Sawyer.
Oh come, now, you don t mean to let on that you _like_ it?
The brush continued to move.
Like it? Well, I don t see why I oughtn t to like it. Does a boy get a
chance to whitewash a fence every day?
That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple.
Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth stepped back to note the
effect added a touch here and there criticised the effect again Ben
watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more
absorbed. Presently he said:
Say, Tom, let _me_ whitewash a little.
Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind:
No no I reckon it wouldn t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly s awful
particular about this fence right here on the street, you know but if it
was the back fence I wouldn t mind and _she_ wouldn t. Yes, she s awful
particular about this fence; it s got to be done very careful; I reckon
there ain t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it
the way it s got to be done.
No is that so? Oh come, now lemme just try. Only just a little I d let
_you_, if you was me, Tom.
Ben, I d like to, honest injun; but Aunt Polly well, Jim wanted to do
it, but she wouldn t let him; Sid wanted to do it, and she wouldn t let
Sid. Now don t you see how I m fixed? If you was to tackle this fence
and anything was to happen to it
Oh, shucks, I ll be just as careful. Now lemme try. Say I ll give you
the core of my apple.
Well, here No, Ben, now don t. I m afeard
I ll give you _all_ of it!
25