Why can’t you? Won’t your father let you?”
“He wants me to go round with him,” answered Tony.
Wouldn’t he take me instead of you?” asked Abner, grinning. “I’d like to travel round and see the world. You could stay here and do the farm work.”
“If he and the farmer agree to the change, I will,” answered Tony, with a smile.
At noon they went back to the farmhouse to dinner.
Tony stared with astonishment at the quantity of food Abner made away with. He concluded that farm work was favorable to the appetite.
The afternoon passed rapidly away, and night came. Again Tony went up to the attic to share Abner’s room. He got nervous as the night wore on. He knew what was expected of him, and he shrank from Rudolph’s anger. He tried to go to sleep, but could not.
At last the expected signal came. There was a rattling of gravel stones upon the window.
Shall I lie here and take no notice?” thought Tony.
In this case Rudolph would continue to fling gravel stones, and Abner might wake up. He decided to go to the window and announce his determination.