“Bad news!” repeated Mrs. Thatcher, turning pale. “What is it?”
“Don’t let it trouble you too much, mother, for it doesn’t depress me.”
“Don’t keep me any longer in suspense, Tom,” said his mother, anxiously. “Whatever it is, let me know it at once.”
“Then,” said Tom, “I am out of work. Mr. Simpson has discharged me.”
“What for? Is business slack?” inquired Mrs. Thatcher.
“No, business is very good. The fact is, Mr. Simpson is angry with me.”
“Have you given him any cause, my son?”
“I will tell you all about it and let you judge. Last evening I called upon him and asked him questions about my father, and how much money he had when they parted in California.”
“But, Tom, what good can all this do now?” said his mother.
56 “Perhaps none, mother; but you must admit that I have reason to feel interested in the fate of my poor father.”
“How did Mr. Simpson receive you?”
“Very coldly. Still he answered some of my questions. But when I spoke of the great change it would have made in our circumstances if father had lived, and brought home the money which even Squire Simpson admits that he had gained, he began to tell how much he had done for us.”
“What has he ever done for us?” asked Mrs. Thatcher, wonderingly.
“I will tell you in his own words—he has employed me in his shop. When he said that, I said that he had given me no more than any one else—even less than is paid in other shoe towns—he became angry, and told me that he would discharge me, and I would then have the chance of seeking higher wages somewhere else.”
“Did he really mean it?” asked Mrs. Thatcher, in alarm.
“Did he mean it, mother? If you had seen him and heard him, as I did, you wouldn’t have needed to ask that question. He meant it fast enough. Why, mother, I actually believe that he hates me.”
“But why should he hate you? Why should any one hate you, my boy?”
“I haven’t given any one a good cause for doing it. But all the same he hates me, and that is why he has discharged me. I am to go to the shop this morning and collect what is due me, and that will be the end of it.”
Join or Log In!
You need to log in to continue reading
(Left Keyword <-) Previous:
CHAPTER VIII. THE BARN LOFT.
Back
Next:
CHAPTER X. IN SEARCH OF EMPLOYMENT.
(Right Keyword:->)