Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1882-07-12

To earn my living, meant" ex.
claimed Emily. lis the district school
supplied with teacher ?"
Mrs. Torrance nodded as she placed
the slice of frizzling ham on q blue.
edged plate, and arranged the egg in
golden spheres above.
"Is there factory hereabouts ?" pur-
sued Emily.
used to be-" said Mrs. Torrance.
"But they failed, and it's been shut up
for ten months"
"Do you know any one who wants o
grip" pursued the city cousin.
Mrs. Torrance set the coffee pot on
the table, blew the horn for Job, and
then responded to her niece's query by
q counter-question.
"Why don't you stay here?"
Because" said Emily with spirit,
al want to earn my own living"
"Well, you can earn it here, can't
You? l was calculating to hire girl
this spring. And il you'll work honestly
for it, I'll give you the SO a month =.
w.s going to pay hired help"
Emily's pale face frightened.
81 should like that" said she. And
then Job came in, tall, handsome and
flushed. his curls yet wet from the spring
into which he had dipped them, and a
sprig of trailing arbutus pinned onto his
coat, and spoke frank welcome to the
young girl whom he had never seen be-
fore
$50 Cousin Shadrach Seely is dead"
he said.
YES" said Emily, quietly.
did you like himp"
"No." confessed the girl. "He was
cross and surly, and had no sympathy
with anybody. But tried to be kind
to him, and he kissed me once before he
died, and said had been a good girl"
"And then went and left his money to
the Refuge for Baptist Widows and o.
phans!" said Mrs. Torrance. That's
Cousin Shadrach all over"
He had a right to do as he pleased
with his money!" said Emily, faint
glow rising to her cheeks.
"Well, it's all over and gone," said
Mrs. Torrance. There's no use talk
ing about it now."
And she sighed softly to think how
many Of hfo's hard angles might have
been avoided in the future if only
Cousin Shadrach had been less interested
in the Baptist widows and orphans.
At the end of month, Mrs. Torrance
was forced to acknowledge that Emily
had well earned her SO a month and
board. The girl had about her that
wonderful magnetic power which phi
losophers dub Executive ability and
New England housekeepers call "fac.
ulty." She was q natural cook - she
did things without seeming to take any
trouble at all.
81 don't understand it, said Mrs.
Torrance. "a little dark, slim thing
that was always brought up to sit with
her hands folded"
And one sultry day in July, when Job
and Emily came in from strawberrying,
with crimsoned fingers, laughing faces,
and baskets heaped high with the fra
grant fruit, Mrs. Torrance started in the
solitude of her dairy, where she was
making "cottage cheese"
81 declare" she cried ~ wonder l
never thought Of that before. Oh, dear !
oh, dear never can consent to it in
the living world"
Job came to her that same evening.
"Mother," said he, Emily has
promised TO be my wife"
Mrs. Torrance burst into tears.
"You're only 20 years old, Job" she
faltered.
"Just two years older than when my
father married you, mother. Now -
don't turn your face away; but tell me
plainly-have you any fault to find with
my choiceP"
"No-no." confessed Mrs. Torrance.
"Do you think could possibly win o
sweeter girl than Emily AldenP"
"No, 1 don't suppose you could,
answered the mother-in-law elect; "but
it's natural, Job, to feel little jealous
when Won see some one else taking the
first place in your child's heart"
But when job brought Emily in to re-
ceiye her kiss of greeting, Mrs. Tor
rance had sufficiently conquered herself
IN bid her new daughter welcome.
"Though s'posed, Emily said she,
a little bitterly, "that You looked high
er than farmer once.
81 never looked higher than one OF
natures noblemen." said Emily, with
smile that fairly won the old ladys heart.
That same evening, as they oil sat to-
Gather in the orange twilight, with the
scent of tall, white lilies In the air, EN-
ily suddenly broke the silence.
"Job." said she, "would you like to
be rich ;"
awell YES" said Job, "Pd Ike