"I am going to keep an account of all that is spent for them," he said; "and we will see if we can make it pay."
When Joe had saved three dollars, he teased Granny to let him order his clothes.
"I don't like running in debt, Joe," she said with a grave shake of the head.
"But this is very sure. Mr. Terry likes me, and I shall go on staying. There will be four dollars and a half to pay down by the time they are done, and in five weeks I can earn the rest."
"How nice it seems!" said Hal. "You and Flo earn a deal of money."
Flo gave a small sniff. She wanted some new clothes also. And Kit and Charlie were going to shreds and patches. Charlie, indeed, was shooting up like Jack's bean-stalk, Joe declared, being nearly as tall as Hal. She was wild as a colt, climbed trees, jumped fences, and wouldn't be dared by any of the boys.
"I'm sure I don't know what you'll come to," Granny would say with a sigh.
Joe carried his point, and ordered his clothes; for he insisted that he could not think of going to Sunday school until he had them. It was quite an era in his life to have real store clothes. He felt very grand one day when he went to Mr. Briggs the tailor, and selected the cloth. There were several different patterns and colors; but he had made up his mind that it should be gray, just like Archie Palmer's.
He was so dreadfully afraid of being disappointed, that he dropped in on Friday to see if they were progressing. There was the jacket in the highest state of perfection.
"But the pants?" he questioned.