“No; our unpaid bills must amount to at least two hundred dollars more,” answered his mother.
Grant whistled.
Two hundred and sixty-seven dollars seemed to him an immense sum, and so it was, to a poor minister with a family of three children and a salary of only six hundred dollars. Where to obtain so large a sum neither Grant nor his mother could possibly imagine. Even if there were anyone to borrow it from, there seemed no chance to pay back so considerable a sum.
Mother and son looked at each other in perplexity. Finally, Grant broke the silence.
“Mother,” he said, “one thing seems pretty clear. I must go to work. I am fifteen, well and strong, and I ought to be earning my own living.”
“But your father has set his heart upon your going to college, Grant.”
“And I should like to go, too; but if I did it would be years before I could be anything but an expense and a burden, and that would make me unhappy.”
“You are almost ready for college, Grant, are you not?”
“Very nearly. I could get ready for the September examination. I have only to review Homer, and brush up my Latin.”
“And your uncle Godfrey is ready to help you through.”