Page:Mrs. Spring Fragrance - Far - 1912.djvu/317

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CANDY NOT SWEET
305

"Grandfather, honorable grandfather," cried Yen. But his grandfather did not hear.

Upon a hook on the wall hung a long string of cash. Mother Chan had hung it there for her use when passing peddlers called.

Yen had thought to ask his grandfather to give him one of the copper coins which were strung on the string, but as his grandfather did not awaken at his call, he changed his mind. You see, he had suddenly remembered that the day before he had felt a pain, and when he had cried, his mother had said: "No more candy for Yen."

For some moments Yen stood hesitating and looking at the many copper coins on the bright red string. It hung just low enough to be reached, and Yen knew how to work the cash over the knot at the end. His mother had shown him how so that he could hand them over to her for the peddlers.

Ah, how pleasant, how good that smelt! The candy man, who carried with his baskets a tin saucepan and a little charcoal stove, had set about making candy, and the smell of the barley sugar was wafted from the corner to Yen's little nose.

Yen hesitated no longer. Grabbing the end of the string of cash, he pulled therefrom three