything in
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: his store to eat. I've bought some dried beef because
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: we can eat it in our fingers. And I bought
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: a big bone for the dog. His name is Watch.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Jess interrupted. All right, said Henry, accepting the name. I
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: bought a bone for Watch. Watch fell on the bone
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: as if he were famished, which indeed he nearly was.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: It was a rapturous moment when Jess poured the yellow
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: milk into four cups or bowls, and each child proceeded
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: to crumble the brown bread into it with a liberal
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: scattering of blueberries, and then when they ate it with spoons.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Nobody was able to speak a word for several minutes.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: Then Henry began slowly to tell his tale. I earned
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: a dollar just this morning, he began, proudly. I walked
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: along the first shady street. I came to nice houses,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: you know, and there was a fellow out mowing his
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: own lawn. He's a nice fellow too, I can tell you.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: A young doctor. Henry paused to chew blissfully. He was
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: pretty hot. Henry went on, and just as I came
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: to the gate, his telephone rang. I heard it and
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: called after him and asked if he didn't want me
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: to finish up, and he said he did, cried Jess, Yes,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: he said, for goodness sake, yes, Henry answered, smiling. You see,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: he wasn't used to it. So I mowed the lawn
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: and trimmed the edges. And he said he never had
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: a boy trim it as well as I did. And
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: then he asked me if I wanted a steady job. Oh,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Henry cried, Violet and Jess together. I told him I
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: did so. He said to come back this afternoon any
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: time I wanted, or tomorrow. He said he didn't care,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: just when, any time. Henry gave his cup a last
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: polish with his spoon and set it down dreamily. It's
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: a pretty house, he went on. And there's a big
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: garden behind it, vegetable garden, and an orchard behind that,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: cherry orchard. He ought to see the cherry trees well.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: When I was trimming the edges near the kitchen door,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: the cook came and watched me. She's a fat irishwoman,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Henry laughed at the recollection. She asked me if I
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: liked cookies. Oh, if you had smelled them baking, you'd
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: have died, laughing, Benny delicious, So I said I did,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: and she passed me out one, and when she went
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: back in, I put it in my pocket. Did she
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: see you, asked jess anxiously. Oh no, said Henry confidently,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: For I carefully chewed away for a long time on
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: nothing at all. Benny began to look fixedly at Henry's pocket.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: It certainly was still rather bulgy. When I went the
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: doctor paid me a dollar, and the cook gave me
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: this bag. Henry grinned as he tossed the paper bag
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: to Jess. Inside were twelve ginger cookies with scalloped edges,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: smelling faintly of cinnamon and sugar. I'm going to keep
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: track of everything I earn and spend, said Henry, watching
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Jess as she handed around the cookies with reverence. How
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: are you going to write without a pencil, asked Jess.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: There are pieces of tailor chalk in my work bag,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: said Violet. Henry gave his younger sister a gentle pat
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: as she returned with her work bag and fished for
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: the chalk. While the girls rinsed the empty dishes in
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: the brook and stored away the food for supper, Henry
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: was beginning his cash account on the wall of his bedroom.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: It was never erased, and Henry often now looks at
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the account with great affection. Soon the girls came to
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: inspect it. Meanwhile, Benny looked on with great delight as
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Watch tried to bury his bone. With only one paw
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: to dig with earned one dollar cash on hand, three
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: dollars eighty five cents, read Jess aloud. Below he had
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: written milk twenty four cents, bread ten cents, bread twenty cents,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: cheese ten cents, milk twenty four cents, beef twenty cents,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: bone five cents, cloth ten cents cloth, exclaimed Violet, What
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: on earth? Henry laughed a little and watched her face
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: as he drew out his last package and handed it
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: to her. I thought we ought to have a tablecloth,
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: he explained, So I got a yard at the ten
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: cent store. But it isn't hemmed. Of course, with a
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: cry of delight, Violet unwrapped the brown cloth with its
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: edge of blue. Her clever fingers were already evening the
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: two ends. She was never so happy as when with
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: a needle. Henry set off again with a light heart.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Here was one sister curled up happily against a big tree,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: setting tiny stitches into a very straight hem Here was
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: another sister busily gathering pliant twigs into a bundle for
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: a broom with which to sweep the stray pine needles
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: from the house. And here was Benny, curled up sound
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: asleep on the ground with the dog for a pillow.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: It was quite late when Henry returned. In fact, it
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: was nearly seven o'clock, although he didn't know that several
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: treasures had been added in his absence. The broom stood
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: proudly in the corner with a slim stick for a handle.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: The new tablecloth had been washed and was drying on
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the line, and Jess, who had decided to wash one
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: garment a day, had begun with Benny's stockings. When Henry came,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: they were being put on again with much pride by
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Benny himself. Violet had darned a big hole in each.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: This time, Henry himself could not wait to tell his
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: sisters what he had. He passed them the package at
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: once with shining eyes. Butter, cried Jess with a radiant face.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: It was butter, cool and sweet. Nobody remembered that they
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: had been a week without tasting either butter or meat
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: when at last they sat down to their royal supper.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: These are trick spoons, explained Henry. Turn them upside down
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: and use the handle, and they become knives. They were
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: knives anyway. They were used to spread the delicious morsels
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: of butter on the brown loaf with dried beef and
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: a cookie for dessert. Who could ask for better fare?
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Certainly not the four children, who enjoyed it more than
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: the rarest dainties. I washed the doctor's automobile this afternoon,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Henry related. Then I washed both piazzas with the hose,
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: and tomorrow I'm going to hoe in the garden. Oh,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: wouldn't I love to have a nice cold swim in
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: that brook? Henry was hot and sticky. Certainly, he looked
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: with longing eyes at the waterfall as he finished the
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: last crumbs of his supper. I wonder if we couldn't
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: fix up a regular swimming pool, he said, half to himself.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Of course we could, replied Violet, as if nothing were
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: too difficult. Jess and I know where there are big
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: logs and big flat stones. You do, eh, said Henry,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: staring at his gentle little sister. Well why couldn't we,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Henry struck in Jess. Just a little below this there
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: is a sort of pool already, only not big enough.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: We sure could, cried Henry. Some day I'll stay home
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: from work and we'll see. Nobody realized that Henry had
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: been working only one day and all anyway, it seemed
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: as if they had always lived in the comfortable home
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: in the freight car with Henry, plying back and forth
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: from the city each day, bringing them new surprises. Henry
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: went to bed that night with a head full of
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: plans for damming up the brook. He almost shouted when
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: he thought suddenly of Benny's wheels. He began to plan
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: to make a cart to carry the heavy stones to
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: the brook, and that was when he first noticed that
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: Watch was not asleep. He could see his eyes shining
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: red in the darkness. It must have been around eleven o'clock.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Henry reached over and patted his rough little back. Watch
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: licked the hand but didn't close his eyes. Suddenly he
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: began to growl softly, sh said Henry to the dog.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Now thoroughly startled, he sat up. Jess sat up. They
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: did not hear a sound. Better shut the door, breathed Henry.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Together they rolled the door very slowly and softly, until
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: it was shut. Still, they did not hear anything, but
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: still Watch continued his uneasy growling. Violet and Benny slumbered on.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: Jess and Henry sat motionless with their hearts and their mouths.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Supposing it was some other tramp, whispered Jess. Somebody that
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: wanted to sleep here, Watch would bite em whispered Henry briefly.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Jess never knew what confidence Henry had in the faithful dog.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Then a branch cracked sharply outside, and Watch barked out loud.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Jess smothered the dog instantly in her arms, but it
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: had been a bark, and it was loud, clear and unmistakable.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: That settles it, thought Henry, whoever it is, knows there's
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: some one in here. And the boy waited with the
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: new broom in his hand, expecting every moment to see
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: the door opened from the outside. But nothing happened, nothing
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: at all. The children sat in perfect silence for at
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: least a half hour, and nothing more was heard. Watch
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: sniffed a little when Henry finally rolled the door open again,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: but he then turned around three times and lay down
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: beside Jess, apparently satisfied at last, Taking the dog's conduct
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: as a sure guide, Henry composed himself for sleep. It
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: must have been a rabbit or something, he said to Jess.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: The occupants of the freight car slept peacefully until morning.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: End of Chapter six