“No, no; he understood that.”
“I am glad of that, mother. You made a mistake.”
“It may be so, but I must make the best of it.”
“We could have got along on what money you had and what I could earn, and we should have been far happier by ourselves, mother.”
“Don’t say any more. The past cannot be recalled.”
“You mustn’t blame me if I don’t stay here very long, mother. I can’t stand Mr. Winter and his mean, tyrannical ways.”
“Oh, Ben, you wouldn’t go away and leave me?”
“If I do it will only be that I may get on in the world, and offer you a better home than you have now.”
“But you are only a boy, only fifteen years old. You must stay here till you have got an education. You have graduated from the grammar school, and are now ready for the high school.”
“I don’t think Mr. Winter will allow me to go.”