“I suppose they do sometimes,” replied his father; “but Oldtown will never be clean and healthy while the dirty water from the houses is drained into the streets and alleys. Waste water must be carried off by means of pipes into a sewer. That is the work of the plumber. A good plumber is a health officer.”
“What a lot of people it takes to keep things going right, father! This town certainly does need a plumber,” remarked Wallace.
This remark seemed to please Mr. Duwell very much.
“How would you like to move to Oldtown, Wallace?” asked his father when their errand was finished and they were riding home.
“I shouldn’t mind,” said Wallace, “if I were a plumber.”
II. At Home
When Ruth saw them coming, she ran to meet them.
“What do you think, father!” she exclaimed; “the plasterer came while you were gone, and mended the kitchen ceiling. Mother is so pleased! Come and look at it!”
“That’s very well done,” said Mr. Duwell, examining the neat patch over the large hole which the falling chimney had made. “But it makes the whole room look as if it needed a new coat of paint. What do you think, mother?”