"Stockades ... blockades. But it doesn't."
Joey was silent. An uncomfortable thought had just struck him. The late afternoon was icy cold and the temperature might easily have fallen down around zero. And he or Mama or somebody should have remembered to turn off the water in the cellar before they left. Otherwise the pipes might have frozen. And if they had frozen they might have burst! For a while he kept this possibility to himself.
"It's called a Settlement House," said Mama, "because the people who manage it try to settle newcomers to the country and tell them the ways of the land."
"Any newcomer is really a sort of a settler," added Jane.
"Not if there aren't any Indians," said Rufus, still cross, and having to run to keep up with the rest of the family.
Joey took Rufus by the hand. "Well, fella," he said, to take Rufus's mind off the dismal disappointment he had had of not seeing any Indians, "well, you better stop thinking about Indians and think instead of whether the pipes busted or not!"
"Gracious!" exclaimed Mama. "Did we forget to turn off the water? How could we have, on a day like this?"
"'Cause it's daytime," said Jane. This was true. At night, before they went to bed, Mama or Joey turned the water off in the cellar in this zero weather, so the pipes would not freeze. But in the daytime there was usually somebody at home, running the water now and then and keeping the fires going.
They heard a trolley coming and hurried to the corner. Joey accidentally stepped on the heel of Jane's rubber and it slid off her shoe, but she managed to slither along on it and they did just barely catch the car. On the trolley it was beautifully warm. In the back of the car some men were smoking and the tobacco smelled good.
"I can stand," said Rufus, for he considered it manly to hang on a strap in trolley cars. Of course, he couldn't reach the straps, but he could stand without hanging on. There were seats enough for everybody, though, and Mama finally persuaded him to sit down, too. Rufus soon became drowsy and he almost fell asleep. He heard Mama and Joey and Jane talking about the pipes.
They needn't worry,
he told himself.
If the pipes burst, I'll put my finger on the leak the way the boy did in "The Leak in the Dike. "And I'll hold it there till help comes.
He was too sleepy to tell them now. But he certainly was not going to fall asleep on this trolley the way babies do. Every time he felt his head wobble over sideways, he pulled himself up straight with a lurch, and stared at the Drink Moxie ad, or watched the men smoking at the back of the trolley.
Mama and Joey and Jane thought about the pipes. If only they had not burst! It was dreadful to have pipes burst. The Moffats would have to call a plumber perhaps, and that cost a great deal of money. "Gee," Joey chided himself. "How did I forget?"
"We were all so excited about goin' to the play, we all forgot," said Jane.
"Well, maybe they didn't burst," said Joe. "I stoked the stoves good. That should've kep' the house warm enough."
"Ordinarily it would have," said Mama. "But this is bitter weather. And you know that kind of coal that we get nowadays isn't very good for our stoves."
Soft coal! Bituminous coal! That's the kind of coal they had to burn this year, for the good, hard nut kind was scarce. When Mama started a fire with this coal what a time she had! "By-two-minutes coal," she called it. "By two minutes the house will be full of smoke," she always said, making a joke of it.
The Moffats hated to get off the trolley where it was so warm. "Why couldn't we live on a trolley?" asked Jane, laughing.
"Sure. We could stretch out on the long seats and sleep," said Joe. "Rufe's practically asleep now."
"I'm not!" denied Rufus, sitting up straight with a jerk. "Just thinkin'. Where are we?"
"Goin' over the Cumberland Avenue bridge," said Jane. They all looked out over the snowy marshes. The sun had set but there was still a wan wintry glow behind the heavy
Joey was silent. An uncomfortable thought had just struck him. The late afternoon was icy cold and the temperature might easily have fallen down around zero. And he or Mama or somebody should have remembered to turn off the water in the cellar before they left. Otherwise the pipes might have frozen. And if they had frozen they might have burst! For a while he kept this possibility to himself.
"It's called a Settlement House," said Mama, "because the people who manage it try to settle newcomers to the country and tell them the ways of the land."
"Any newcomer is really a sort of a settler," added Jane.
"Not if there aren't any Indians," said Rufus, still cross, and having to run to keep up with the rest of the family.
Joey took Rufus by the hand. "Well, fella," he said, to take Rufus's mind off the dismal disappointment he had had of not seeing any Indians, "well, you better stop thinking about Indians and think instead of whether the pipes busted or not!"
"Gracious!" exclaimed Mama. "Did we forget to turn off the water? How could we have, on a day like this?"
"'Cause it's daytime," said Jane. This was true. At night, before they went to bed, Mama or Joey turned the water off in the cellar in this zero weather, so the pipes would not freeze. But in the daytime there was usually somebody at home, running the water now and then and keeping the fires going.
They heard a trolley coming and hurried to the corner. Joey accidentally stepped on the heel of Jane's rubber and it slid off her shoe, but she managed to slither along on it and they did just barely catch the car. On the trolley it was beautifully warm. In the back of the car some men were smoking and the tobacco smelled good.
"I can stand," said Rufus, for he considered it manly to hang on a strap in trolley cars. Of course, he couldn't reach the straps, but he could stand without hanging on. There were seats enough for everybody, though, and Mama finally persuaded him to sit down, too. Rufus soon became drowsy and he almost fell asleep. He heard Mama and Joey and Jane talking about the pipes.
They needn't worry,
he told himself.
If the pipes burst, I'll put my finger on the leak the way the boy did in "The Leak in the Dike. "And I'll hold it there till help comes.
He was too sleepy to tell them now. But he certainly was not going to fall asleep on this trolley the way babies do. Every time he felt his head wobble over sideways, he pulled himself up straight with a lurch, and stared at the Drink Moxie ad, or watched the men smoking at the back of the trolley.
Mama and Joey and Jane thought about the pipes. If only they had not burst! It was dreadful to have pipes burst. The Moffats would have to call a plumber perhaps, and that cost a great deal of money. "Gee," Joey chided himself. "How did I forget?"
"We were all so excited about goin' to the play, we all forgot," said Jane.
"Well, maybe they didn't burst," said Joe. "I stoked the stoves good. That should've kep' the house warm enough."
"Ordinarily it would have," said Mama. "But this is bitter weather. And you know that kind of coal that we get nowadays isn't very good for our stoves."
Soft coal! Bituminous coal! That's the kind of coal they had to burn this year, for the good, hard nut kind was scarce. When Mama started a fire with this coal what a time she had! "By-two-minutes coal," she called it. "By two minutes the house will be full of smoke," she always said, making a joke of it.
The Moffats hated to get off the trolley where it was so warm. "Why couldn't we live on a trolley?" asked Jane, laughing.
"Sure. We could stretch out on the long seats and sleep," said Joe. "Rufe's practically asleep now."
"I'm not!" denied Rufus, sitting up straight with a jerk. "Just thinkin'. Where are we?"
"Goin' over the Cumberland Avenue bridge," said Jane. They all looked out over the snowy marshes. The sun had set but there was still a wan wintry glow behind the heavy
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