heartily about John's intense desire to become a man, and asked him how
he felt about it now. It was in a discouraged tone of voice that John
replied:

"There ain't so much fun in it as I supposed. The older I get, the
more unhappy I feel. Why, Will, there are times when I almost wish that
I were dead. No one seems to care for me or to have any time to give me.
It's just 'John here' and 'John there'; and if I dare to say anything,
I'm laughed at or told to keep still. It was different before Pa got
married. Then he used to talk to me and try to help me when I got
lonesome; but now I just have to get along the best way I can.
If I like anything it's all right, and if I don't it's the same.

"I'll just tell you, if it wasn't for Pa, I'd run away from home! As for
being a man, I don't think that it is so wonderful after all. The men
that I know are all so bad. Just look at Ed! I'm getting so that I can
hardly endure Ed!"

In reply to John's great outburst of sorrow, Will had no words of
sympathy to offer. All that he could propose was that they could spend
their evenings in playing cards (for Will, too, had learned many things
since John had left; and card-playing was one of them). John was pleased
with the suggestion; but he said, "I haven't any cards." As usual,
however, he was quick to invent a way out of that difficulty and added:
"Hey, Will! why couldn't we make some? I know where there's a lot of
cardboard boxes that we could cut up. One could cut while the other
marked them. You would know how to make them, would you not?"

"Yes, I think so," Will answered. "We could do that all right in the
daytime; but how could we work in the dark? And does it get very cold