Chapter IV.
TIM’S START IN LIFE.
During the first day of Tim’s stay at the Simpson farm he was careful to help in every kind of work, and many were the praises he won from Mrs. Simpson, who held him up as an example to Sam until that young man almost felt sorry he had brought him there.
At night Tim went with Sam for the cow, and here it was that Tip made a most miserable failure, so far as showing that he was a valuable dog was concerned.
Sam, remembering how easily the dog had found the cow the night before, wanted to wait by the bars and let Tip go in and bring her out, and Tim was obliged to tell him that his pet had not been trained to do that.
Then Sam put on an injured air, as if his mistake had come from something Tim had said, rather than being an idea from his own rather thick head.
That night the boys and the dog went again to Mr. Coburn’s store; not because Tim proposed to spend any of his two dollars, but because there was a great fascination about the place for Sam. He delighted to lounge around there, at a time when he ought to have been in bed, listening to the conversation of older loafers, believing he was gaining wisdom and an insight into the ways of the world at the same time.
On that particular night there were not so many of the noble army of loafers present as usual, and the conversation was so dull that Mr. Coburn found plenty of time to question Tim as to every little particular about himself.
Tim saw no reason why he should gratify the store-keeper’s curiosity, and perhaps let some one know his story who would think it his duty to send information to Captain Babbige, so he contented himself by simply saying that he had come there in the hope of getting some work to do.
“Want to work, do yer?” asked a stout man, with a very red face and gruff voice, who had been listening to the conversation.