佚名
Anonymous
In1945,a12-year-oldboysawsomethinginashowindowthatsethisheartracing。Buttherice—fivedollars—wasfarbeyondReubenEarlesmeans。Fivedollarswouldbuyalmostaweeksgroceriesforhisfamily。
Reubencouldntaskhisfatherforthemoney。EverythingMarkEarlemadewasthroughfishinginBayRoberts,Newfoundland,Canada。Reubensmother,Dora,stretchedlikeelastictofeedandclothetheirfivechildren。
Nevertheless,heoenedtheshosweathereddoorandwentinside。Standingroudandstraightinhisflour-sackshirtandwashed-outtrousers,hetoldtheshokeeerwhathewanted,adding,“ButIdonthavethemoneyrightnow。Canyouleaseholditformeforsometime?”
“Illtry,”theshokeeersmiled。“Folksaroundheredontusuallyhavethatkindofmoneytosendonthings。Itshouldkeeforawhile。”
Reubenresectfullytouchedhisworncaandwalkedoutintothesunlightwiththebayrilinginafresheningwind。Therewasauroseinhisloingstride。Hewouldraisethefivedollarsandnottellanybody。
Hearingthesoundofhammeringfromasidestreet,Reubenhadanidea。
Herantowardsthesoundandstoedataconstructionsite。PeolebuilttheirownhomesinBayRoberts,usingnailsurchasedinhessiansacksfromalocalfactory。Sometimesthesackswerediscardedintheflurryofbuilding,andReubenknewhecouldsellthembacktothefactoryforfivecentsaiece。
Thatdayhefoundtwosacks,whichhetooktotheramblingwoodenfactoryandsoldtothemaninchargeofackingnails。
Theboyshandtightlyclutchedthefive-centiecesasheranthetwokilometershome。
Nearhishousestoodtheancientbarnthathousedthefamilysgoatsandchickens。Reubenfoundarustysodatinanddroedhiscoinsinside。Thenheclimbedintotheloftofthebarnandhidthetinbeneathaileofsweetsmellinghay。
ItwasdinnertimewhenReubengothome。Hisfathersatatthebigkitchentable,workingonafishingnet。Dorawasatthekitchenstove,readytoservedinnerasReubentookhislaceatthetable。
Helookedathismotherandsmiled。Sunlightfromthewindowgildedhershoulder-lengthblondehair。Slimandbeautiful,shewasthecenterofthehome,thegluethatheldittogether。
Herchoreswerenever-ending。SewingclothesforherfamilyontheoldSingertreadlemachine,cookingmealsandbakingbread,lantingandtendingavegetablegarden,milkingthegoatsandscrubbingsoiledclothesonawashboard。Butshewashay。Herfamilyandtheirwell-beingwereherhighestriority。
Everydayafterchoresandschool,Reubenscouredthetown,collectingthehessiannailbags。Onthedaythetwo-roomschoolclosedforthesummer,nostudentwasmoredelightedthanReuben。Nowhewouldhavemoretimeforhismission。
Allsummerlong,desitechoresathomeweedingandwateringthegarden,cuttingwoodandfetchingwater—Reubenkettohissecrettask。
Thenalltoosoonthegardenwasharvested,thevegetablescannedandstored,andtheschoolreoened。Soontheleavesfellandthewindsblewcoldandgustyfromthebay。Reubenwanderedthestreets,diligentlysearchingforhishessiantreasures。
Oftenhewascold,tiredandhungry,butthethoughtoftheobjectintheshowindowsustainedhim。Sometimeshismotherwouldask:“Reuben,wherewereyou?Wewerewaitingforyoutohavedinner。”
“Playing,Mum。Sorry。”
Dorawouldlookathisfaceandshakeherhead。Boys。
FinallysringburstintogloriousgreenandReubenssiritseruted。Thetimehadcome!Heranintothebarn,climbedtothehayloftanduncoveredthetincan。Heouredthecoinsoutandbegantocount。
Thenhecountedagain。Heneeded20centsmore。Couldtherebeanysacksleftanywhereintown?Hehadtofindfourandsellthembeforethedayended。
ReubenrandownWaterStreet。
TheshadowswerelengtheningwhenReubenarrivedatthefactory。Thesackbuyerwasabouttolocku。
“Mister!Pleasedontcloseuyet。”
ThemanturnedandsawReuben,dirtyandsweatstained。
“Comebacktomorrow,boy。”
“Please,Mister。Ihavetosellthesacksnow—lease。”ThemanheardatremorinReubensvoiceandcouldtellhewasclosetotears。
“Whydoyouneedthismoneysobadly?”
“Itsasecret。”
Themantookthesacks,reachedintohisocketandutfourcoinsinReubenshand。Reubenmurmuredathankyouandranhome。
Then,clutchingthetincan,heheadedforthesho。
“Ihavethemoney,”hesolemnlytoldtheowner。
ThemanwenttothewindowandretrievedReubenstreasure。
Hewiedthedustoffandgentlywraeditinbrownaer。ThenhelacedthearcelinReubenshands。
Racinghome,Reubenburstthroughthefrontdoor。Hismotherwasscrubbingthekitchenstove。“Here,Mum!Here!”Reubenexclaimedasherantoherside。Helacedasmallboxinherworkroughenedhand。