He thought that the
lesser wage which Mr. Coles paid him would make his board right for the
coming winter, and he did not wish to get something for nothing.
So Austin all through the hot summer months worked away on the farm, of Mr.
Coles, doing anything and everything there was to be done. He plowed and
sowed and reaped, milked, and fed the calves and pigs, and worked in the
garden and orchard. Mr. Coles had a willing hand all the summer through.
CHAPTER 11
AUSTIN TAKES CARE OF HIMSELF
Some men set a high value upon honor, others will sell themselves for a
trifle. The value of a man is not one whit higher than the value he sets on
his honor. Some men scorn to be dishonest in the small affairs of life, and
as friends and neighbors are ever upright and honorable, yet can be tempted
in greater matters to sell their birthright for the gain of the profiteer
or the influence of the politician. Other men abhor these greater forms of
dishonor, but in little things are petty and mean. They are like the woman
who prides herself on her cleverness when she cheats the milkman out of a
quart of milk or the peddler out of a paper of pins. When a boy undertakes
to look out for himself, he must learn to deal with these petty meannesses
in others or be continually deceived.
Austin met the world with no expectation of fraud or ill will, and when he
found these, he was surprized and grieved, and was quite unprepared to cope
with the situation.
Pages:
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73