"And what did you be sellin' to-day, Pat dear?" asked his mother when at half-past nine he entered the kitchen door. She would not ask him at supper time. She wished to hear the sum total of the day's sales at once, and she had prepared her mind for a long list of articles.
"Well, mother," answered Pat drawing a long breath, "I sold two yards and a half of gingham."
The widow nodded. But Pat did not go on.
"And what else, Pat dear?"
"Nothin' else, mother."
Mrs. O'Callaghan looked astonished.
"That's little to be sellin' in a whole day," she observed. "Didn't you sell no silks and velvets and laces?"
"I'm not to sell them, mother."
"And why not?" with a mystified air.