Farmer Watkins was an honest, hard-working man, somewhat past middle
age, with a heart not naturally devoid of kindness, but, where his
hirelings were concerned, so strongly encrusted with a layer of
habits, that they acted as an effectual check upon his better
feelings. His family consisted of a wife, said to be a notable
manager, and five or six children, the eldest, a son, at college. In
this household, work, work, was the order of the day; the farmer
himself, with his great brown fists, set the example, and the
others, willing or unwilling, were obliged to follow his lead. He
had agreed to take John Cole, as he said, more to get rid of his
mother's importunities, than for any benefit he expected to derive
from him; and when remonstrated with by his wife for his folly in
giving her the trouble of another brat, he answered shortly: "Never
fear, I'll get the worth of his victuals and clothes out of him."
Johnny was to have his boarding, clothes, and a dollar a month, for
two years. This dollar a month was the great item in Mrs. Cole's
calculations; twelve dollars a year, she argued, would almost pay
her rent, and when the tears stood in Johnny's great brown eyes (for
he was a pretty, gentle-hearted boy), as he was bidding them all
good-bye, and kissing the baby over and over again, she told him
about the money he would earn, and nerved his little heart with her
glowing representations, until he was able to choke back the tears,
and leave home almost cheerfully.
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