The Clock by James Lincoln Collier

path with our tea bucket.
    â€œTom, where’s Robert?”
    He stopped. “Didn’t you hear about it, miss?”
    â€œHear about what?”
    â€œRobert ain’t the tally boy no longer. He’s got to work regular, just like the rest of us.”
    â€œBut he can’t,” I cried. “Not with that foot.”
    â€œMaybe he can, and maybe he can’t,” Tom said. “But he’s got to, anyway. Hoggart’s had him loading bags of yarn onto carts all morning.”
    It was the worst possible job for Robert, for trying to walk with that bad foot of his under a heavy weight was certain to make him stumble and trip all the time. I wanted to see him real bad, but he wasn’t around where I could get to him anymore. It was Saturday, though, and I knew I could talk to him when we were coming home from church the next day.
    The trees were bare now, the sky was filled with clouds, and the air was chill. After church Robert and I came along behind the rest, and talked. “Of course he doesn’t want me to be tally boy anymore,” Robert said. “He’s afraid I might calculate things out and find out how much wool is missing.”
    â€œHe doesn’t know you already did it.”
    â€œNo, I don’t guess he figures I’d have done that. There wouldn’t be any reason for a tally boy to calculate that. I wouldn’t have done it either, but I just happened to notice something in the figures one day that struck me curious.”
    â€œBut you can’t be carrying and hauling things,” I said. “You’ll fall and hurt yourself sooner or later.” “I don’t guess he’d mind that very much.” I thought a minute. “Did you tell your pa?”
    â€œYes. He went down to the mill and spoke to Mr. Hoggart. He told Pa I’d made a lot of mistakes in the tally and wasn’t up to the job.”
    â€œThat’s a lie,” I said angrily.
    â€œShush, keep your voice down, Annie.”
    â€œBut it is a lie. Did your pa believe it?”
    â€œHe said he didn’t,” Robert said. “He said he trusted my word. But I don’t know. Of course Mr. Hoggart wants people to believe that I’ve been making mistakes in the tally, in case I should ever tell somebody about it. He wants to be able to say that I wasn’t accurate in my figures, and nobody should believe anything I say.”
    â€œBut we know he’s stealing. You did the calculations.”
    Robert shrugged. “That isn’t any good anymore. He has all the old tally sheets. Who knows how he’s changed them? And he’ll make sure that I don’t see any more tally sheets ever again.”
    I winced. “I hate him. I hate him so.” We started walking again. “Robert, we have to prove that he’s stealing wool. If we could prove it, he’d lose his situation and we’d have a different overseer.”
    Robert shook his head. “I’m not sure, Annie. Maybe it would be best to let things lie. We might just end up worse off.”
    â€œBut you can’t go on this way. You’re bound to get hurt sooner or later.”
    â€œI have to wait it out for a while. I have to see how things go. Maybe something will come up.”
    â€œWhat if nothing does come up?”
    He shook his head. “I’ll have to quit and go someplace else.”
    That shocked me. I looked at him. “Go someplace else?”
    â€œThere’s nothing for me here in Humphreysville but the mill.”
    â€œWhat about apprenticing to someone? Or getting a job in the village store?”
    He shook his head. “I’ve thought about all those things, Annie. As far as the village store is concerned, Abel Fitch has got two sons coming along, and has all the help he needs at home. And who would I apprentice to? I’m not fit to work as a wheelwright for Mr. Brown, or as a gunsmith for Mr. Stock. What else is there?