A Place to Belong Read Online Free Page B

’stead of livin’ with kinfolk. She needs a husband who’ll do right for her and not die penniless, like Mr. Pratka done. That’s what my ma says.”
    Olga’s cheeks turned pink. “That’s enough, Gussie. No more gossip. We all have work to do.”
    Gussie cheerfully picked up her bucket and rag, leaving the room as Olga turned to Danny. “Breakfast for you first,” Olga said, “and then you might like to join Alfrid. By this time tomorrow you and Peg will be at school.”
    “School!” Danny’s mouth fell open, and he could feel his heart hammering with excitement. “A real school? They told us we’d have schooling, but I—I didn’t dare to think about it. Peg and me—we’ve never been to school before.”
    “Can you read, Danny?”
    “Yes, ma’am. I like to read near as much as Mike does.” He glanced down at Peg with concern. “But Peg’s young. She never learned.”
    Peg’s chin jutted out, and she made a face at Danny. “Mama said I don’t need to know yet. She said that’s what school is for, to teach people to read and know their letters and cipher. Bet you don’t know all that, Danny.”
    As it happened, he did, but before he had a chance to answer, Peg went on. “Gussie’s going to give me the dinner pail she used to carry. And she’s got one for you that used to belong to her cousin who got work laying telegraph lines.”
    Peg chattered on, but Danny had stopped listening. As he wolfed down his orange along with eggs and biscuits and fried potatoes and ham, he tried to imagine what schooling would be like. He couldn’t picture it. He had no idea what to expect.
    All day he worked with Alfrid, starting to learn how to care for the horses, hearing with excitement the first splash of milk into the pail as he milked the cows, and walking the boundaries of the farm. But part of his thoughts kept racing ahead to the next day and school.
    Finally, Alfrid led Danny to a clearing at the far western boundary of his property. At their feet the ground sloped away steeply. Open fields below them stretched out to the banks of the broad Missouri River.
    “This is one of my favorite sights,” Alfrid told him. “I like to see the twists and turns of the river. It’s like a silver snake.”
    “It’s like a snake with spots,” Danny said. “Look at all the boats!”
    Alfrid nodded. “There are almost as many boats as on the big Mississippi. You crossed it on your way here. Do you remember?”
    “Oh, yes. That I do. We crossed on a ferry, a steam-driven side-wheeler,” Danny said. “It was grand! One of the lads—Jim was his name—said he hoped to be chosen by a family who lived in a boat on the river.”
    “I doubt he’d have much chance for that,” Alfrid said.
    “That’s just what Mike told him,” Danny said. “Mike’s smart. He always knows what’s what.”
    Alfrid looked down at Danny. “I know that you’re a smart boy, too. Has Olga told you that tomorrow you’ll be going to school?”
    “That she has,” Danny said. He took a deep breath. “I want very much to go to school, but …” He paused, furrowing his brow.
    “But what?” Alfrid asked.
    Danny tried to find the right words. “Of course, I know that school is for learning, but I don’t know how it’s done. Peg will be with the little ones, so it will be easy for her, but I don’t know where to go, or where to sit, or what I should say. I want to do things the right way and not have other lads thinking I’m stupid.”
    “I understand,” Alfrid said, nodding solemnly. “Fortunately, I can tell you what you need to know.” He sat on the grass, and Danny dropped to a spot beside him. “The school is in a one-room building,” he began. “Each morning the teacher will ring the school bell, as a sign that school has begun, and all the boys and girls will go into the schoolroom.”
    “And when I go into the room, where do I sit?” Danny asked.
    “As to where your desk will be in the schoolroom, I don’t