Fur Hank, he had streaks when he'd work me
considerable hard. He never give me any money
fur it. He loafed a lot too, and when he'd loaf
I'd loaf. But I did pick up right smart of handiness
with tools around that there shop of his'n, and if
he'd ever of used me right I might of turned into a
purty fair blacksmith. But it wasn't no use trying
to work fur Hank. When I was about fifteen,
times is right bad around the house fur a spell,
and Elmira is working purty hard, and I thinks to
myself:
"Well, these folks has kind o' brung you up, and
you ain't never done more'n Hank made you
do. Mebby you orter stick to work a little more
when they's a job in the shop, even if Hank
don't."
Which I tried it fur about two or three years,
doing as much work around the shop as Hank done
and mebby more. But it wasn't no use. One
day when I'm about eighteen, I seen awful plain
I'll have to light out from there. They was a
circus come to town that day. I says to Hank:
"Hank, they is a circus this afternoon and agin
to-night."
"So I has hearn," says Hank.
"Are you going to it?" says I.
"I mout," says Hank, "and then agin I moutn't.
I don't see as it's no consarns of yourn, nohow."
I knowed he was going, though. Hank, he never
missed a circus.
"Well," I says, "they wasn't no harm to ast,
was they?"
"Well, you've asted, ain't you?" says Hank.
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