such as no decent dog would have stood. And now the
winter was over, and the spring winds were blowing --
and with a day's walk a man might put the smoke of Pack~
ingtown 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 rela~
tives, 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, hav~
ing walked 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 everyone they saw, they had all
their stock taken away and received a thrashing besides
from a big newsman upon whose territory they had tres~

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p143 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p144w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p145

v?