Nelly's Silver Mine: A Story of Colorado LifeJackson, Helen Hunt
History
Nelly's Silver Mine: A Story of Colorado Life
Jackson, Helen Hunt
Colorado -- History -- To 1876 -- Juvenile fiction
"Mrs. Napoleon, papa. That nice lady looked at her, and said she
never could be mended; and if she were me, she'd throw her right
away. She says I'll feel better as soon as she is out of my sight."
Mr. March looked over at the sick lady and bowed and smiled.
"She is quite right, Nell. You'll forget all about it much quicker.
Good-by, Mrs. Napoleon," he said, and threw the white parcel with
its pink ribbons as far as he could throw it.
"I don't want to forget about it, papa," replied Nelly, and pressed
her face close against the window-pane, so as not to lose that last
glimpse of the package.
Never were people gladder to reach any place than Mr. and Mrs. March
and Nelly and Rob were to reach Denver. They were so tired that they
went right to bed as soon as they entered the hotel. They did not
want any supper. The next morning, however, they were up early, all
rested and ready to look at every thing. The first thing they saw as
they walked out of the hotel door, was a long range of high
mountains to the south. They looked down the street on which the
hotel stood, and saw these mountains rising up like a great wall
across the end of the street. They were covered with snow
two-thirds of the way down. The lower part which was not covered
with snow was of a very dark blue color; and the upper part, where
the snow lay, shone in the sun so dazzling bright that it made their
eyes ache to look at it. The sky was as blue as blue could be, and
had not a cloud in it; and some of the sharp peaks of the mountains
looked as if they were really cutting through the sky. Mr. and Mrs.
March and Nelly and Rob all stood still in the middle of the street
looking at the beautiful sight. Several carriages and wagons came
very near running over them, but they hardly observed it. No one of
them spoke for some minutes: even Rob was overawed by the grandeur
of the mountains. But his overawed silence did not last long. In a
few minutes, he broke out with:--
"Bully mountains! ain't they? Come on!" Mr. and Mrs. March laughed.
"Well, Rob," said his father, "you've brought us to our senses:
haven't you? But I do wish you wouldn't talk slang."
"No, Rob," said his mother. "How many times have I asked you not to
say 'bully'?"
"I know it, mother," replied Rob; "but you don't tell me any other
word to say instead of it. A fellow must say something; and 'bully'
's such a bully word. I don't believe there's any other word that's
good for any thing when things are 'bully.'"
"Oh, dear Rob! dear Rob! Three times in one sentence! What shall we
do to you? We will really have to hire you to leave off that word,
as grandpa hired you to drink cold water, at so much a week."
"Mamma," said Rob, solemnly, "you couldn't hire me to leave off
saying 'bully.' Money wouldn't pay me: I try not to say it often,
because you hate it so; but I don't expect to leave it off till I'm
a man. I just have to say it sometimes."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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