didn't want to go, I only wanted to get back the
money Palmer cheated you out of."

The father thundered: "Don't you try to saddle your roving onto me.
You're not satisfied in any place and never will be. Don't you ever tell
me to my face again that I even hinted that you go with the panorama and
I don't want you to ever mention that anybody cheated me. I'd like to
see the man who can cheat me. Now you go to your work, you're not your
own man yet. I am going to send you to the Merrittstown Academy this
winter and I want you to settle down. You've had it too easy. When I was
a boy I had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning, make all the fires,
milk four cows and feed a pen full of hogs and I had to be done by
daylight. You've had it too easy, your mother is the one that's spoiled
you. From this day on it's hands off with her; I'll be your boss. Now,
don't let me hear more of this roving talk."

"Why, Pap, I haven't said one word about roving. Can't I do other work
right here at home if I quit this, I don't have to rove, do I?"

"No, but that's the upshot of all this talk," persisted the father. "Now
get down to your work; learn it."

"I can't," doggedly answered the boy. "Didn't you tell me yesterday my
fingers were all thumbs? Didn't you tell me in front of all the hands
that you were ashamed of me and that you didn't think it possible that a
child of yours could be so ignorant and awkward."

The father stammered and colored. He was a most affectionate parent, he
was truly sorry that he had humbled the pride of the boy. "Why, my son,
the men all know I was only teasing you; they all know you are most
intelligent. You can learn anything you set your hand to. Why, when you
went to Dr. Playford to learn to be a doctor he informed me as did Bob,
that they never knew anyone to learn Latin as quickly as you. You could
tell us all the names for medicines. Why, Uncle Jake, Steve Gadd and Joe
Gibbons told me the time they took you to Washington County to the
turkey shoot, that they'd all been down sick if it hadn't been for you.
They say it rained a cold rain and you all got wet. Uncle Jake is
subject to the quinsy and he was on the verge of it. They tried the drug
store and everywhere and they couldn't get nothing. Steve said you went
to the drug store and got all they wanted, only you didn't ask for
whiskey; you called it fermenting spirits. Steve said the druggist told
him confidentially you ought to be a druggist, you t