The Stokesley SecretYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
General
The Stokesley Secret
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Family -- Juvenile fiction
When the Monday allowances were brought out, and the pig’s chance
inquired into, David alone produced his whole sum, untouched by
forfeiture or waste, and dropped it into “Toby Fillpot.” Elizabeth had
her entire sixpence; but a penny had been spent on a letter to Mamma, and
she gave but one to the fund, in spite of the black looks she met from
David. Sam had lost a farthing by the shower, and had likewise bought a
queen’s head, to write to his father. The rest, fourpence-three
farthings, he paid over. Poor Johnnie! his last week’s naughtiness had
exceeded his power of paying fines, and a halfpenny was subtracted from
this week’s threepence; while the Gibraltar man had consumed all that
fines had spared to little Annie, had left Susan only threepence, and
Henry but twopence-halfpenny. This, with twopence that Miss Fosbrook had
found in her travelling-bag, made one shilling and fourpence-farthing—a
very poor collection for one week. David was quite melancholy.
“Never mind,” said Henry; “Mr. Carey’s brother, the Colonel, is coming to
stay here the last week in July, and he gives us boys half-a-sovereign
each, so that we might buy a stunning pig all ourselves twice over.”
“Always? He never did so but once,” said Sam.
“That was the only time he saw us, though,” said Hal; “and we were quite
little boys then. I’ll tell you what, Sam, he’ll give us each a
sovereign this time, and then I’ll buy a bow and arrows.”
“Stuff!” said Sam. “I hope he won’t.”
“Why not?”
“I hate it! I hate saying thank you; I shall get out of the way, if I
can.”
“Sam has no manners!” said Hal, turning round to Miss Fosbrook. “To
think that he had rather go without a sovereign or two than say thank
you!”
“_I’m_ too much of a gentleman to lay myself out for presents!” retorted
Samuel; and the two boys fell on each other, buffeting one another, all
in good part on Sam’s side, though there was some temper and annoyance on
Henry’s.
When Sam was out of hearing, Hal discoursed very grandly on the sovereign
he intended Colonel Carey to give him, and the prodigious things he meant
to do with it. A gentleman once gave Osmond Greville two sovereigns; why
should not Colonel Carey be equally liberal? And to hear the boy, those
two sovereigns would buy everything in the world, from the pig to a
double-barrelled gun. David began to grow hurt, and to fear the Toby
fund would be lost in this magnificence; but Hal assured him that it
would be a help, and they should all have a share in the pig, promising
presents to everybody, which Susan and Annie expected with the more
certainty that Sam was never present to laugh down these fine projects.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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