Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1881-08-11


said pale, slender boy who had not Yet
spoken.
well, | did as long as she could pay
but when the money stopped | stopped.
You know | amt one of the Kind that works
for nothin'. No sir; you don't catch me
doing that. amt 10 fond of work as all
that"
Meanwhile. Mrs Noble was struggling
very hard to turn the heavy crank Of the
well. The cool November air made her
.hi,er. and caused her face TO grow Whlter
than ever Be.iues, she had heard part Of
/. the remarks the boys had made. and she felt
a. If she must look yer, ridiculous. Her
only thought in wrapping up 80 much vas
To protect herself from the cold, knowing
hs hard experience how she should have to
suffer from exposure. The nearer the buck
ct Of water drew to the curb, the heavier It
grew and a. she stopped to In II over in
order to pour it into her pail, her strength
failed her. and she cast a Vi>tfuI look to
wards the boys. That lookSa, not lost on
Ned ingalls,. the bo, to whom George Burch
had been giving his ideas about "~orkin'
for nnthin'" With one bound he cleared
the ln~ fence which separated the Yards.
and >eizlng the crank be laid
Herr Mr.. Noble let me lin the pail
over. /, j, too heavy for YOU. Nil carr,
II IN, too.
'Oh, thank YOU, dear but don't like to
trouble YOU. find it hard, though. con
fr>-. to get IT in M, self"
Il, l. no trouble at all | used To
bringing water
:, he carried II in and pa, 1t IN is place
b, the sink
l. l. 1
hlr "Gcorgc Burrh used tn do thu work
for me: hut .atell have been tr,Ing tn do
1t myself But II j. quite an undertaking
for me- to get pal of water. hnd have
10 wrap up a. much II were gong a
long distance"
Il vii come over and draw what water
You need. i've near. and 1t vii onl!
take Il few mInutrs."
Il should ike to have Won but can't af-
fard 10 pa, ,ou. gave George up FOR
want nf money.
"Oh, didn't mean 10 do It fnr pay vii
do 1t for nothing. have Plcui, Of time r.
fore and after school
SO, Without waiting Tor Mr.. Noble 10 e.
press her thanks. he bade her good night
Alid ~cnt awat
Ned ingalls, mother Mas widow She
~as glad 70 get emplo, ,mcu, To help support
her family, and to Keep Ned at school >hr
dad all the sewing -hr could get, ana ne
quentin took ia Washing and IRONING -.
rrA..,, Ned could lr,, afford Ia ~ork iuI
nothing than Grurgc Burch and man, uf
h., other buN companions. But With al! tier
SulA and a. her puNeTtN, -kc never lost
chance "a tr4sh her oA..Lrcu to be- k.nI tn
o.hrf,. And g. lend helping hand Shrnr,
a. iA,l co4.G.
luu ~.l never lose auyth.ug b, auug
faI ,'Acg,. >Ac would often ,A,, Don't "a
poet to be- paid A.~AS, ia dollars aud cents"
Nc.rsr B4rrA ~a> surprised When Ar
iu4ua that Ned ~, doing Mr.. Nuh.,.,
~uIA.
HAT, pretty queer" sad he. Ansr..y.
"Nh' said ,he tururd nv of nvcau,r SUE
,"Dl4n; Afford tn pay, and nov ~hr', gone
and hred l"u. I'm glad u"N. iAa; took
three ocni' tor that extra pau Of water.
."t out mOt TO charge any thing, but then
thu4sht III better get all | could That,
fathers Nay and NINE. too. He sals I'm
4 chip Of the old block. and guess am.
H4 iia' lila I'm glad .he didn't get
nothIn out % me bat hat she pa.I for
s'po>e N"4 work cheaper. How much DO
You charge her ="
-N't4'4i~s II tpt!tN -NtL II l1t-N biAt
long - grt What httls ood and water ,he
uses, an4 she looks 80 surter slcA told her
/ d do It tor nothing. long as she couldn't
afford to pay.
do !, for nothlu" Wei YOU are fool!
Al. right 90 ahead Cues, toull get
SICK enough Of 1t before winter. over.
spose yUull shovel for nothln', and 70 10
the posrotfice for nothin', and 90 after yeast
1 -. 4
done for nothIn'. We'll. hope You'll Is,
up money. The bank won't be apt to bust
While YOU are 80 prosperous. DO il for
nothin' Well, as for ME, I'd rather work
for something"
But Ned did not get sick Of it before win
ter sas over In fact, as time passed, he
liked Il better and better. Although tie did
-hoNel, and 20 10 the postofiicr and 20 al
ter Yeast he did not feel as if he did il for
nothing. lie felt doubl, paid shen he came
IN. perhaps out of drifting snow storm, TO
meet her pleasant face, and to see her point
smIlingly To an extra plate on the little tea
table, which she had drawn close up TO the
ire, and TO hear her sweet voice say:
hat plate Is for you, dear. You must
have cup of tea with me tonight; and
here are some dOughnuts which made pur-
posely for YOU
hen, after supper. she would help him
with his lessons, explaining all the difficult
portions until she made them clear to him.
Tins last was great help to Ned, and he
progressed so rapidly al school a. to excite
the wonder OF his teacher and classmates.
GEORGE Burch, particularly, wondered what
had gwen Ned ingalls, such start. But
Ned and Mrs. Noble knew. So, although
she had not none, to pay Ned tor the work
he did, she had many ways of helping him.
II sas she who knit his mittens, although il
was often done with yarn raveled from
stockings her husband used TO wear. 1t
was her delight TO make him pretty neckties
from bits of bright silk she had in the house.
hen they had nice talks about Ned's future
prospects, and many CHEEKY game Of check
ers and backgammon and often. in the
midst of their enjoyment, Mrs. Noble would
exclaim
why, Neddie, | don't know what |
should do without you. But it doesn't seem
right to have you doing my work for moth
ing
Il don't do it for nothing think | am
overpaid every week so if you are suited |
am sure ought TO be-
And so the weeks went by, and the
months went by, and even the years went
by, and little was said about Ned's doing
the work except an occasional inquiry from
George Burch. in rather sneering way, if
he still enjoyed 'workin' for nothin'"
But this state of things could not 20 on.
At the end of two years. George and Ned
both left school to 90 to work. George
went into the factory and Ned got place as
clerk in bookstore on smaller wages But
he thought he should have some chance to
study there, and although he had said moth
ing about it TO anyone besides his mother
and Mrs. Noble, he had strong idea of try
ing to work his way through college. About
this time telegram came to Mrs. Noble,
informing her that her brother was dead,
and urging her immediate presence in New
York. So she closed the cottage and went
away and he missed her very much. But af-
ter few weeks she came back, bringing
with her little girl, the only child of her
brother