"
This he did. Mammy June shook her head somewhat sadly.
"Dat boy always have to wo'k," she said. "When first he went away he
sent me back money by mail. The man he wo'ked for sent it. Then Sneezer
losed his job. But he never learnt to read hand-writin'. Much as he
could do to spell out the big print on the front of the newspapers.
That's surely so!"
Rose suddenly thought of something--and perhaps it was not a foolish
idea at that.
"Oh, Mammy!" she cried, "can your boy read newspaper print?"
"Sure can. De big print. What yo' call de haidlines in big print. Sure
can."
"Oh!" murmured Rose, and she dragged Russ away to confer with him in
secret.
CHAPTER XXII
THE STRANGE CRY
Rose Bunker's idea was too good to tell in general. Some ideas are too
good to keep; but Russ and Rose decided that this one was not in that
class. They determined to tell nobody--not even Mammy June or Daddy or
Mother Bunker--about what they proposed to do to help the old colored
woman.
They had tried once, and failed. And Philly and Alice and Frane, Junior,
had laughed at them. Now they proposed to do what Rose had thought of,
and keep it secret from everybody.
"Of course," Rose said, "nothing may come of it."
"But that won't be your fault, Rose," said her brother. "It is a
perfectly scrumptious idea."
"Do you think so?" asked Rose, much pleased by this frank praise.
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