Only old Jacob Patterson scowled grimly as he passed him , emitting merely a surly grunt in response to Ernest 's greeting . But then , old Jacob Patterson was noted as much for his surliness as for his miserliness . Nobody had ever heard him speak pleasantly to anyone ; therefore his unfriendliness did not at all dash Ernest 's high spirits . `` I 'm sorry for him , '' the lad thought . `` He has no interest in life save accumulating money . He has no other pleasure or affection or ambition . When he dies I do n't suppose a single regret will follow him . Father died a poor man , but what love and respect went with him to his grave -- aye , and beyond it . Jacob Patterson , I 'm sorry for you . You have chosen the poorer part , and you are a poor man in spite of your thousands . '' Ernest and his mother lived up on the hill , at the end of the straggling village street . The house was a small , old-fashioned one , painted white , set in the middle of a small but beautiful lawn . George Duncan , during the last rather helpless years of his life , had devoted himself to the cultivation of flowers , shrubs , and trees and , as a result , his lawn was the prettiest in Conway . Ernest worked hard in his spare moments to keep it looking as well as in his father 's lifetime , for he loved his little home dearly , and was proud of its beauty . He ran gaily into the sitting-room . `` Tea ready , lady mother ? I 'm hungry as a wolf . Good news gives one an appetite . Mr. White has raised my salary a couple of dollars per week . We must celebrate the event somehow this evening .
What do you say to a sail XXXXX the river and an ice cream at Taylor 's afterwards ?
as at beyond during for in into of on to