The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-24
UNCLE'S HIRED Man.

ing to close. Lounging over the back
CANNON board with Cousin Cecily and
listening to the songs of Miss Harmon,
my fathers ward, who was practicing
in the other room, was much more to
my taste than talking over our plans
for my future life. When the game was
fms she closed the board and in
s .sIed upon my going to my father.
We'll, Kenneth, +" he said, as 1 seated
myself, how do you like Nora Har-
mOn?"
the question sounded so oddly, COM
ing from my father, who was &C
customed to sUeak directly to the point
IN business conversation, that | stared
blankly at him, repeating, Nora HaI-
mon2"
yes" he said; You have been at
home three weeks. What 90 you think
of herr"
''She's well enough" said I; why
Is she my long lost sister '
Don't be fool" suggested my
father.
mo, sir" dutifuuy replied.
"She's worth SIS 000," continued he ;
now do you see?"
Cant say that do" said l. "She
is engaged. ism I she?
Who told you that?" asked my
father sharply.
WHY, no one, precisely. But all the
town says she and Tom billiard Will
make match. am sure that is an
engagement ring she wears"
ut is not. You may set your mind
at rest on that score Young Hillard
spoke to me a month ago, and I tod
him plainly that when he could off, r
her home to live in it would be time
TO talk Of that. She does NOT think of
such thing. So think | viii send
her to your Uncle BartoD's for q while.
Hillard can't follow her here OF
course you will go with herr
And put of studying law TO play
duennap
Don't pretend to be stupid. You
will not find many girls like Nora, to
say nothing of saving her from such an
idle scamp as HIlliard."
And to say still less of the SIS 900.
Well, I'll co.
So in less than two weeks Miss Har-
mon and | found ourselves comfortably
settled at Uncle Barton Whites farm
house. began to think the post Of
duenpa was not so bad after all We
were near the sound, and with driving.
fishing, bathing, aud rowing the time
passed quickly.
Ore morning Unc'e Burton found
himself with only one man and four
large fields ready for moving. How
ever, he was equal to the emergency,
having had long experience. He rose
early, drove off somewhere, aud before
10 o'clock had secured two men and
put them to work. I volunteered my
assistance, but it was rejected, so Nora
and 1 drove off TO spend the dav with
some friends. We did not return until
evening, and as We entered We heard
voices speaking in the most unintelligi-
bic sounds tongue ever uttereu. We
stood a moment in the doorway and
looked in. There sat Uncle Burton and
one of the new men in the middle of
the room. while the rest of the family
were seated around, looking on in open
mouthed wonder.
Come Kenneth, ;" said Uncle Barton,
"you are a scholar, see if you can't talk
to Phillip. I'm trying 10 ind out who
he is. He can't understand me when 1
speak Dutch, and he don't understand
the first word of English"
1 sat down by Phillip" and tried nv
ingual powers. l treated him TO some
choice selections from Woodbury's
course with the Germans; tried vari-
Gus extracts from VasQuelli's French
l even ventured on little Spanish and
few Italian phrases, trembling
least they might be the right
ones, and 1 should be expected
to continue the conversation. The
number OF languages l spoke made
deep impression upon the assembled
family. but none at all upon Philip. He
laughed a great deal, and although he
occasionally caught a word, evidently
did not understood He seemed pie ased
and kept on talking for long time, ut
terly oblivious Of the fact that we knew
no more of his language than he of ours.
Being occupied with other things we
took no further notice of Philip until,
on Sunday morning. we were surprised
TO see him in church. However, this
was an innocent if an unexpected pro-
ceeding; we did not think much Of it.
But in the afternoon Uncle Barton came
into the sitting room and told US that
Philip was hard at work in the kitchen
writing letter and talking about Carl
baldi. The children rushed out to see,
and presently came back saying the
letter was finished. He produced q
piece of red sealing wax. and after care
fully folding the letter and putting it
n the envelope secured it with nine
large seals. after which he proceeded
to direct it TO His Majesty Victor
Emanuel, Mexico in America. Then
he handed il TO me, saying, "Post?"
nodded my head and went back to the
sitting-room. -r-.-
Uncle Barton" said 1, look here /!
That mans crazy"
Il am afraid of him. F." said Aunt Kate.
Suppose he should come down stairs
some night and murder all of US p"
Then lock yonr doors. Don'ttalk
like set of geese" and Uncle Burton
walked of in disgust.
When we went to our rooms /
noticed that every door was shut and
locked, although we generally left them
open little way in the hot weather for
the sake OF the air. I did not awake
until the breakfast bell rang, and Char
lierushed into my room with the fol-
lowing announcements:
"Nora's gone and Phillips gone, and
he isn't Philip, but Mr.. Hiliafd, and
they're married"
So nv dream was not a dream, after
all. But bore it. Strangely enough,
nv first thoughts were not of the lost
$500 nor of poor Nora's sad fate,
welded to the man she loved nor OF
the wrath of nv father and the Ti,iicula