Our Peter; A Story (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II A PENNYWORTH OF PUNISHMENT / PETER was awakened by the creaking of the stairs as his father went down at half past five. For a little while he lay in somnolent tranquillity, then suddenly came a heave of his inner self with the thought of morning school. The thought came that he might feign illness?for a moment he felt actually ill?but the thought was little more than a physical sensation, quickly obfuscated by returning drowsiness. He heard his mother rise, and call Agnes time after time with growing asperity. A poker rattled in the sitting-room grate below. He heard the musical tinkle of breakfast crockery. And as the time passed he curled himself up in bed as though he had projected his fears outward into an embodied form which strove to drag him from beneath the bedclothes. Agnes called him in vain. It was not until he heard his mother's threat, "I'll warm you," that he reluctantly obeyed the summons. Breakfast was set on the little deal table in the back kitchen. Peter tucked his shirt collar under his braces, and washed in the tin bowl at the sink, while his mother took the frizzling bacon from the Dutch oven. "Mind you, wash behind your ears," she warned him, her tone mechanical and sharpened by many household cares. "He's going to get the cane," said Agnes. "Get your breakfast quick before it's cold," commanded her mother. "Little girls should be seen and not heard." Agnes caned two imaginary children while hermother turned to the hob. Peter was busy rubbing his red ears with the stiff roller towel behind the door. To his surprise and delight his mother gave him the white top of her boiled egg as a special titbit. Agnes said nothing during the meal, and there were tears in her eyes when she left the table. She went early with her skipping-ro...