He isn't here, but he's just on the
other side of the toll-gate.' Will you do that, John Jay?"
There was a frightened look in the boy's eyes. He had no words
wherewith to answer him, but he nodded an assent as he went on nervously
tossing the acorns from one hand to another.
There was a long silence, and when he looked up inquiringly, George had
put his thin hands over his face to hide the tears that were slowly
trickling down.
"What's the mattah?" he asked anxiously. "Shall I call Mars' Nat?"
"No," answered the man, steadying his voice. "I was only thinking that I
had expected to go through the gate, when my turn came, with my arms
piled full of sheaves,--but I've come to the end too soon. It seems so
hard to come down to death empty-handed, when I have longed all these
years to do so much for my people. Oh, my poor people!" he cried out
desperately; "so helpless and so needy, and my life that was to have
been given to them going out in vain! utterly in vain!"
It was not the first time that John Jay had heard that cry.
Pages:
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110