Ruby of Kettle Farm Read Online Free

page out. I’m sorry, sir.’
    â€˜That’s all right, Doris. Thank you for being helpful.’
    â€˜Sir, it wasn’t like that at all,’ Ruby said, glaring at Doris. ‘There wasn’t any spark. Doris pulled out the page, but –’
    â€˜Doris has told me what happened,’ said Mr Miller, looking very irritated. ‘I will not listen to tell-tales, Ruby. Now, if you’ve sums to be marked, please show them to me. Cynthia, you’ll have to do your work again, at recess.’
    â€˜Don’t worry, I’ll help you,’ Ruby said, when she and Cynthia were back at their desk. ‘Ooh, that Doris! She makes me so furious! One day I’ll . . . I’ll . . .’
    â€˜Forget it,’ said Cynthia. ‘There’ll always be people like her, and people like us. It’s how things are.’
    People like us
, Ruby thought. She means people that other people don’t want anything to do with. She means me, too. All of a sudden the unfairness of it all made her really angry.
    â€˜That doesn’t mean it’s right, though, does it?’ she said.
    â€˜I s’pose not,’ Cynthia said. But Ruby could tell she wasn’t convinced.

‘A NOTHER of our chooks has disappeared,’ Uncle James said at breakfast on Friday. ‘I’d say that’s at least half a dozen gone now.’ He frowned at Ruby. ‘Have you been keeping an eye on that dog of yours?’
    â€˜Yes, Uncle James.’ Oh no, Ruby thought. Not this again! Why does Uncle James always think it’s poor Baxter who’s killing our chooks?
    â€˜It must be a fox, Dad,’ Walter said, pouring milk on his porridge. ‘If it was Baxter, there’d be some sort of evidence. You know – blood on his face, dirt on his paws. And how would he get in? We fixed the last hole in the fence.’
    â€˜You’ve got no idea, have you, boy?’ said Uncle James. His face began to twitch. ‘What were fox terriers bred for? Hunting. It’s their instinct to kill. Why should that dog be any different?’
    â€˜Because he has a nice nature,’ Ruby said. ‘And because I do keep an eye on him. And because he’s chained up at night.’
    â€˜Well, last night he wasn’t,’ Uncle James said grimly. ‘This morning I saw that he’d slipped his collar. And it’s not the first time.’
    â€˜I always put it on really tightly,’ Ruby protested. ‘If I put it on any tighter, he’ll choke to death.’
    â€˜As I said,’ Uncle James went on. ‘The dog was free, possibly all night. When we find out how he’s getting in, we have our culprit. And then –’ He made a gun with his fingers.
‘Pow!’
    Ruby looked at him in horror. ‘No!’
    â€˜Prove to me otherwise, then. I’m sick and tired of that blasted animal. It’s nothing but trouble. Has been since day one.’
    â€˜That’s not quite fair, James,’ said Aunt Vera. ‘He’s a very good little dog really, and he’s settled down nicely with Shep and Sparkie.’
    â€˜Excuse me, Uncle James, but you just
want
it to be Baxter because you don’t like him,’ Ruby said. ‘It was you who said he had to be chained up outside at night, remember? If I was allowed to keep him inside, I’d know where he was the whole time, wouldn’t I?’
    Uncle James stared at her, his face twitching even more. ‘In this house,’ he said, ‘children do not answer back. I will not tolerate rudeness. Please leave the table.’
    â€˜Dad, I’m sure Ruby didn’t mean to be rude,’ May said.
    â€˜Baxter’s not a thief, Dad,’ Bee said, her eyes filling with tears. ‘He just
plays
with the chooks.’
    â€˜Enough,’ said Uncle James. ‘Be quiet, both of you.’
    Ruby stood up, pushed her chair back, and went