"Ma! where are my shoes?" he called in stentorian tones. Mrs. Upton
replied from above stairs, where she was putting a stitch in her son's
cap: "I don't know--haven't seen them."
"Well, I left them in the kitchen last night. Here, Maria, help a
fellow, won't you? I can't find my shoes and it's nearly train time.
There's Jenkins at the door now."
The united efforts of all present resulted in finding the shoes
entangled in an afghan which Mrs. Upton had unintentionally placed in
the heap in the closet when she relieved the sofa of its burden.
"Here they are at last. Bravo!" shouted Charlie. Yet his joy was short
lived. One shoe wouldn't go on. He had slipped it off on the previous
night without unfastening. There were several knots in the string, and
all were unmanageable. He struggled breathlessly while Uncle Josh and
Aunt Jane were getting into the cab, then broke the string in
desperation just as Jenkins, hearing the car-whistle, drove off to reach
the train.
"Very sorry! Can't wait another instant!" called out Uncle Josh.
Charlie, having repaired damages as best he could, reached the front
door in time to see the back of the carriage away down the street.
"Time and tide wait for no man," observed his mother exasperatingly.
Perhaps her quotation of the proverb carried with it the weight of her
experience. Perhaps she thought it her duty to give moral lessons to her
son, regardless of illustrations.
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