The Work and the Glory by Gerald N. Lund Read Free Book Online Page A

this is Miss Lydia McBride. She works here at the store. Lydia, this is Joseph and—”
    “We’ve met,” she said, her voice cool. If Joseph noticed her reaction, he gave no sign. He touched his hat and smiled broadly. “Mornin’, Miss McBride.”
    Hyrum nodded, touching the brim of his hat as well. “Miss Lydia. Good to see you again.”
    Seeming to sense Joshua’s probing look, Lydia softened a little, forcing a brief smile. Then she turned back to him. “Well, I must be getting back inside. Good day, Mr. Steed.” Finally there was the ghost of a real smile again. “Hope to see you again.” She curtsied slightly, then swept back inside the store.
    He turned to the Smith brothers. “Well, let’s get started. We got trees and brush waiting for us.”
    “Becca, you’re to be helping your sister with the dishes.”
    Nathan Steed watched his youngest sister with a half smile. At nine, it was easy to be smitten, and Rebecca—Becca to the family—was smitten with the two Smith brothers who had come to work with the Steeds earlier that day. She hung on every word Joseph Smith was saying. The command from her father brought an instant look of dismay and then pleading.
    He shook his head firmly. “You too, Matthew. Get the table cleared.”
    Matthew was sitting next to Joseph, his hand lying comfortably on his new friend’s arm. Nathan’s mother laughed softly at the sudden pain that appeared on her youngest’s face. “Come on, you two. Joseph and Hyrum will be staying the night. There’ll be plenty of time to visit.”
    Joseph gave Matthew a nudge. “You hurry and help your sisters, then maybe we’ll go do a stick pull.”
    Matthew’s eyes widened. “Really?”
    Joseph nodded soberly. “You look pretty strong to me, but I think maybe, just maybe, I might be able to pull you up.” In moments, Matthew was clearing off the dishes with considerable alacrity.
    When Benjamin Steed had contracted with the Smiths for day labor, it was for twenty-five cents a day plus the midday and evening meals. Had they lived further away, it would also have included overnight board, for that was the way on the frontier. But the Smith farm was only about a mile south of Palmyra Village, or about two miles from the Steed homestead, so they had opted to go home each night. But with the morning lost in meeting them and getting them to the farm, they had gotten in only half a day’s work. Benjamin suggested they stay over and get an early start tomorrow; then he’d pay them a full day’s wages for both days. So for this night, at least, they would sleep in the barn.
    Nathan smiled to himself as he looked around the room. Visitors were always a welcome diversion in rural areas, and in just one afternoon the Smiths had become a comfortable addition to the family. Part of it lay in Joseph’s quick smile and wry sense of humor, and in his warmth with the children. Hyrum was equally likeable, but more quiet, content to let Joseph lead out.
    But it was more than just their personalities that won them ready acceptance around the family’s hearth. Nathan’s father had been pleased with his new help. There was no loafing on the part of these two. Hyrum and Joshua had worked the big two-man saw, felling one tree after another, while Joseph, Nathan, and Benjamin had worked with the axes, trimming the branches off the fallen trees and dragging them into piles for eventual burning. Even though there had been a light, misty rain, they had finished another full acre.
    Most surprising was the change in his mother’s attitude. When her husband had told her of his decision to hire day labor, she had balked at first. Mary Ann Morgan’s father had had eight children—all sons, except for seven daughters! For a man who built turnpikes for a living, it was a bitter disappointment, but he had made the best of it, and quickly his daughters had learned to do men’s work. Nathan’s mother had grown up with hard work. She had also had more than a