She has promised to provide you with a home, and clothing, and to
send you to school for two years, till you are about twelve, for we
think you must be about ten years old now; and after that you shall have
settled wages."
Tony listened with a quick throbbing of his heart and a contraction in
his throat, which hindered him from speaking all at once when Mr. Ross
had finished. What a grand thing it would be for himself! But then there
were old Oliver and Dolly to be remembered.
"It 'ud do first-rate for me," he said at last, "and I'd try my best to
help in the garden; but I couldn't never leave Mr. Oliver and the little
girl. She'd fret ever so; and he's gone so forgetful he'd lose his own
head, if he could anyhow. Why! of a morning they sell him any papers as
they've too many of. Sometimes it's all the 'Star,' and sometimes it's
all the 'Standard;' and them as buys one won't have the other. I don't
know why, I'm sure. But you see when I go for 'em I say twenty-five this,
and thirteen that, and I count 'em over pretty sharp, I can tell you;
though I couldn't read at all afore I came here, but I could tell which
was which easy enough.
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