About seven o’clock one hot summer evening a strange family moved into the little village of Middlesex. Nobody knew where they came from, or who they were. But the neighbors soon made up their minds what they thought of the strangers, for the father was very drunk. He could hardly walk up the rickety front steps of the old tumble-down house, and his thirteen-year-old son had to help him.

The next day the children’s father died. The woman from the bakeshop asked whether they had any other family. Little Benny said they had a grandfather in Greenfield before Jess could stop him.

The children believed their grandfather did not want them. When they heard the baker and his wife planning to keep only the older children and send Benny away, they knew they could not stay.

That night, Henry, Jess, Violet, and Benny slipped out together. They carried bread and the few things they could manage. Their first and most important decision had already been made: whatever happened, they would not allow themselves to be separated.

Prototype reading note.
This playable slice uses the opening circumstances and selected original wording from the public-domain 1924 edition. The verified complete text is being prepared for the full chapter reader.