"If you think that by moving you'll keep me from seeing her again...."
"No, son, not no more'n I could keep yer from cuttin' yer throat by lockin' up yer razor. Yer could git another razor. I know that. All the same, it'd be up to me, wouldn't it, not to leave no razors layin' round the room, where yer could put yer 'and on 'em?"
This settling of his destiny over his head angered Tom especially.
"I can save you the trouble of having me on your mind any more. To-morrow I'll be out on my own. I'm going to be a man."
"Sure, you're going to be a man—in time. But yer ain't a man yet."
"I'm sixteen. I can do what any other fellow of sixteen can do."
"No fella of sixteen can do much."
"He can earn a living."
"He can earn part of a livin'. How many boys of sixteen did yer ever know that could swing clear of home and friends and everythink, and feed and clothe and launder theirselves on what they made out'n their job?"
"Well, I can try, can't I?"