FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  
eshold, Annixter took off his hat. "Good morning, Miss Hilma." Hilma, who had set down the copper can on top of the vat, turned about quickly. "Oh, GOOD morning, sir;" and, unconsciously, she made a little gesture of salutation with her hand, raising it part way toward her head, as a man would have done. "Well," began Annixter vaguely, "how are you getting along down here?" "Oh, very fine. To-day, there is not so much to do. We drew the whey hours ago, and now we are just done putting the curd to press. I have been cleaning. See my pans. Wouldn't they do for mirrors, sir? And the copper things. I have scrubbed and scrubbed. Oh, you can look into the tiniest corners, everywhere, you won't find so much as the littlest speck of dirt or grease. I love CLEAN things, and this room is my own particular place. Here I can do just as I please, and that is, to keep the cement floor, and the vats, and the churns and the separators, and especially the cans and coppers, clean; clean, and to see that the milk is pure, oh, so that a little baby could drink it; and to have the air always sweet, and the sun--oh, lots and lots of sun, morning, noon and afternoon, so that everything shines. You know, I never see the sun set that it don't make me a little sad; yes, always, just a little. Isn't it funny? I should want it to be day all the time. And when the day is gloomy and dark, I am just as sad as if a very good friend of mine had left me. Would you believe it? Just until within a few years, when I was a big girl, sixteen and over, mamma had to sit by my bed every night before I could go to sleep. I was afraid in the dark. Sometimes I am now. Just imagine, and now I am nineteen--a young lady." "You were, hey?" observed Annixter, for the sake of saying something. "Afraid in the dark? What of--ghosts?" "N-no; I don't know what. I wanted the light, I wanted----" She drew a deep breath, turning towards the window and spreading her pink finger-tips to the light. "Oh, the SUN. I love the sun. See, put your hand there--here on the top of the vat--like that. Isn't it warm? Isn't it fine? And don't you love to see it coming in like that through the windows, floods of it; and all the little dust in it shining? Where there is lots of sunlight, I think the people must be very good. It's only wicked people that love the dark. And the wicked things are always done and planned in the dark, I think. Perhaps, too, that's why I hate things t
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
things
 

Annixter

 

morning

 

wanted

 

copper

 
scrubbed
 
people
 

wicked

 
sixteen
 

Perhaps


gloomy

 

planned

 
friend
 

spreading

 
finger
 

sunlight

 
window
 
breath
 

turning

 

shining


coming

 

windows

 

floods

 

observed

 

nineteen

 

imagine

 

afraid

 

Sometimes

 

ghosts

 

Afraid


churns

 
vaguely
 

cleaning

 

putting

 

turned

 
eshold
 

quickly

 
raising
 

salutation

 
gesture

unconsciously
 

Wouldn

 
coppers
 
separators
 

cement

 

shines

 
afternoon
 

littlest

 
corners
 

tiniest