"The gutters on the roof are full of leaves, Mollie," said her mother
as she came in. "Stop on your way back to school and send Michael to
clean them out. I think we are going to have rain, and we don't want
them washed into the pipes."
"How much will he charge, mother?"
"About fifty cents."
"That fifty cents shall buy something for you," said Mollie to
herself. "The boy of the family shall clean the roof."
There was just enough recklessness in her mood to make her rather
enjoy than fear the prospect. She left her mother getting dinner, and
took a broom and escaped up the garret stairs and through the scuttle.
The roof did not slope steeply, and she let herself down with an easy
slide to the rear eaves. She rested her feet on the edge of the house
and swept as far as her arms would reach east and west. Then she
shifted her position and swept again until the whole length was clean.
She heard her mother calling her to dinner, but she had the front
gutter yet to sweep, and, climbing up, went down on the other side.
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