"I sold forty-five pounds on the way to Minturn, at his market store--forty-five pounds, at two cents a pound. What do you think of that?"
"Do you mean that you have earned ninety cents to-day, Robert?"
"Yes; and here"s the money."
"That"s much better than I expected," said Mrs. Rushton, looking several degrees more I cheerful.
"I don"t expect to do as well as that every day, mother, but I don"t believe we"ll starve. Minturn has engaged me to supply him with fish every day, only some days the fishes won"t feel like coming out of the water. Then, I forgot to tell you, I"m to have Will Paine"s boat for nothing. He"s going to boarding school, and has asked me to take care of it for him."
"You are fortunate, Robert."
"I am hungry, too, mother. Those two sandwiches didn"t go a great ways.
So, if you can just as well as not have supper earlier, it would suit me."
"I"ll put on the teakettle at once, Robert," said his mother, rising.
"Would you like some of the fish for supper?"
"If it wouldn"t be too much trouble."
"Surely not, Robert."
The usual supper hour was at five in this country household, but a little after four the table was set, and mother and son sat down to a meal which both enjoyed. The fish proved to be excellent, and Robert enjoyed it the more, first, because he had caught it himself, and next because he felt that his independent stand at the factory, though it had lost him his place, was not likely to subject his mother to the privations he had feared.
"I"ll take another piece of fish, mother," said Robert, pa.s.sing his plate. "I think, on the whole, I shan"t be obliged to learn to braid straw."
"No; you can do better at fishing."
"Only," added Robert, with mock seriousness, "we might change work sometimes, mother; I will stay at home and braid straw, and you can go out fishing."
"I am afraid I should make a poor hand at it," said Mrs. Rushton, smiling.
"If Halbert Davis could look in upon us just now, he would be disappointed to find us so cheerful after my losing my place at factory.
However, I"ve disappointed him in another way."
"How is that?"
"He expected Will Paine would lend him his boat while he was gone, but, instead of that, he finds it promised to me."
"I am afraid he is not a very kind-hearted boy."
"That"s drawing it altogether too mild, mother. He"s the meanest fellow I ever met. However, I won"t talk about him any more, or it"ll spoil my appet.i.te."
On the next two mornings Robert went out at five o"clock, in order to get home in time for the market-wagon. He met with fair luck, but not as good as on the first day. Taking the two mornings together, he captured and sold seventy pounds of fish, which, as the price remained the same, brought him in a dollar and forty cents. This was not equal to his wages at the factory; still, he had the greater part of the day to himself, only, unfortunately, he had no way of turning his time profitably to account, or, at least, none had thus far occurred to him.
On the morning succeeding he was out of luck. He caught but two fish, and they were so small that he decided not to offer them for sale.
"If I don"t do better than this," he reflected, "I shan"t make very good wages. The fish seem to be getting afraid of me."
He paddled about, idly, a few rods from the sh.o.r.e, having drawn up his line and hook.
All at once, he heard a voice hailing him from the river bank:
"Boat ahoy!"
"Hallo!" answered Robert, lifting his eyes, and seeing who called him.
"Can you set me across the river?"
"Yes, sir."
"Bring in your boat, then, and I"ll jump aboard. I"ll pay you for your trouble."
Robert did as requested, with alacrity. He was very glad to earn money in this way, since it seemed he was to have no fish to dispose of. He quickly turned the boat to the sh.o.r.e, and the stranger jumped on board.
He was a man of rather more than the average height, with a slight limp in his gait, in a rough suit of clothes, his head being surmounted by a felt hat considerably the worse for wear. There was a scar on one cheek, and, altogether, he was not very prepossessing in his appearance.
Robert noted all this in a rapid glance, but it made no particular impression upon him at the moment. He cared very little how the stranger looked, as long as he had money enough to pay his fare.
"It"s about a mile across the river, isn"t it?" asked the stranger.
"About that here. Where do you want to go?"
"Straight across. There"s an old man named Nichols lives on the other side, isn"t there?"
"Yes; he lives by himself."
"Somebody told me so. He"s rich, isn"t he?" asked the stranger, carelessly.
"So people say; but he doesn"t show it in his dress or way of living."
"A miser, I suppose?"
"Yes."
"What does he do with his money?"
"I only know what people say."
"And what do they say?"
"That he is afraid to trust banks, and hides his money in the earth."
"That kind of bank don"t pay very good interest," said the stranger, laughing.
"No; but it isn"t likely to break."
"Here? boy, give me one of the oars. I"m used to rowing, and I"ll help you a little."
Robert yielded one of the oars to his companion, who evidently understood rowing quite as well as he professed to. Our hero, though strong-armed, had hard work to keep up with him.