Free The Clock by James Lincoln Collier Page A

said look at me.” He let go of my arm, grabbed hold of my chin and twisted my face upward. My heart was going fast.
    â€œI saw you talking with that dirty little Tom Thrush the other day,” he said.
    What had he overheard? “Yes, sir, I might have been talking to him.”
    He gave my chin a little shake. “I hope you haven’t been fooling around with him, Annie.”
    Mr. Hoggart should have known better than that. “No, sir. All we ever did was talk a little.”
    He shook my face again. “You sure of that?”
    â€œYes, sir. My ma warned me against those boys.”
    â€œA good thing too. You see that you obey your ma. I can tell you’re not the kind who’d have anything to do with those New York boys. You need a better sort of fellow.”
    I didn’t say anything, for I knew what he meant by that.
    He shook me again. “What do you say to that?”
    â€œMy ma says I’m too young for fellows.”
    â€œOh, come,” he said. “You’re fifteen, aren’t you? You’re not a girl anymore. You’re a woman. You’re a woman and can do the things that women do.”
    â€œPlease, sir, I have to get home.”
    â€œThey’ll wait for you.” He let go of my chin.
    â€œNow, Annie, you know I could do you a lot of good around the mill. Being the lamp girl is a much nicer job than working a slubbing billy.”
    I looked down and didn’t say anything. Suddenly he put his hand around my waist and pulled me toward him. For just a minute he held me like that, our faces a little bit apart. I could feel his breath on my cheek, and smell the rum. “Come on, Annie. I could make life a lot easier for Robert and you if you got friendly with me.”
    I went on staring at him, feeling scared as could be. “Please let me go,” I said. I started to squirm away.
    He let me go and stood there looking at me. “Better think about it,” he said in a harsh voice. “I can make life pretty nice for you and Robert, and I can make it pretty bad too.”
    â€œYes, sir,” I said. I made a curtsy, and then I ran out of there and headed for home.
    When I got home Pa and George were out in the barnyard, sawing firewood. Ma was in the kitchen, churning butter. “Ma, he did it again.”
    She looked at me. “Who? What?”
    â€œMr. Hoggart. He came at me again. He grabbed hold of me and held me tight.”
    Ma banged her hand down on the top of the churn. Then she looked me in the face. “Annie, you swear it’s true.”
    â€œI swear it, Ma.”
    She went on looking me in the face. “He grabbed you, touched you.”
    â€œHe pulled me up against him, and I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t.” I shuddered, just remembering it. “I’ve got to tell Pa.”
    She looked off at the wall, thinking. “Annie, you best leave that to me,” she said finally. “Your pa’s got bad money troubles.”
    â€œTroubles?”
    â€œThe price of that blamed merino ram has burst. With the price up so high people were bound to take advantage of it. Somebody brought a shipload of them from Spain to New York. They aren’t scarce anymore; and the price dropped and is still dropping, with no end in sight. Pa isn’t going to get but a fraction of what he owes for his. He owes for the clock as well. People are beginning to get after him.”
    â€œHe needs my wages, doesn’t he, Ma?”
    â€œWithout them he’s in a heap of trouble. If his creditors really want to be hard on him, he could go to prison.”
    I just felt sick. “So I’m stuck,” I said. “He’ll keep me in the mill forever and ever.”
    She sighed. “I hope not,” she said. “I won’t let him sign you on again for another six months if I can help it. But it’ll be worse for all of us if he goes to debtors’ prison. I’ll