Mrs. Peterkin called in all the family on the evening of the second
day to see how she had succeeded. Everything was packed, even
the little boys' kite lay smoothly on the top.
"I like to see a thing so nicely done," said Mr. Peterkin.
The next thing was to cord up the trunk, and Mr. Peterkin tried to
move it. But neither he, nor Agamemnon, nor Solomon John
could lift it alone, or all together.
Here was a serious difficulty. Solomon John tried to make light of
it.
"Expressmen could lift it. Expressmen were used to such things."
"But we did not plan expressing it," said Mrs. Peterkin, in a
discouraged tone.
"We can take a carriage," said Solomon John.
"I am afraid the trunk would not go on the back of a carriage,"
said Mrs.
Peterkin.
"The hackman could not lift it, either," said Mr. Peterkin.
"People do travel with a great deal of baggage," said Elizabeth
Eliza.
"And with very large trunks," said Agamemnon.
"Still they are trunks that can be moved," said Mr. Peterkin, giving
another try at the trunk in vain. "I am afraid we must give it up,"
he said; "it would be such a trouble in going from place to place."
"We would not mind if we got it to the place," said Elizabeth
Eliza.
"But how to get it there?" Mr. Peterkin asked, with a sigh.
"This is our first obstacle," said Agamemnon; "we must do our
best to conquer it."
"What is an obstacle?" asked the little boys.
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