Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-11-21
my Annr. and

must not forget me. Here is card
with my name upon it, have two
homes, one In Los Angeles printed
here, rs you see-and one in New York
For one year | shall be with my brother
in Los Angeles, perhaps longer. VIII
you keep trying TO write, and by and
by send me letter thereP'
IL will, Miss-I try every day." said
Zintha, eagerly.
IL take Hans TO the big lumber-yard
over there, and make him n place be-
tween the pile of boards, and then |
write. See this pencil; II was given me
by the nice man who measures the
lumber, and do many lessons on the
boards. Iwrite my fathers name often.
| love TO write that. Heinrich Dierle is
his name.n
When the passengers came back into
the ears, Miss Perkins knew that she
must send her little friend away. Hal
and Vseta filled box with bonbons for
her, and Miss Perkins gave her some
pictorial papers and bag full of crack
ers made in shapes like animals, and
then the conductor lifted Zintha and
the baby out upon the platform.
IL think she wanted your book, Aunt
Sue" said Hal; ''she kept looking at it
SO earnestly"
Poor childr' said Miss Perkins. IF
il were not my precious copy of Whit
tiers poems, with his own handwriting
on the ily-leaf, should certainly give il
to her"
A sudden thought came into her head
She turned over the leaves quickly, and
wrote upon Il scrap of paper four lines
from one of the poems:
'"Thc dear God hears and pitics all;
He knowcth all our wants,
And what we blindly ask of Him,
His love withholds or grants"
Aunt Sue hurried to the door with the
paper, just as the conductor cried: "All
aboardr'
do give this TO that little GIRL" she
said.
with pleasure" replied that polite
official; and he Immediately reached
over the heads of those about, saying,
Here, little girl, the lady sends you
this. May be it will prove fortune"
Some of the by-standers smiled. How
could such n scrap of paper prove q
fortune, and if it should, what would
t. at sad-cycd child holding a fat Ger
man baby do with it?
Again the train moved on its way. and
in due time reached California. There
General Perkins met his sister, and bore
her away with his children TO his
orange groves near Los Angeles.
Aunt Sue enjoyed every moment of the
restful, INDECENT life, and wondered if
she should ever care again for the noise
and hustle of her native city. Hal
gloricd in his freedom. As for Nesta,
she was not too happy TO think OF
Zintha, and Aunt Sue was constantly
leased to tell her own fancies concern
ing the little maid who carried baby
Hans.
How was it with Zintha?
Every day, when the weather was fair,
she carried Hans to the lumber yard
and wrote or figured upon the boards.
Sometimes she had q bit of paper before
her, held down by two bricks, to keep it
from being blown away.
"Sce here, little one said the fore
man one day. 'what are these verses
you are scribbling all over my matched
boards?'
something n kind lady gave me,
SIR she answered, timidly. II hope
it is not wrong, sir.
"No harm done" said the foreman.
''only some of the men spoke of it, and
the boss mightn't like il, you know. -
The next day this kind friend brought
Zintha large blank book
There, Sis said he, "whcn you've
written that full YOU will be ready to
copy sermons for the minister"
Sometimes the foreman asked Zintha
to figure up sale for him, in advance
of his own reckoning. Before long, he
gave her rules for measurement. and
told her the names and grades of the
lumber. She soon understood the differ
ence between flooring and sheathing,
joists and planks, and no one about the
yard knew the best places for piling up,
or how high each pile was. better than
Xintha.
One day the foreman was cross. Mr..
Brown, the clerk, was sick with the
humps, and the doctor said he would
not be out for a fortnight.
IF il had happened at any other
time | shouldn't have cared" exclaimed
the foreman; "but the boss is in Chi
cage, and he's very particular about
letters being answered promptly
"Couldn't | write thcm?' asked
ZintEa. you have been so kind to me
| should like to do something for you,
and Iwfite quite well now"
The foreman looked at her keenly for
a moment, and then said You're n
trump, little one; perhaps you can.
Trot into the office. and I'll be in there
in few moments"
Zintha was already pcrched on Mr..
Browns high stool when he entered
and began looking over the letters.
"Tell this man." said he. putting let
ter before her, "that we will fill his order
on the 10th inst, if we can get the cars.
Put your date up there--so; the printed
heads will help YOU"
IL know how to do that" said Zintha,
simply. II did it for Mr.. Brown when
he wanted to go to u party. know it
all the way down TO Yours respect
fully"
upon my word, you dc!' said the
foreman, when the letter was finished;
"and if you can get rid of that baby of
Hansen's, l can give you plenty of work
until the boss comes back.
Iintha's eyes sparkled. Al noon she
hurried home to Mrs. Hansen and told
her the good news. Hans was fast
asleep
MAY l go again this afternoon"
asked Zintha.
II care not where you are, said the
tired woman, "while Hans is sleeping. ="
Il will earn some money for you,
Mrs. Hansen" said the girl, "and you
shall have new dress TO wear to the
church.
al can not have gown while my man
cares so much for his beer" returned
Mrs. Hansen, rather grimly. "With
plenty babies comes plenty trouble, and
all goes wrong. But you are good
girl, Zintha, and / do wrong TO speak
you cross word"
Zintha thanked Mrs. Hansen twice,
and hurried away TO set the table.
Whom tho dishes wore WA Sha1 mud tho