Read The Clock for Free Online Page B

better talk to him. Only I’m afraid of him. Look what he did to Tom Thrush.”
    â€œPoor Tom,” Robert said. “It still hurts him to stand up straight.” He pursed his lips. “I’ll tell you what, Annie. I’ll go along with you.”
    I shook my head. “I think he’d be more likely to give in if it was just me.”
    â€œMaybe. All right, I’ll wait outside, and if he gives you any trouble you can shout and I’ll come in.
    So that was the way we left it. And when the five o’clock bell rang I went looking for Robert. He was standing in front of the mill, down below the pulley hanging from the carding-room window where they pulled the wool up. Robert pointed up. “He’s up there in the carding-room. He came in a few minutes ago and told me to go on for supper, he had some business to do.”
    â€œHe let you go early? That’s funny.”
    â€œOnly a couple of minutes early. He does it sometimes. He asks for my tally sheets and sits up there for a while. I guess he’s checking my figures on the amount of wool that came in.”
    I looked up. It was dark now, and there was a low light flickering in the carding-room window. It seemed like it must be a candle, rather than the oil lamps we usually used for lighting the place during the winter when it got dark early. I took a deep breath. “I guess I’d better do it.”
    â€œMaybe he’ll be in a good mood.”
    â€œI’d better get it over with,” I said.
    â€œWhen you go up, shut the door behind you, and I’ll come halfway up the stairs and listen.”
    So I went on up the stairs, my heart beating fast, feeling kind of sweaty and scared. At the top of the stairs the door to the carding room was closed. I knocked.
    â€œWho is it?” he said in a sharp quick voice. “What do you want?”
    â€œIt’s Annie Steele, sir.”
    I heard some noise, and then the door opened and he put his head out. “What do you want?” he said.
    â€œSir, I’m sorry I was late this morning. I promise I’ll never do it again if you won’t dock my pay.”
    He stared at me. Then he looked around behind, as if he was checking on something. “Come on in, Annie. Let’s talk about it.”
    I went in, and he shut the door behind me. There was a candle sitting on the floor, and a lot of wool scattered around in bags or just loose. Beside the candle was a bag full of wool with a string around the neck. Next to it was another bag, half full. Beside the candle was a small bottle of rum. Mr. Hoggart bent over, picked up the bottle, and had a swallow. Then he looked at me like he was sizing up a horse. “You’re a mighty pretty girl, Annie. I hope those New York boys haven’t been pestering you.”
    â€œNo, sir,” I said.
    â€œThey’re a bunch of nasty little devils,” he said. “If any of them pesters you, be sure to let me know. I’ll birch him enough so he won’t think to do it again.”
    â€œMy ma says I’m too young for fellows.”
    He scratched his chin. “You don’t have a fellow? What about the tally boy, Robert? I heard he was your fellow.”
    I blushed, and I tried to make myself stop, for I didn’t want Mr. Hoggart to see it. “No, sir. We’re just friends. His folks have the next farm to ours. We grew up together from babies. We’re just friends.”
    He straightened up away from the door jamb, and took a couple of steps toward me. “Well, Annie, I hope you and me will be friends too. I could do a lot for you if we were friendly. I could forget about you being late this morning.”
    â€œOh, thank you, sir.’’
    He looked at me again. “I didn’t say I was going to do it. I said I might. But you wouldn’t expect me to forget about that if we weren’t on friendly terms, would you?”
    â€œNo, sir.” It was what I’d