CHAPTER XXIII

THE CLAMP

When work began next morning, Jake asked Dick if he should order the peons to search for the clamps that had held the guard-rail.

"I think not," said Dick. "It would be better if you looked for the things yourself."

"Very well. Perhaps you're right."

Dick wondered how much Jake suspected, particularly as he did not appear to be searching for anything when he moved up and down among the broken concrete. Half an hour later, when none of the peons were immediately about, he came up with his hand in his pocket and indicated a corner beside a block where there was a little shade and they were not likely to be overlooked.

"I've got one," he remarked.

When they sat down Jake took out a piece of thick iron about six inches long, forged into something like the shape of a U, though the curve was different and one arm was shorter than the other. Much depended on the curve, for the thing was made on the model of an old-fashioned but efficient clamp that carpenters sometimes use for fastening work to a bench. A blow or pressure on one part wedged it fast, but a sharp tap on the other enabled it to be lifted off. This was convenient, because as the work progressed, the track along the dam had to be lengthened and the guard fixed across a fresh pair of rails.

Taking the object from Jake, Dick examined it carefully. He thought he recognized the dint where he had struck the iron, and then, turning it over, noted another mark. This had been made recently, because the surface of the iron was bright where the hammer had fallen, and a blow there would loosen the clamp. He glanced at Jake, who nodded. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. what did Jake take out when they sat down?
2. what was it shaped in?
3. who examined it?
4. what did he notice on it?
5. what had Jake asked Dick that morning?
6. did dick agree?
7. what did he want Jake to do?
8. who came up to dick about a half an hour later?
9. where was his hand?
10. how long was the piece of iron?
11. what was it designed similar to?
Answer: 1. a piece of thick iron
2. something like the shape of a U
3. Dick
4. the dint where he had struck the iron
5. if he should order the peons to search for the clamps that had held the guard-rail
6. no
7. look for the clamps himself
8. Jake
9. in his pocket
10. about six inches long
11. an old-fashioned but efficient clamp that carpenters sometimes use for fastening work to a bench.

Problem: Washington (CNN) -- When Paul Ryan struggled to explain a budget-balancing timeline under Mitt Romney, he highlighted the difficulty of trying to run a substantive campaign without being too specific.

While Ryan's interview Tuesday with Fox News' Brit Hume was no Sarah Palin-Katie Couric moment, the Republican vice presidential candidate's discomfort in answering when Romney's proposal would balance the budget was evident.

Ryan, a seven-term congressman from Wisconsin and chairman of the House Budget Committee, said he was unsure when Romney's proposals would balance the federal budget. Romney's plans say he would "put the federal government on a course toward a balanced budget" but does not say when.

Mitt Romney's 5-point plan for the economy

Hume repeatedly pressed Ryan on the question of "when" Romney's budget would balance.

Hume: "The budget plan you're now supporting would get to balance when?"

Ryan: "Well, there are different -- the budget plan that Mitt Romney is supporting gets us down to 20% of GDP (gross domestic product) government spending by 2016. That means get the size of government back to where it historically has been. What President Obama has done is he brought the size of government to as high as it hasn't been since World War II. We want to reduce the size of government to have more economic freedom."

Hume: "I get that. What about balance?"

Ryan: "I don't know exactly what the balance is. I don't want to get wonky on you, but we haven't run the numbers on that specific plan. The plan we offer in the House balances the budget. I'd put a contrast. President Obama, never once, ever, has offered a plan to ever balance the budget. The United States Senate, they haven't even balanced, they haven't passed a budget in three years."
1. Who had a hard time explaining budget?
2. Who was he under at the time?
3. What specifically did he cite were his problems in running the campaign?
Answer: 1. Paul Ryan
2. Mitt Romney
3. balancing a budget

question: CHAPTER IX

LETTIE COMES OF AGE

Lettie was twenty-one on the day after Christmas. She woke me in the morning with cries of dismay. There was a great fall of snow, multiplying the cold morning light, startling the slow-footed twilight. The lake was black like the open eyes of a corpse; the woods were black like the beard on the face of a corpse. A rabbit bobbed out, and floundered in much consternation; little birds settled into the depth, and rose in a dusty whirr, much terrified at the universal treachery of the earth. The snow was eighteen inches deep, and drifted in places.

"They will never come!" lamented Lettie, for it was the day of her party.

"At any rateLeslie will," said I.

"One!" she exclaimed.

"That one is all, isn't it?" said I. "And for sure George will come, though I've not seen him this fortnight. He's not been in one night, they say, for a fortnight."

"Why not?"

"I cannot say."

Lettie went away to ask Rebecca for the fiftieth time if she thought they would come. At any rate the extra woman-help came.

It was not more than ten o'clock when Leslie arrived, ruddy, with shining eyes, laughing like a boy. There was much stamping in the porch, and knocking of leggings with his stick, and crying of Lettie from the kitchen to know who had come, and loud, cheery answers from the porch bidding her come and see. She came, and greeted him with effusion.

"Ha, my little woman!" he said kissing her. "I declare you are a woman. Look at yourself in the glass now" She did so"What do you see?" he asked laughing.
1. Had Lettie asked Rebecca something a lot?
2. What time was this that she asked?
3. What was the time when Leslie showed up?
4. What was her complexion like?
5. How were her eyes?
6. What was she laughing like?
7. Who was called from the kitchen?
8. How did Leslie greet them?
9. Was Leslie told to look in the mirror?
10. How old was Lettie?
11. On what day was her birthday?
12. What color was the lake called?
13. How else was it described?
14. What animal floundered?
15. Where did the birds settle?
16. The woods were compared to what on a face?
17. On the face of what?
18. Who hadn't been seen in two weeks?
19. What did the birds rise in?
20. What kind?
****
answer:
1. Yes
2. Fiftieth
3. Not more than ten o'clock
4. Ruddy
5. Shining
6. A boy
7. Lettie
8. With effusion.
9. Yes
10. Twenty-one
11. Day after Christmas
12. Black
13. Like the open eyes of a corpse
14. A rabbit
15. Into the depth
16. A beard
17. A corpse.
18. George
19. A whirr
20. Dusty