“Take care of me! I’ll take care of myself, and everything else, too. I can milk, and cook, and see to everything.”
“But would you not be afraid to stay here all alone?”
“Afraid! Poor vagabond children, like me, don’t have any fears; they can’t afford to. It’s rich people’s children, that are brought up nice, have fears. Such wanderers as I am, if they only have enough to eat, and a place to put their head in, they are all right.”
“What a speech that is!” said Joe. “I’ve always heard that a barrel might have as large a bung-hole as a hogshead, and now I believe it.”
“I’ll come over and stay with him,” said John; “I’m sure I would rather be here than at home.”
“Father and mother wouldn’t agree to that, John; but you may tell them we’ll come and stay over Sabbath.”
The next Wednesday morning, to Charles’s great delight, they started, and Joe with them, as he was going home to Thanksgiving. The moment they were out of sight, Charlie commenced operations. He went up chamber, where was some clear stuff,—boards and plank,—which now would be worth eighty dollars a thousand, if indeed such lumber could be procured at all, and taking what he needed, brought it down to the bench in the front room. He then went up on the middle ridge, cut down a black cherry tree, and taking a piece from the butt, split it in halves, and brought it into the house. As he now had all his material, he made up a good fire and went to work. His saw and hammer went all the time, except when he was asleep, or doing the necessary work. As for cooking, he lived most of the time on bread and milk, because he did not wish to take the time from his work to cook. He had, indeed, abundance of time to do what he was intending, a regular mechanic would have done in a third part of the time; but Charlie was a boy, and though very ingenious, had to learn as he went along, and stop very often and think a long time how to do a thing; and sometimes he made a mistake and did it wrong, or made a bad joint, and then away it went into the fire.
“If I make a blunder,” said Charles, “nobody shall be the wiser for it.” Charles was by no means the only apprentice who has spoiled lumber in learning, as the stove in many a joiner’s shop would testify, if it could speak.
Ben and Sally had a most delightful time. They staid Wednesday night at Captain Rhines’s; Thursday they went to meeting, and Sally saw all her old friends, and the girls she knew before she married, and had to tell over the story about the pirates I don’t know how many times.
But there was a little incident that took place at meeting that mortified Ben very much. He entertained a very great respect for religion, and would not for the world have done anything in a light or trifling manner in the house of God. It was the fashion in those days to wear very large watches, and very large seals attached to a large chain. Ben had a watch-seal that was made in Germany, in which was a music-box, that, being wound up, would play several very lively tunes. After being wound up, it was set in operation by pressing a spring. In the morning, before they went to meeting, Ben, in order to gratify John and Fred Williams, who were in to go to meeting with him, had been playing with it, and Uncle Isaac coming in, he left it wound up, and went to meeting. While the minister was at prayer, Ben, in leaning against the pew, pressed the spring, and off started the music-box into a dancing tune. There was no such thing as stopping it till it ran down. It is useless to attempt to describe the effect of such unwarranted and unhallowed sounds breaking upon the solemn stillness of an old-time congregation.