The next morning Rosa and Edith came to school with money to buy chairs,
and at recess all their special friends went with them to Harrison's to
make the purchase. When Marty had a nearer view of the chairs and
handled them, she was more anxious than ever to possess one. This
anxiety increased as the days passed and the chairs gradually
disappeared.
Nobody gave her any money and her mother did not offer her any more
"paid" work. She was very, very sorry that she had spent all of her
allowance on Monday morning--at least all but two cents and the one in
the red box. That, of course, she took with her to the meeting Saturday
afternoon.
Saturday evening she received her next week's supply, and that, with the
two cents she had over, was exactly enough to get the longed-for toy.
But one cent was tenths.
"That just spoils the whole thing," she said to herself. "I might as
well have none at all as only eleven cents."
Then she wondered if it would not do to borrow that tenth. She had not
thought of taking out any of the money when she was in such straits
about Cousin Alice's ribbon, but this seemed different. It was only one
penny, and she was sure of being able to replace it.
But borrowing was against the rule, and it must be especially wrong to
borrow missionary money. She felt ashamed and her cheeks burned when the
thought came to her.
"I s'pose I'll have to give up the chair," she sighed; "at least unless
I get a little more money somehow. I wish papa wasn't so strict about
borrowing. A penny wouldn't be much to borrow."
Sunday morning she took out her money and counted it over again very
carefully. Yes, there was exactly twelve cents. Then she slowly took up
one cent to drop in the box. As she did so the temptation to borrow it
came again.
"No, I wont do that," she said resolutely, but after looking at the
penny for a while, concluded not to put it in the box until after she
came from Sunday-school.
After Sunday-school she tried it again, but still hesitated.
"I'll wait till bedtime," she thought.
By bedtime she had decided not to put it in at all.
"I b'lieve I'll borrow it. It wont do any harm to let the box go empty
for one week. I'll get the chair to-morrow, and make the tenth all right
next Sunday."
So she got into bed and covered herself up, but she could not go to
sleep. She tossed and tumbled for what seemed to her a long time. "It's
all because that penny isn't in the box," she thought. Finally she could
stand it no longer. She got up, and feeling around in the drawer, found
the penny and put it in the box. Then she went to bed, and was soon
asleep.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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