"I was afraid you had been crying your eyes out," he said. "Brave little girl, we'll miss him bad enough, but it's such a fine chance and there's such a lot of Hayne boys. Guess he's the smartest of the lot though, where books are concerned, but it isn't everybody that's wantin' book learning. Why, it's said that fine old fellow Mr. Le Moyne's worth thousands and thousands!"
"I've been kinder respectin' yer feelin's," said M'liss in a low tone "en thought I wouldn't say anythin' about Norme goin' away, seein' as ye was sich friends. Yer'll miss him jest orful, he was here so much."
I winked hard to keep the tears back.
"Harris says they won't find another boy like him in a hurry. I don't know what's got into boys nowadays, they ain't worth their salt. Seem to think they were put into the world jest to loaf round. That horse-racing will be the ruin of them. I'd have it stopped if I was boss."
I didn't so much mind the talk of boys in general. Father ate a good hearty dinner and went off to work, pleased to find the bags mended. M'liss ate her dinner, fed her baby, washed the dishes and took some potatoes home with her, though she "'lowed she'd stay and company me if she hadn't promised to rub out Mis' Crane's wash, seein' she had rheumatiz' and wasn't strong."
It was a lonely afternoon, for I was thinking of the evenings in all the two years to come. If I had a sister! There were no girls near by. Over the other side of the river there were so many of them and they were always having such good times.
It was a long, long afternoon. I fed the chickens and shut them up and then cooked the supper. We were hardly through when there was a cheery whistle in the outer kitchen and Ben Hayne came in.
"Mother sent me over to say she was coming this afternoon only Mis' Carpenter an' Mis' Wooley come a-visiting. They are there yet. I was kep' in school."
"Then you haven't had any supper. Come and have a bite, though I expect you have lots of good things at home."
People in those days made a great spread for company.