“If we are to have a home we must stay by it all the time. I can not do it alone, but if you girls will stand back of me and take the responsibility of the housework, I believe I can support the family.”
“I have talked the matter over with Papa, and he is willing that we should try this plan out, and has even promised to help us when he can. We might as well look at things as they are. None of us could be care-free like other young people, but instead we should have to settle down and keep things going. There are many things that we could not do, lest our good be evil spoken of. We would not dare to act in any way that would bring reproach upon us. It will be a serious undertaking, and I want you to be sure that you wish to do it. I am willing to do my part if you girls will help me.”
The girls listened soberly, and when he had ceased speaking, they both waited in silence. At last Amy looked up with a mischievous smile, seeking to throw off the serious mood into which Austin’s speech had put them. She was always afraid of a really serious mood.
“It is no fun keeping house. I do not know whether I want to attack a job like that till the children are grown up or not. You will have to give me time to study about it,” she replied.
“How can we bear to have Lila and Doyle knocked about as they are now and have been?” asked Austin with reproach in his voice.
Nell looked up an instant and saw the look of pain in her brother’s face which Amy’s words had brought, and said quietly, “I will do my part the best I can, Austin.”
There are times when words are insufficient to express one’s feelings. Austin found himself at one of these places. His heart had been almost broken with sorrow for the shattered home circle, and the deepest desire of his heart was to gather the children together again and if possible build for them a home where they could have a chance for home influences and comforts. That he could not do this without cheerful cooperation from his sisters he knew. So Nell’s simple little answer sent a thrill of joy and hope too sweet for words to the very depths of his heart. This promise from her was all that he asked. He knew that she would stand by her vow. Years afterward when telling a friend of this incident, Austin said it was one of the sweetest moments of his life when he looked into the face of his sister and heard her tender promise. The two of them, for Amy was strangely left out now, talked the rest of the afternoon making plans for their future, hope springing higher every moment. But they were not undertaking something new, for well each of them knew what they were doing. They knew that it meant years of toil, care, and responsibility; but for the sake of home and the little brothers and sister, they were willing to do their part. At last the evening shades came creeping over the fields and they must part. Bidding Nell a loving farewell, Austin and Amy walked across the grassy meadow to the farmhouse that was Amy’s temporary home, and leaving her there he hastened back to his place with a lighter heart and step than had been his for months. As yet they were but hired servants; but soon, soon they would have a home of their own. “Nell,” he had said on parting with her, “I know you will do your part, and with Amy’s help—for she will help, we know—we shall get along very well.” Nell and Amy slept that night with a sense of coming happiness and hope that they had not felt for a long time. Though they lacked the strength of character that was Austin’s heritage from his mother, they were home-loving as well as he. The main question with them was, “Where?”—what place would be best for them to begin all over again? The girls favored going back to the old home town; but Austin doubted the wisdom of this, for the girls had associates there who would do them no good. He craved new and better environments for them. Besides, he had suffered so much anxiety and disappointment there that he felt it could never be home to him. He favored a new town where there would be no influence nor prejudice against them, where they could make a new start entirely. At last he brought the girls to see the reasonableness of his view; but no definite plans could be made just yet. “Please do not stop in this part of the country, for I am so discouraged with everything that I do not know what to do,” pleaded Amy.
“I know just how you feel, Sister, and I will not settle here. There is nothing here for us anyway. We must find a town where I can get paying work so that I can keep the bread and butter coming,” he answered. “I have been thinking of Weston. The Baileys live there, and we have promised to go to see them some time. That is a thriving town, and perhaps I could get work. Besides, it is not far away and would not cost us so much in moving there. What do you say to my writing to Mr. Bailey inviting ourselves to visit them for a few days soon, and while there see what we can do?” was Austin’s proposition to the girls one day.
“That sounds pretty good. At least we shall have a good time visiting with the girls,” they answered with spirit.
“Here is a letter from Austin Hill,” said Mr. Bailey a few days later. “He wishes to find a location here and asks to bring Amy and Nell with him for a little visit while he is prospecting. It will be convenient to have them, will it not?” he asked.