Timothy Crump's Ward: A Story of American Life

Name: Timothy Crump's Ward: A Story of American Life
Author: Horatio, Jr. Alger

by Horatio, Jr. Alger

Pages: about 140
Category: Literature & Fiction
Language: English
Reading time: 2.6 h at 250 wpm

Start readingThe whole book, as cards or one word at a time. 86 min at 450 wpm in Read mode.

From the opening

AT this moment the outer door opened, and Timothy Crump entered, not with the quick elastic step of one who brings good tidings, but slowly and deliberately, with a quiet gravity of demeanor, in which his wife could read only too well that he had failed in his efforts to procure work.
His wife, reading all these things in his manner, had the delicacy to forbear intruding upon him questions to which she saw that he could give no satisfactory answers.
“I needn't ask,” she began, “whether you got work, Timothy. I knew beforehand you wouldn't. There ain't no use in tryin'. The times is awful dull, and, mark my words, they'll be wuss before they're better. We mayn't live to see 'em. I don't expect we shall. Folks can't live without money, and when that's gone we shall have to starve.”
“Not so bad as that, Rachel,” said the cooper, trying to look cheerful; “don't talk about starving till the time comes. Anyhow,” glancing at the table on which was spread a good plain meal, “we needn't talk about starving till to-morrow, with that before us. Where's Jack?”
“No, he's got the money to pay for a few pounds,” said Mrs. Crump, smiling, with an air of mystery.
“Where did it come from?” asked Timothy, who was puzzled, as his wife anticipated. “I didn't know you had any money in the house.”
“No more we had, but he earned it himself, holding horses, this afternoon.”
“Come, that's good,” said the cooper, cheerfully, “We ain't so bad off as we might be, you see, Rachel.”
At this moment Jack returned, and the family sat down to supper.
“You haven't told us,” said Mrs. Crump, seeing her husband's cheerfulness in a measure restored, “what Mr. Blodgett said about the chances for employment.”

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Timothy Crump's Ward: A Story of American Life

From the opening

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