Part 22 (1/2)

When they took anything out of a van, they took off the cloths and threw them in a pile on the sidewalk, and they put the things in a sort of a clump, along the front walk of the new house.

David had come up close, dragging his cart, but his cat had run off into the field.

Then the moving-men noticed David standing there.

”h.e.l.lo,” said one of the men. He seemed to be a kind of a foreman. ”Do you live around here?”

David pointed to his house.

”I live in that house. Do you know whether there are any little boys coming to live in this house?”

”I think likely,” said the moving-man, ”but I don't know for certain.”

”Well, are you going to take all these things into the house?” David asked again, pointing at the things.

There were a hat-rack, and two waste-baskets filled with little things done up in newspaper, and a little table, and a paste-board box filled with hats, and two mirrors about as tall as David, and a maid's wash-stand, and a bundle of pictures tied up in newspapers, and a wooden box full of rubbers, and some crockery things, and a barrel of kitchen things, and a great enormous paste-board box tied up with tape, and another great paste-board box with the side broken in, and three kitchen chairs, and a chamber chair, and a bundle of magazines, and some other things; and they were all spread out on the walk.

These things were all the things that had been left over and put in last in packing the vans, or little things which filled up c.h.i.n.ks.

”We are going to take them in as soon as somebody comes to tell us where to put them,” the moving-man answered. ”And we want to take in some of the big things first, such as beds and dining-room table and heavy things like those. They are all packed in the bottom of the vans.”

David nodded his head.

Just then one of the men took out of a van a little upholstered armchair.

”h.e.l.lo!” said the moving-man. ”That looks as if there was a youngster of some kind coming, either a boy or a girl.”

Then another man came with a box of toys, and set it down beside the armchair.

David saw it and smiled.

”That looks so, too, doesn't it now?” said the moving-man. He looked up. ”And here he is, I guess.”

David turned around, and he saw a very pleasant-looking man coming along, and, holding by his hand, there was a little boy who looked as if he might be almost five years old.

They came near, and David looked at the little boy, but he didn't say anything, and the little boy looked at David, and he didn't say anything either, but he held to his father's hand tighter than ever.

”Well, here we are. You have not been waiting long, I judge. Now I'll go in and you can come along with the things as fast as you like. What will you do, d.i.c.k?”

At the sound of his name, the little dog raised his head and wagged his stump of a tail and was all ready to get up; but n.o.body saw him, for the little boy was whispering to his father, who turned to David.

”I guess that your name is David,” he said; and David nodded. ”I know your father, David. How would you like it if d.i.c.k stayed out here with you? You two can play anywhere that you are used to, David, or you can stay and watch as long as you like.”

[Ill.u.s.tration: THEY WATCHED THE MEN]

David thought that that would be nice, and he turned his cart around and took out the backboard, and he told d.i.c.k that he might sit in it if he wanted to, or he could sit in the little armchair.

d.i.c.k chose the cart to sit in, and David sat in the armchair, and they watched the men, who were beginning to carry in the things.

They had taken some more things out of one of the vans, and they had come to the heavy things.