CHAPTER VI A CIRCULATING LIBRARY

roposedBetty,rathertimidlyforshewantedtosharethebenevolentproject,buthadlittletooffer,notbeingasgoodascholarasBab. "I'dlikea'rithmeticbetter.Ireadtip-top,butIain'tmuchon'rithmeticso,ifyoucanspareyours,Imighttakealookatit.NowI'mgoin'toearnwages,Ioughttoknowaboutaddin''emup,andsoon,"saidBen,withtheairofaVanderbiltoppressedwiththecareofmillions. "I'llteachyouthat.Bettydoesn'tknowmuchaboutsums.Butshespellssplendidly,andisalwaysattheheadofherclass.Teacherisrealproudofher,'causeshenevermisses,andspellshard,fussywords,likechi-rog-ra-phyandbron-chi-tisaseasyasanything." Babquitebeamedwithsisterlypride,andBettysmootheddownherapronwithmodestsatisfaction,forBabseldompraisedher,andshelikeditverymuch. "Ineverwenttoschool,sothat'sthereasonIain'tsmart.Icanwrite,though,better'nsomeoftheboysupatschool.Isawlotsofnamesonthesheddoor.Seehere,now,"—andscramblingdown,Benpulledoutacherishedbitofchalk,andflourishedofftenlettersofthealphabet,oneoneachofthedarkstoneslabsthatpavedthewalk. "Thosearebeautiful!Ican'tmakesuchcurlyones.Whotaughtyoutodoit?"askedBab,assheandBettywalkedupanddownadmiringthem. "Horseblankets,"answeredBen,soberly. "What!"criedbothgirls,stoppingtostare. "Ourhorsesallhadtheirnamesontheirblankets,andIusedtocopy'em.Thewagonshadsigns,andIlearnedtoreadthatwayafterfathertaughtmemylettersofftheredandyellowposters.FirstwordIknewwaslion,'causeIwasalwaysgoin'toseeoldJubalinhiscage.FatherwasrealproudwhenIreaditrightoff.Icandrawone,too." BenproceededtodepictananimalintendedtorepresenthislostfriendbutJubalwouldnothaverecognizedhisportrait,sinceitlookedmuchmorelikeSanchothanthekingoftheforest.Thechildrenadmireditimmensely,however,andBengavethemalessoninnaturalhistorywhichwassointerestingthatitkeptthembusyandhappytillbedtimefortheboydescribedwhathehadseeninsuchlivelylanguage,andillustratedinsuchadrollway,itwasnowondertheywerecharmed.