Houseboat Girl by Lois Lenski Read Free Book Online Page A

Foster?”
    He looked the fish over and said he would take all that were left in the tub. While Mrs. Foster was weighing up, a stray cat came along and sniffed at the fish. Patsy picked it up.
    “Put that cat down, Patsy,” said Mama. “Don’t start messin’ with a strange alley cat.”
    The restaurant man looked at Patsy again. “Is this the girl that likes pets so much?” he asked.
    “It sure is,” said Mama. “She just can’t let ’em alone.”
    Mr. Cooper said, “You don’t want a cat, girl. I’ll give you a dog.”
    Patsy gasped. “You will?” she said. This was too good to be true. She dropped the cat hastily.
    “Come with me,” said Mr. Cooper.
    Mrs. Foster laughed. “You’re just fooling. We don’t need a dog.”
    But Patsy was on her way to the restaurant. When she came back, she led a short-haired half-grown black dog on a rope. Mr. Cooper came back, too.
    “We can’t take a dog with us,” said Mrs. Foster. “Our house boat’s crowded already.”
    Mr. Cooper laughed. “What’s a houseboat without a dog?”
    They all looked at the dog whose name was Blackie.
    “Except for his white breast, he’s the blackest dog I ever saw,” said Mr. Cooper. “His hair is so shiny, it glitters. That dog’s not scared of a thing—he’s part hound and part just plain cur. Take him along with you, Patsy. I know you’ll give him a good home.”
    Patsy could not find words to thank Mr. Cooper. When she and Mama got home, the children crowded round and patted Blackie on the head. Blackie wagged his tail, happy to have found good friends. Daddy said he looked like a mighty fine dog, but Mama kept on shaking her head.
    “I’ve got enough kids without taking on a bunch of pets,” she said.

CHAPTER IV
On the River Again
    “W E’RE GOIN’ ON THE river again!” cried Dan.
    “We are?” asked Patsy. She could hardly believe it.
    There was brisk excitement in the air. Daddy was getting his motors tuned up and was putting things in order on the fish barge. Mama had done a good housecleaning in the houseboat and a big family washing on the river bank. While Daddy was baiting his lines for the last time, Mama got supper ready.
    Only Milly did not want to go.
    “We can’t go yet,” she said. “Our order hasn’t come. I haven’t a decent dress to wear to town.”
    Three weeks before, Mama and Milly had sent an order to a mail order house for a dress for Milly and some sewing supplies. Every day Milly went to the Wickliffe post office, but no package had come.
    “The postmaster said he would forward it,” said Mama. “I told him we would stop at Columbus.”
    “That means we’ll never get it,” said Milly.
    “I can’t help it,” said Mama. “Daddy’s set to go.”
    Patsy shinnied up the “monkey pole” to the roof of the houseboat. Milly was already there, tying down fishing gear and nets. They saw Daddy go off round the bend of the chute.
    “What’s he setting his lines tonight for?” asked Patsy.
    “To get a big haul of fish,” said Milly.
    “Are we taking smelly old fish with us?” asked Patsy. “Do we have to wait till Daddy runs his lines in the morning? I thought we were starting early.”
    “Daddy will bring them in by daylight,” said Milly.
    At supper Mama said, “We’ll stop at Columbus, Kentucky, to sell our fish. That’ll give us a little cash money to go on. Daddy’s got a Kentucky fishing license, so we’ll stop wherever we can in Kentucky and fish along the way.”
    “But if we’re goin’ somewhere, why can’t we just hurry up and get there?” asked Patsy. “I just want to get to New Orleans so bad!”
    “On the river nobody likes to hurry,” said Daddy, who had just come in. “That’s the good thing about it.”
    Patsy hardly took time to eat. She left the table and went out on the river bank to close up her chicken coop. It was dark now and the hens were inside. Dan helped her carry the coop to the cabin boat. Patsy called Blackie, the dog, and