“Humph!” interrupted Seth Tarbox; “just as I expected.”
“Grant didn’t take a fortune with him,” said his mother. “How could you expect he would have much money left when he reached the end of his journey?”
“I didn’t, Mrs. T. That is what I said. Read on.”
“I haven’t decided yet what I will do first. I expect sometime to go to the gold fields, but I may get a position first and earn some money to buy my outfit. I am well and strong, and I am sure I can make a living some way.”
“Mark my words,” said Sophia Bartlett, “the time will come when your son will wish he had never left the farm.”
“I don’t feel sure of that,” said Mrs. Tarbox. “Grant is a manly boy, and he can work in California just as well as here, and will be paid better than here.”
“Do you mean to say that I didn’t pay the boy enough for his work, Mrs. T.?”
“I will express no opinion on that subject. California is a new country, where labor is naturally more highly compensated than here.”
“I am glad I am not in Grant’s place,” said Rodney.
“So am I,” added his mother; “but you always had good judgment, Rodney.”