“Seems to me you could do all that at high school, Toby. And high school won’t cost more’n a fifth as much, fares and all. It’s your money and I suppose you ought to have the spending of it, so long’s you don’t spend it plumb foolishly. But what occurs to me is that this Yardley Hall place is a mighty poor place for a boy who hasn’t plenty of money. Mostly rich boys, ain’t they; those that go to it?”
“No, sir, Arnold says there are lots of fellows who aren’t rich; fellows about like me, Dad.”
“H’m, well, I don’t know. We’ll think it over. What you going to do next year for money? One year won’t do you much good, I guess.”
“I don’t know. Only, somehow, I’ve got a hunch that if I can get through the first year I’ll manage the others, Dad.”
Mr. Tucker shook his head. “I wouldn’t put too much faith on ‘hunches,’ as you call ’em, Toby. I’ll talk to Arnold about this school some day. If it’s going to give you something the high school can’t give you, son, and you’ve got the money to pay for it, why, I don’t know as I’m going to interfere none. But you’ll have to get your ma’s consent.”
Toby agreed, feeling fairly certain that he could obtain that without much difficulty, although he knew that his mother would view his absence from home with alarm and sorrow. When Phebe was told of the plan she disappointed Toby by her lack of enthusiasm at first.
“You mean that you’ll be away from home for months at a time?” she asked dolorously. “Won’t you be coming home ever, Toby?”
“Maybe, but I guess I couldn’t afford to come home very often even if they’d let me. Of course, I’d be home at Christmas and—and Easter.”
“Christmas is a long time from September. I suppose it’ll be perfectly dandy for you, Toby, but—but I’ll be awfully lonesome!”