When Samuel had penned the merino sheep and come out of the stable, Papa was smiling.
“Samuel, I know exactly where we should go next,” he said, and he handed Samuel a wedge of dark cheese.
“You traded for cheese?” said Samuel.
“I hope I’m a better trader than that,” said Papa, and he pulled out a gold pocket watch.
Samuel wondered if a pocket watch might trade for a mare. Or maybe a sheepdog to help take care of the merino. Or at least a white-nosed kitten.
“I thought we’d go talk with Mr. Everett about one of his dairy cows,” said Papa. “And if not Everett, perhaps Mr. Buxton beyond him.”
Samuel’s feet were cold and tired, and they dragged a little in the snow collecting on the road. “It’s a long road, Papa,” said Samuel.
“On a short day,” said Papa.
The wind was up now, and Samuel knotted his scarf a little tighter around his neck. He and his father each ate a wedge of cheese and an apple.
“What if Mr. Everett doesn’t want the watch?” said Samuel.
“That’s possible,” said Papa. “Farmers and dairymen don’t cater to watches much. We know what time it is by the sun.”
Samuel looked up into the sky. Even though the clouds were thick and dark, he knew it was probably close to two o’clock. Maybe a little later.
He wasn’t sure that Mr. Everett would want a pocket watch.
When they came out of town, he still wasn’t sure Mr. Everett would want a pocket watch.
When they crossed the Wire Bridge, he still wasn’t sure Mr. Everett would want a pocket watch.
When they climbed Hurd Hill, he sure did hope that Mr. Everett would want a pocket watch after they had come all that way.
“Nearly there,” said Papa. “If it wasn’t snowing so hard, you’d be able to see the house.”
And Papa was right: soon they were knocking on the Everetts’ door, and Mrs. Everett was unfastening Samuel’s jacket and unknotting his scarf and asking if he’d rather have his hot milk plain or with cocoa powder mixed in and saying that he’d done well to come so far with his father when the weather was this cold and wet.
Samuel decided he liked Mrs. Everett very much. “With cocoa powder,” he said.
He surely, surely did hope that Mr. Everett would want a pocket watch.