Young Bleys - Childe Cycle 09 by Gordon R. Dickson

his uncle was saying, "what schooling have you had?"
    Bleys' mind leaped to find answers to that question. In effect, he had had no real schooling. From time to time, there —-had been tutors in one subject or another when his mother thought of it. But, since he and she were generally on the move,, it was troublesome and time-consuming to find someone for a short period. Anything else, from his mother's point of view, was unthinkable. As a result Bleys had educated himself, more than been educated; and his education had been oriented toward those things that interested him, or would impress the people before whom he showed off for her approval.
    Now he tried to think of things in which his own reading might have trained him enough so that he could get by with giving the impression he had a knowledge of them; as he had hastily pretended to-have a knowledge of the Bible. Mentally, he scrambled for subjects that would make him valuable to Henry.
    "I can read and write, of course," he said, reaching for the most obvious topics first, "and of course I know arithmetic, up into algebra and geometry. I know a little bit of practical mathematics, like the basics of surveying, and figuring how tall a tree is from its shadow and so forth. There's a formula—if your house was built of boards instead of logs, Uncle, I could probably make an estimate of how many board feet of lumber there were in it. Then I know something about chemistry, too, and mechanics—"
    "What do you mean by mechanics?" interrupted Henry.
    "Oh, how engines and things like that are put together." He took a chance on an outright lie. "I had some training in shop too, which helped."
    "Shop?" demanded Henry.
    "That's where they show you how to take apart and put together motors and things. It teaches you how to make them," said Bleys.
    "Is that so?" said Henry; and Bleys thought that for the first time he heard interest in his voice. "What other things have you learned?"
    Bleys found himself running out of ideas and educational topics, particularly any that might interest Henry. Henry would clearly not be interested in music, literature, or ancient Earth history, and such things.
    "I was taught something about first aid, and medicines," said Bleys, "but not much. But I really am quite good at arithmetic, Uncle. I can add up figures without making mistakes, and keep records."
    "Can you now?" said Henry.
    He sat for a minute, obviously thinking. Then he went on.
    "We're not a bunch of storekeepers here," he said finally, "but there are some records that could be kept. I've kept them myself, but if you're capable of helping me with that, Bleys, it'd be a good use for you to put yourself to, as well as your other duties"—Bleys' hopes sank fearfully at the thought of what "other duties" might be—"I'll think about this; and we may talk some more about it. Is there anything else you've got to tell me about subjects you've been schooled in?"
    It occurred to Bleys it was best not to claim to know too much.
    "Maybe, Uncle," he said, "but I can't think of any more, right now. If I remember I'll tell you."
    "I'll say one thing for you, Bleys—and your cousins"—he looked from Joshua to Will—"should take note. You're willing to be helpful. And this is the right attitude."
    "Thank you, Uncle," said Bleys, with relief.
    He had been unsure whether an emphasis on a sense of duty would necessarily recommend him to Henry. But from what he had learned about the Friendlies beforehand and from what he had seen of Henry himself, it seemed possible. The thought occurred to him, abruptly, that Henry might want to send him off to some local school; and that would be the last thing Bleys wanted.
    Any time spent in local schooling by him would be a waste of time; and, beyond that, pure misery, since he would almost surely know more about many things than those already there. Even if he did not, he would learn all they had to teach children of his age in a few weeks; and he cringed at the