“No,” was the sad reply. “They’re both dead, an’ me an’ Tip have to look out for ourselves. We did live with Captain Babbige, but we couldn’t stand it any longer, an’ so we started out on our own hook.”
“Where do you get things to eat?”
“We’ve got some money to buy ’em with.”
“How much have you got?”
“I had two cents when I left Selman, an’ Mr. Sullivan, that keeps a store down to the mills, gave me two dollars.”
“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” said Sam, eagerly, as his eyes sparkled with delight. “Jest the other side of my house there’s a store, an’ we can go down there an’ get two big sticks of candy, an’ have an awful good time.”
Tim reflected a moment. He knew that he ought to keep his money; but Sam’s idea seemed such a good one that the thought of the pleasure which would come with the eating of the candy was too much for his notions of economy; therefore he compromised by saying, “I will, if you’ll let me sleep in your barn.”
Sam quickly agreed to that—in order to get the candy he would probably have promised to give the entire farm away—and the three—Sam, Tim and Tip—started off, the best of friends.
But before they had gone very far Sam stopped in the middle of the road, saying, mournfully, “My! but I forgot all about the cow!”
“What cow?”