When recess came , great was the rejoicing of the children over their unexpected treat , for Mrs. Moss had few pennies to spare for sweets , and , somehow , this candy tasted particularly nice , bought out of grateful Ben 's solitary dime . The little girls shared their goodies with their favorite mates , but said nothing about the new arrangement , fearing it would be spoilt if generally known . They told their mother , however , and she gave them leave to lend their books and encourage Ben to love learning all they could . She also proposed that they should drop patch-work , and help her make some blue shirts for Ben . Mrs. Barton had given her the materials , and she thought it would be an excellent lesson in needle-work as well as a useful gift to Ben , -- who , boy-like , never troubled himself as to what he should wear when his one suit of clothes gave out . Wednesday afternoon was the sewing time ; so the two little B 's worked busily at a pair of shirt-sleeves , sitting on their bench in the doorway , while the rusty needles creaked in and out , and the childish voices sang school-songs , with frequent stoppages for lively chatter . For a week , Ben worked away bravely , and never shirked nor complained , although Pat put many a hard or disagreeable job upon him , and chores grew more and more distasteful . His only comfort was the knowledge that Mrs. Moss and the Squire were satisfied with him ; his only pleasure the lessons he learned while driving the cows , and recited in the evening when the three children met under the lilacs to `` play school . '' He had no thought of studying when he began , and hardly knew that he was doing it as he pored over the different books he took from the library . But the little girls tried him with all they Possessed , and he was mortified to find how ignorant he was . He never owned it in words , but gladly accepted all the bits of knowledge they offered from their small store ; getting Betty to hear him spell `` just for fun ; '' agreeing to draw Bab all the bears and tigers she wanted if she would show him how to do sums on the flags , and often beguiled his lonely labors by trying to chant the multiplication table as they did . When Tuesday night came round , the Squire paid him a dollar , said he was `` a likely boy , '' and might stay another week if he chose . Ben thanked him and thought he would ; but the next morning , after he had put up the bars , he remained sitting on the top rail to consider his prospects , for he felt uncommonly reluctant to go back to the society of rough Pat . Like most boys , he hated work , unless it was of a sort which just suited him ; then he could toil like a beaver and never tire . His wandering life had given him no habits of steady industry ; and , while he was an unusually capable lad of his age , he dearly loved to `` loaf '' about and have a good deal of variety and excitement in his life . Now he saw nothing before him but days of patient and very uninteresting labor . He was heartily sick of weeding ; even riding Duke before the cultivator had lost its charms , and a great pile of wood lay in the Squire 's yard which he knew he would be set to piling up in the shed . Strawberry-picking would soon follow the asparagus cultivation ; then haying ; and and so on all the long bright summer , without any fun , unless his father came for him . On the other hand , he was not obliged to stay a minute longer unless he liked . With a comfortable suit of clothes , a dollar in his pocket , and a row of dinner-baskets hanging in the school-house entry to supply him with provisions if he did n't mind stealing them , what was easier than to run away again ?
Tramping has its charms in fair weather , and Ben had lived like a gypsy under canvas for years ; so he feared nothing , and began to look down the leafy road with a restless , wistful expression , as the temptation grew stronger and stronger every XXXXX .
Barton Duke Moss Pat afternoon cultivator labor minute needle-work stealing