News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-08-13

lips and tipped two or three bars of
''The Maid with the Milking Pail' af-
ter her.
The little office with the cathedral
windows took on a new feature There
was an instrument under the sash,
with black tin roof over it, and
little sailor hat, with a blue ribbon
on it, hung on the bronze peg oppo-
site the door.
'Now, then," said Cline, putting on
a most forbidding air of strict busi-
ness. "You understand that the
matter for which have engaged you
is entirely aside from the regular busi-
ness of this office. By the way, what
shall l call you? Miss what? Chal-
cey? Well, never mind the Nelly. I'll
call you Miss Chalcey, it's more bust
ness-like; and l don't want you to
talk outside of this room about any
of the business you have to transact
here. Do you understand? If you
get that straight to begin with there
will be no trouble"
Then she turned her demure face
| toward him and said: Eyes. SIR" so
meekly and patiently and profoundly
that he noticed her eyes. They were
| agates-mOss-agates, by Jove. Fun
ny little spots In them that swan and
danced around and melted into each
other in the most absurdly molten
way, as if there might be little cal
| drOns under them where the light was
| boiled and softened down into some
ridiculous girl nonsense. The worst
of was they always seemed to be
Just on the point of boiling. over. as
II nght' IKE music, had some kind of
lnscrutable pathos in it.
SO they got along very nicely with
out any nonsense. Cline would come
in about half past 10 or IL, look to
see if the sailor hat was hanging on
peg, grunt out, "GoOd morning, Miss
| Chalcey," and then set down at his
desk to open letters. Sometimes she
would sit demurely for half an hour,
her head turned looking out of the
one clear little pane in the cathedral
window straight at Bob Slocum's
gothic office opposite, where there
was never anything to see except Bob
Slocum's window shader, and that
piece of telegraph tape that dangled
forever from the wires overhead, in
spite of all the sparrows that had
tried to pull it off. At other times
Cline would dictate, and then the
click of the instrument drowned the
monotonous chirp of the ianitor's
bullfinch that was whistling some
where.
Of oaurco Cbo crOf +O lz0nuu n II a bO,,t
it-what it was hewas trying to do
and he grew to consult her on some of
the details. Like a good girl she put
her whole heart into it and really
tried to help him all she could to find
the wife he wanted. How could she
help it, and then too, she couldn't
help finding out by degrees that Cline
drew some heavy checks and had a
swell circle of acquaintance.
And newell he, like a good, me-
thodical business man, fell into a
routine here as elsewhere. His heart
was constructed on solid clockwork
business principles, and one morning
when he came in the sailor hat was
not on the peg. 1t annoyed him at
once. 1t always does annoy a busi-
ness man to have things irregular.
He fidgeted in his chair. 1t was too
bad. Nobody could be depended on,
and here were several letters to be
answered. He called Swain i'll.
"Where is that young LADY,"
Swim started a little as if he felt
guilty of having abducted her, and
said "What do you want, a type
WolI,oo o-J D,noo
and Clapp, any one of 'em can"
And Cline shouted Nonsense
Shut the door!"
Then he noticed the bronze peg. 1t
had an ironical and plucked aspect.
He sat down in the chair by the
window and looked at Bob SlOcum's
shades.
He couldn't help wondering what
Miss Chalcey found to think about
during all the vacant hours when she
looked out there, waitingly.
The next day when she came he re-
primanded her fiercely. ''It annoyed
me very much" he said from his chair
without looking round "You should
have sent me some word. | depended
on you. It's very irregular and un-
business-like."
She turned around and looked at
him in her meek way. "My mother
is dying" she said. II have neglect
ed her to-day so as not to disappoint
you"
His astonishment twisted him
round in his chair, and he came plump
up against the agates, swimming in
some kind of light he had never seen
before.
"Confound it, Miss Chalcey," he
said, jumping up. "What do you
mean by having a sick mother and
not telling me? What do you mean
by coming here to-day? Will you
never get any business ideas into
your head? l told you that this
room was to b. confidential. Do you
call it confidential to act in this man
ner? I'm surprised, Miss Chalcey.
Pm hurt"
He took down the sailor hat. "You
are to go back to your mOther-at
once" Here opened the door. "Here
Swain, get me a coupe" And Swain
saw the sailor hat in his hand.
1t was about q week after this. The