From Farm to Fortune | Page 2

"Not when there is work to do on this farm."
"But I did my work, Uncle Abner."
"An' I say it couldn't have been done right if ye didn't take proper time
fer it, Nat Nason! I know you! You are gittin' lazy!"
"I'm not lazy!" cried the boy, indignantly. "I work as hard as anybody
around here."
"Don't you talk back to me!" ejaculated Abner Balberry. "I say you are

lazy, an' I know. How many fish did ye catch?"
"I only got two. They didn't bite very well to-day."
"Humph! A-wastin' three hours an' more jest to catch two little fish! If I
let you go your own way, Nat Nason, you'll be in the poorhouse before
you die."
"I don't think I'll ever get to the poorhouse, Uncle Abner."
"Oh, don't talk back! Take your fish to the kitchen an' then git down to
the barnyard as quick as you can. You've got to help me milk to-night.
An' don't you dare to go fishin' ag'in, unless I give ye permission,"
added Abner Balberry, as he strode off towards the barn.
A sharp answer arose to Nat Nason's lips, but he checked it and turned
toward the kitchen of the farmhouse.
"What luck did you have, Nat?" questioned the did woman who was
Abner Balberry's housekeeper.
"Not much luck, Mrs. Felton. They didn't bite very well to-day."
"What was Mr. Balberry saying to you?" went on Mrs. Felton, who had
been housekeeper at the place since the death of Mrs. Balberry, two
years before.
"He was mad because I went fishing."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Uncle Abner never wants me to have any sport."
"He's a hard-working man, and always was, Nat. He doesn't believe in
wasting time."
"But a fellow ought to have a little time off."
"That may be true."

"Don't you think I work pretty hard for a boy of my age?"
"I do, Nat."
"Uncle Abner wants to make a regular slave out of a fellow."
"Didn't he say you were to help him milk to-night?"
"Yes, and I might as well get at it right away. If I don't, he'll give me
another jawing," answered the boy, and placing his fish on a bench, he
strode off toward the barnyard.
Nat Nason was an orphan, the only child of Mr. William Nason, who
had been a brother to the late Mrs. Balberry. The boy's father had been
killed in a runaway and his mother had never gotten over the shock of
the sudden death.
When the youth found himself an orphan he was taken in by his Aunt
Mary, who did what she could for him. The Nasons had not been rich,
so there was little or no money coming to Nat. From the start he was
told that he must earn his own living, and this he proceeded to do to the
best of his ability.
The death of his Aunt Mary was almost as much of a blow to the lad as
the loss of his mother, for it left him under the entire charge of his
uncle, Abner Balberry. The latter had no children of his own and he
made Nat work as hard as if he were a full-grown man.
The Balberry farm was located in Ohio, not far from the town of
Caswell. It consisted of one hundred acres of good land, with a house
and several outbuildings. Among his neighbors Abner Balberry was
considered the meanest man in the district. Abner himself thought he
was a pretty good man and he counted himself a real "pillow" of the
church, as he expressed it.
For two years life on the Balberry farm had been one continual grind to
Nat Nason. He was expected to work from morning to night, and such a
thing as a whole day off was utterly unknown to him. He received next

to nothing in the way of spending money.
"I'll save the money fer ye," Abner Balberry would say, when
questioned on the subject. "'Tain't good fer boys to have too much cash
on hand. It makes 'em reckless."
"But you never give me anything," had been Nat's answer.
"Never mind--I'm a-givin' you a good home an' good eatin'," was the
answer.
The good home and good fare were something to be questioned. Nat's
room was a small one under the roof, his clothing usually made over
from the garments worn by Mr. Balberry, and such a thing as an
elaborate table was unknown on the farm. Many times Mrs. Felton had
wished to cook more, or make some fancy dishes, but Abner Balberry
had always stopped her from doing such a thing.
"Plain fare is good enough," he would say. "An' if ye eat too much it
only brings on the dyspepsy."