Sam's wife was a cold-blooded creature; the baby was somewhat ailing; it would not do for the fire to go out, yet the fuel he had carried in at morn could not more than last until evening.

The little money that had come into the shop during the day would barely purchase some plain food, of which there was never in the house a day's supply.

He had not the courage to ask credit for wood; his occasional attempts to "get trusted" had all failed, no matter how small the article wanted.

He looked for Larry Highgetty, his employer, to beg a small loan, but Larry, though he came into the shop every morning for his share of the previous day's earnings, could not be found that afternoon.
Suddenly, when the sun was almost down, Sam remembered that a house was being built several squares away.

Carpenters always left many scraps behind them, which village custom allowed anyone to pick up.