Ramy Allison White

“ Sunny Boy and his mother sat facing Daddy.
"Now we're off," announced Mr. Horton, smiling at Sunny Boy, who was watching everything.
A few more people came into the car, but not many, and after what seemed a long wait to Sunny, they heard the conductor's long-drawn-out "All a-bo-ard!"
The train groaned and started slowly.
"And now we're going!" declared Sunny Boy, with satisfaction.
"Now we're going," echoed Mother. "Don't put your head out, Sunny. If the wind blows too strongly we'll have to put the window down." ”

“ As soon as Sunny Boy and Mother entered the park at the Battery the following morning, the glint of water in the sun attracted him.
"Why is it the Battery?" he asked. "Are there guns?"
"There used to be," said Mother. "Long ago, when instead of a park, this end of New York was high rocks, a water battery guarded the town and was used a little in the Revolution. That is where the Battery gets its name. The aquarium is housed in the old fort."
"I see Alice," cried Sunny Boy. ”

“ Snow White came to life again, and the big curtain came down and the lights flared up to show a houseful of happy, smiling children being buttoned into coats and gloves, and having their caps and hats and bonnets put on for them by mothers and [130] grandmothers and aunts and big sisters.
Sunny Boy walked soberly up the aisle beside his mother, thinking about a great many things. He thought about the dwarfs, and how he would like to know some to play with. He thought about the big theater, and wondered if it was fun to be an actor. ”

“ If you say your name is Sunny Boy, all right, it is. And I'll even have it you live at the Macnapin Hotel, though where that is is more than I know. Quit crying, I tell you; you're going home along with me."
Sunny Boy continued to stare at him, the tears slowly chasing down his cheeks.
"I want my mother!" he sobbed forlornly.
"All right, all right, I'll get her for you," promised the distracted older boy. "You leave it to Tim Harrity, and there won't nothing happen to you. Only quit crying, [170] because folks are beginning to look at you. Come on. I'm through for the night." ”

“ Ready, Daddy?"
Soon they were in the dining room.
"Where are we going?" asked Sunny Boy, at the table and trying not to feel queer when the waiter brought him his cantaloupe with the same flourish with which he served Daddy sitting opposite.
"Why, I'm going to be very busy this morning," explained Mr. Horton, "and I thought you and Mother might enjoy a little shopping trip. I'll meet you here for lunch. Anything you specially want to buy, Sunny?"
"Some post cards," replied Sunny Boy promptly. "Ruth Nelson wants one for her collection. And I could get Aunt Bessie a present." ”

“ Alice had brought some crumbs of bread with her, and they amused themselves by throwing these into the water for the gulls.
"See the boats!" cried Sunny Boy, pointing to several large steamers plainly seen from their boat.
"That's Ellis Island we're passing," explained Mrs. Kennedy. "All the immigrants are sent there from the ships on which they arrive. They see the Statue of Liberty first, Sunny, as you said." ”

“ Daddy gave him two ten-cent pieces, and he put them in the little slit and heard the bell ring twice.
Sunny Boy had never been so happy. He liked to look down from the high top of the bus and watch the motors and the people in the street. At nearly every cross street they had to stop while traffic went the other way, and often there would be four or five automobiles abreast. Once Sunny, looking down, saw a little boy in a beautiful car looking up at him. Sunny Boy waved, and the little boy smiled delightedly and waved back. ”

“ Harriet! I've come home," yelled Sunny Boy. "And I brought you something! Mother has it in the trunk!"
Harriet came down as the car drew up at the curb and tried to shake hands with Mrs. Horton, carry a suitcase for Mr. Horton and hug Sunny Boy all at once. [211]
"Did you miss me?" demanded Sunny Boy, following her upstairs.
"Miss you? Well, I should say so!" declared Harriet, kissing him again. "Haven't I been up and dusted all your toys every time I came over to see that the house was all right? You'll find them all sitting up there in the playroom waiting for you." ”

“ This was a new idea to Sunny Boy.
"Do you s'pose folks who live in New York like to come to see Centronia?" he asked doubtfully.
"Just as much as you count on going to New York," said the white-haired gentleman promptly. "It's new to them, you see. Here's my corner now. Good-bye. I hope you will have all the good times you are looking forward to."
"Isn't it funny, Daddy?" said Sunny Boy, watching the gentleman go out the door. "Most everybody has relations living in New York. ”

“ Sunny Boy dropped asleep while they were talking, and in the morning he and Mother went shopping again, because Daddy was to have an all-day conference with business men and they must amuse themselves.
"I think we ought to choose a few little gifts to take to the friends at home," suggested Mrs. Horton, as she and Sunny Boy stepped from the car and went into one of the beautiful big shops. "Daddy says we won't be here much longer, perhaps not more than another week. Wouldn't you like to take something home to Nelson and Ruth?" ”

“ Sunny Boy shook his head.
"I'll wait for you," he said politely.
"But we've been up," declared Dick and Paul. "Nobody ever comes 'way out to the Island and not go up. What will people say?"
"You haven't seen the Statue of Liberty at all," cried Alice, greatly disappointed.
"I'd rather not," insisted Sunny Boy.
The two mothers looked at each other and laughed.
"I went up with Harry years ago," said [151] Mrs. Horton. "Of course I should like Sunny Boy to have the experience, but he'll come to New York other times I hope. Anyway, I can't agree with Alice that he hasn't seen the statue. ”

“ Marty and Thomas, for instance, had they had the kind of breakfast he had just had?
"And we're going shopping," Mother reminded him, as she led the way out of the dining room. Perhaps she guessed what he was thinking. "You see, Daddy did all this for you and for me, but we want to give the Harritys something, don't we?"
"Oh, yes!" Sunny Boy was all smiles. "Let's, Mother! But what shall we buy?"
"I thought I'd send something nice to Mrs. Harrity and Theresa, and you would choose something for each of the children," explained Mrs. Horton. "We'll go right out now and see what we can find." ”

“ Then two men, one on either side of the wharf, or slip, as they call the docks built for this kind of boat, gave a large spiked wheel one long, powerful turn, and it spun round rapidly, coiling up the ropes.
"Now we'll go up to the front," announced Mr. Horton, "and see what ails that noisy little tugboat we hear." [113]
But Sunny Boy had made a discovery.
"Oh, Daddy!" he shouted. "There's a top! Let's go up!"
Mrs. Horton laughed.
"I'm sure Sunny will be an aviator when he grows up," she declared, smiling at her little boy. "He always wants to get as near to the sky as he can." ”

“ They carry people and horses and automobiles, kid."
"Horses?" repeated Sunny Boy incredulously. "Come on, Daddy, let's go ride on one."
"That's the Fort Lee Ferry. Nothing much to see," advised the young man, who was good-natured if he did laugh at folks. "Better go down town and take the Twenty-third Street, if you want a nice sail."
"Thank you, we will, when we do go," replied Mr. Horton. "But, Sunny, you and I must be getting back to Mother. She will be wondering what has become of us. See if you can signal a bus." ”

“ Horton, on the curb, saw him laugh, then point up the street and, as Sunny Boy started back to her, the policeman blew his whistle and stopped the traffic till Sunny Boy was safely across.
"What made you do that?" demanded Mrs. Horton. "It's never safe to run out into the street like that. I didn't know you were even going."
"Daddy and I know that p'liceman," said Sunny Boy calmly. "He s'lutes us—sometimes. I asked him which way to go, and he showed me. That's why they stand in the middle of the street, Mother; to show people where to go." ”

“ Crowds are always in a hurry, if you have noticed it. They run and push and scramble to get somewhere, and then, when they are [112] there, they sit down and rest or stand about contentedly, quite as though they did not know what hurrying meant.
"What do they do with the ropes?" asked Sunny Boy, as they went down the inclined plank and stepped on the ferryboat deck.
"They're what hold the boat in the slip," explained Mr. Horton. "If we stay on this back deck till the boat moves, you'll see the men take out those great hooks and wind the ropes on those wheels. ”

“ Daddy had to arrange it that way because the Harritys are proud and independent."
"And Tim?" urged Sunny Boy, forgetting to eat his egg.
"Oh, Tim is to go to school, too," said Mrs. Horton. "Daddy knows a man who has a school for boys like Tim where they can work and pay for their education, and if Tim can have three or four years there he will be able to help his mother much more than if he got 'working papers' at fourteen and left school." ”

“ Horton. "I know what it is to be poor and young and pretty and not have the right things to wear to a party. She can bring the slippers back if they're not the right size."
"How can she go to parties if they're poor?" questioned Sunny Boy curiously.
"Oh, poor people often have the best parties," said his mother. "They always manage to have a good time. And Theresa is going to school, you know, and there will be little affairs now and then to which she'll want to go. Anyway, Son, girls like to have pretty clothes if only to look at." ”

“ Boy asked Mother, when they had found their comfortable seats in the train and it was almost time for it to start.
"Live in New York?" echoed Mrs. Horton thoughtfully. "No, I think not, precious. Though we have had a good time, haven't we?"
Sunny Boy nodded his head.
"I wouldn't like to live here all the time, either," he confided. "I'd rather live in our house."
The train ride was uneventful, and as they had taken an express, they were in Centronia by early afternoon. Aunt Bessie met them at the station. ”

“ Mr. Horton glanced down at him and smiled.
"You do look rather small in all this," he admitted; "but I should say you were very much here. And here's our hotel, and I think you are ready for supper."
The taxi cab stopped before the McAlpin Hotel, and Sunny Boy, holding fast to Daddy's hand, went into a beautiful high-ceilinged room ablaze with light. He and his mother sat down in one of the big chairs while Mr. Horton registered and arranged for their room. Then a severe-faced boy took the suitcases and led them into an elevator. ”

“ Sunny Boy was just the least little bit afraid when they went under the elevated tracks—they didn't have elevated trains in Centronia—and he hoped nothing would drop on him.
"What a lot of things there are to ride on in New York," he confided to Daddy. "Busses, an' trains up high, and ferryboats, and automobiles and trolley cars like at home."
"And another kind of train you don't know about yet," said Mr. Horton. "What is it? Oh, I'm going to let you find out for yourself. You seem to be developing a liking for riding about on all kinds of transportation." ”

“ If they had only a lawn mower like the one your father uses on your lawn at home, you know, the grass would never get cut in one summer."
"Can't we get out?" Mrs. Horton asked next. "I'd like to go up and see the reservoirs."
"Sure you can," was the quick response. "I'll wait right here for you. Suppose you'll want to go in the snake house, too, and see the menagerie and the monkeys."
"Frank said to see the monkeys, didn't he, Mother?" said Sunny Boy. ”

“ Horton. "I'm sure we can not hope to walk all over this great place in one day. Shall we drive, dear?"
"Let's," nodded Sunny Boy. "I like that fat, black horse, Mother."
So they got into the carriage pulled by the fat, black horse and driven by a young man [98] so tall that he couldn't sit up straight in the seat or his head would have hit the roof of the carriage.
"Is Central Park bigger than Brookside?" Sunny Boy asked, as they drove over a well-kept road past the greenest of green lawns and bright flower beds. Brookside was the name of Grandpa Horton's farm. ”

“ Horton. "Daddy got Tim to tell about his family. His mother is a widow with six children, and, dear, she takes in washing. She was washing last night when you were there, clothes for her own children, after having done two big washes at other houses that day. Theresa, who is sixteen, works in a department store, and Tim sells papers before and after school, and sometimes, I am afraid, when he plays hooky. He can't leave school till he is at least fourteen and he is only thirteen now. Of course the other children are too young to help."
"Theresa can cook," announced Sunny Boy. "She made stew." ”

“ Sunny Boy nodded.
"Well, the subway is one kind you haven't been on," said Daddy.
Sunny Boy was surprised.
"But it isn't cars, Daddy," he argued. "I think it is a boat."
Mr. Horton laughed.
"The subway isn't what you ride on," he tried to explain. "It's what you ride in. The trains go through the subway, Sunny." [155]
Mrs. Horton came out with her postage stamps just then, and the three walked till they came to one of the funny little houses Sunny Boy had seen at many street corners. Mr. Horton led the way straight down the steps. ”

“ Mrs. Horton surveyed him half laughingly, half with despair. "You musn't call her Adele. Say Mrs. Kennedy. You never call Mother's friends by their first names, you know you don't."
"Well, I don't know her," offered Sunny Boy mildly, as though that made a difference.
They took a bus, which never lost its charm for Sunny, and after a rather long [140] ride, got out at a cross street and walked until they reached a narrow, five-storied brick house with gay window boxes at every window. ”