Sam was a lazy , shiftless fellow , deserving all the hard things that came to be said of him . He would not work and nobody could depend on him , but he was a handsome lad with rather taking ways in his youth , and at first people had liked him better than the close , blunt , industrious Timothy . Their mother had died in their childhood , but Mr. Robinson had been fond of Sam and the boy had a good home . When he was twenty-two and Timothy eighteen , Mr. Robinson had died very suddenly , leaving no will . Everything he possessed went to Timothy . Sam immediately left . He said he would not stay there to be `` bossed '' by Timothy . He rented a little house in the village , married a girl `` far too good for him , '' and started in to support himself and his wife by days ' work . He had lounged , borrowed , and shirked through life . Once Timothy Robinson , perhaps moved by pity for Sam 's wife and baby , had hired him for a year at better wages than most hired men received in Dalrymple . Sam idled through a month of it , then got offended and left in the middle of haying . Timothy Robinson washed his hands of him after that . When Ellis was fourteen Sam Duncan died , after a lingering illness of a year . During this time the family were kept by the charity of pitying neighbours , for Ellis could not be spared from attendance on his father to make any attempt at earning money . Mrs. Duncan was a fragile little woman , worn out with her hard life , and not strong enough to wait on her husband alone . When Sam Duncan was dead and buried , Ellis straightened his shoulders and took counsel with himself . He must earn a livelihood for his mother and himself , and he must begin at once . He was tall and strong for his age , and had a fairly good education , his mother having determinedly kept him at school when he had pleaded to be allowed to go to work . He had always been a quiet fellow , and nobody in Dalrymple knew much about him . But they knew all about his father , and nobody would hire Ellis unless he were willing to work for a pittance that would barely clothe him .
Ellis had not gone to his Uncle Timothy until he had lost all hope XXXXX getting a place elsewhere .
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