Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"Adopt him?" said Matthew, curiously. "That's pretty near it," Helders admitted. "We've got one spoke for at the City Orphand Asylum." Ellen Bourne turned. "How old?" she asked. "Around five six, we figure." Helders said it almost sheepishly. Ellen stood facing the men, with the white festoons of popcorn in her hands. "Matthew," she said, "let him bring us one." Matthew stared.
"Where's he going to get the boy?" Ellen asked. Her mother did not know, but Mrs. Helders was going to have a new diagonal and she wanted the number of Ellen's pattern. Ben would stop for it that night. Evenings their kitchen was a sitting room, and when the supper had been cleared away and the red cotton spread covered the table, Ellen asked her husband to bring in the little tree.
Ellen said little things to him, and went to take down for him some trifle from the tree. "I'm just as much obliged," she said quietly to Helders. "I never thought of there not being enough. We'll wait." Helders was fumbling for something. "Here's your candles, I thought you might want them for somethin' else," he said, and turned to Matthew: "And here's your quarter.
"And a girl or a boy, now?" "No I wouldn't want to see it first I couldn't bear to choose. One healthy from healthy parents and either girl or boy," Ellen said, and stopped. "The nicest tree thing I've made is for a boy," she owned. "It's a paper soldier.... I made these things for fun," she added to Helders. For the first time Helders observed the tree. Then he looked in the woman's face.
But Helders shook his head. "Mis' Bourne," he said, "I'm real dead sorry. They wa'n't but the one. Just the one we'd spoke for." "One!" Ellen said; "you said Orphan Asylum." "There's only the one," Helders repeated. "The others is little bits of babies, or else spoke for like ours long ago. It seems they do that way. But I want you should do something: I want you and Matthew should take this one.
Helders laughed and shifted. "He's going to work by and by," he said. "We allow to have him to ourselves a spell first." "Keep him around the house till Spring?" "More," said Helders. "You see," he added, "it's like this with us ... family all gone, all married, and got their own. We figured to get hold of a little shaver and have some comfort with him before he goes to work, for life."
Ellen's mother appeared, gave over to Ellen the supper preparations, contented herself with auxiliary offices of china and butter getting, and talked the while, pleased that she had something to disclose. "Ben Helders stopped in," she told. "He's going to the City to-morrow. What do you s'pose after? A boy. He's going to take him to bring up and work on the farm."
"Ellen!" the mother mourned, "you don't know what you're taking on yourself " "Hush, mother," Ellen said gently; "you don't know what it is. You had me." She faced Helders. "Will you bring two when you come back to-morrow night?" she said; "and one of them for us?" Helders looked sidewise at Matthew, who was fumbling at his pipe. "Wouldn't you want to see it first, now?" Helders temporized.
"Ellen," she said, "you have, too, got your hands full. You're wore out all the time." "That's it," Ellen said, "and I'm not wore out with the things I want to do." "Hey, king and country!" the old man cried, upsetting the popper. "Don't get a child around here underfoot. I'm too old. I deserve grown folks. My head hurts me " "Matthew," said Ellen to her husband, "let Helders bring us one.
Matthew asked nervously. "Where's mother?" "She's watching from the front room window," Ellen answered. Once more Helders came stamping on the kitchen porch, but this time there was a patter of other steps, and Ellen caught open the door before he summoned. Helders stepped into the room, and with him was a little boy. "This one?" Ellen asked, her eyes alive with her eagerness.
Word Of The Day