the winter was
over, and the spring winds were blowing--and with a day's walk a man
might put the smoke of Packingtown behind him forever, and be where the
grass was green and the flowers all the colors of the rainbow!

But now the income of the family was cut down more than one-third, and
the food demand was cut only one-eleventh, so that they were worse off
than ever. Also they were borrowing money from Marija, and eating up
her bank account, and spoiling once again her hopes of marriage and
happiness. And they were even going into debt to Tamoszius Kuszleika
and letting him impoverish himself. Poor Tamoszius was a man without
any relatives, and with a wonderful talent besides, and he ought to
have made money and prospered; but he had fallen in love, and so given
hostages to fortune, and was doomed to be dragged down too.

So it was finally decided that two more of the children would have to
leave school. Next to Stanislovas, who was now fifteen, there was a
girl, little Kotrina, who was two years younger, and then two boys,
Vilimas, who was eleven, and Nikalojus, who was ten. Both of these last
were bright boys, and there was no reason why their family should starve
when tens of thousands of children no older were earning their own
livings. So one morning they were given a quarter apiece and a roll with
a sausage in it, and, with their minds top-heavy with good advice, were
sent out to make their way to the city and learn to sell newspapers.
They came back late at night in tears, having walked for the five or
six miles to report that a man had offered to take them to a place where
they sold newspapers, and had taken their money and gone into a store to
get them, and nevermore been seen. So they both received a whipping, and
the next morning set out again. This time they found the newspaper
place, and procured their stock; and after wandering about till nearly
noontime, saying "Paper?" to every one they saw, they had all their
stock taken away and received a thrashing besides from a big newsman
upon whose territory they had trespassed. Fortunately, however, they
had already sold some papers, and came back with nearly as much as they
started with.

After a week of mishaps such as these, the two little fellows began to
learn the ways of the trade--the names of the different papers, and how
many of each to get, and what sort of people to offer them to, and where
to go and where to stay away from. After this, leaving ho