Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1889-06-01
"powN THE ROADWAY WALKED TIE Young GIRL.

with bewlldeung rapiditr, but she
never faltered once, and he went far
beyond the list of studies re luired
and into those that are properly classcd
as sciences and there he almost failed
to find a flaw. In algebra, mathemat-
les, ard mental calculation. she far
surpassed himself. and then he asked
her 10 wlitc. With burning hear,
she took the dainty pen between her
red, roUgh fingers. and wrote rapidly
and most beautifully Il part of Tony
sons "Hora" from memory.
That completed the examination, and
she was told that she should hear their
/ decision the next day. She bowed in
silence and went home, but when she
reached there she was pale and wan, as
if she had won a victory by force of
arms, that had left her also exhausted
and bleeding.
The next day Judge Peters and the
Young minister came to Mr.. Lords
house, and Mercy would have given
worlds to have not been obliged to open
the door for them, but with an effort
of will, she did so, and led the way to
her mothers sitting-room with firm
step and a proudly carried head. 1t
took bat a few minutes 10 ac1uaint
Mercy and her mother of the verdict of
the Board and that was that Mercy
was chosen as principal of the new
school, at a salary of seventytivc dol
lars a month. The whole world faded
away for a few moments from Mercy,
| but she soon recovered 10 hear the miu-
| lister, Mr.. Prescott, tell her mother all
| the story about the examination, and
heard him ask where Mercy had stud
led with such good effect
When he heard, he turned very adj
| miring gaze uron the lovely face, and,
somehow, he turned his eyes very often
in that direction many times thercaf
| ter.
When Mercy's father heard the news
from his proud and happy wife, and
discovered that all these years Mercy
had been defrauding him of the time
that she must have used studying, he
flew into terrible passion and acted
more like mailman than anything
else, but at last Mercy, driven to bay,
stood before him and said
stop! | have borne all | ever shall
of abuse and ill-treatment from YOU.
You have treated me from childhood
worse than the poorest OK You lave on
YOUR farm. 1t is ended now. ] am of
age, and | shall go away from here and
take my mother. You can hire some
one to do the work have done all these
years. | shall tanc mother to board
with Mrs. Ferris, and you must do the
best you can.
! The old man went out ut thi, junct-
urc and walked around while. and
| finally returned and came shecpishlv
up to where Mercy was gathering her
| mothers few clothes together, and said 4:
We'll, Mercy, I've been a thinkin
Id kinder hate to have We go away fer
| good, and Yer mother, too, though she
Is allln, so | kinder thought mebby
| you'd stay here, and You could pay me
for your board, and that would about
pay for hired gal. ! shouldn't charge
nothin' for yer mas board, seem as she
don't eat much nohow. You'd better
think it over, hedn't you?"
And the old miser skunk out again.
Mercy went to her mother, and they
talked the matter over and decided to
stay. Mrs. Lord seemed to gain new
strength and life every day, and she
and Mercy were busy preparing such
clothes as they could for Mercy's new
position, when, much to their surprise.
Mr.. Lord came in one morning and
laid down between them twenty dol.
lars, saying;
There, take that, yol two, and buy
you some tixin's, and don't say that
never give We nothin'" Mercy smiled.
but she offered no caress. Indeed, her
father had never, to her knowledge, of,
fered one or seemed to expect one.
So their little difficulties STRAIGHT