St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-25
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first giving him piece of her mind, but
the thought of her own children re-
strained her; she knew what it meant
to haunt intelligence Offices a week or
two, while her little ones needed food,
shoes and clothes, as they always did in
spite of her best efforts and the care OF
the late policeman's sister. who cared
for them out of Nora'S earnings. She
wondered if it would do any good to
tell Whitway OF the whereabouts Of mis-
enemy, but she had been long enough
in New York to have absorbed the Gus
toma1y belief that the poor had no
chance against the rich. Apparently
all she could do was to hate
her employer, so to this cnngenial
duty she devoted most of her
time. She avenged Whtway to
the best.of her ability by slyly destroy
ing things about the house and creating
much waste in the kitchen, but none of
this helped her old employer to regain
his own. She watched Frapp closely
and savagely, without any reason that
she could give herself, yet with dumb
hope that justice might yet be done in.
some Wav. So determined was she to
keep close eye upon the mlSchief-nak-
ing man that one day, when the sec
ond girl" had given sudden warning
and disappeared, Nora astonished her
mistress by offering to do double work
until satisfactory substitute could be
found. Mrs. Frapp, who was young,
pretty and incompetent, felt so relieved
that she informed her husband that the
cook was going to be all angel-her
wings had already sprouted. AS for
Nora, her new position enabled her one
day to overhear Mrs. Frapp say, one
morning at the breakfast table:
Edward, Pm tired of taking care of
those shabby old papers that you insist
in keeping in my desk. | need all of
the desk room myself
Just like young woman" grOWled
the head of the house. | buy you a
hundred dollar desk just because you
set your eXtravagant heart upon it. and
how you begrudge me single cOmpart-
ment in it. MY first wife hadn't any
desk at ALL but she never grumbled."
"But, Edward, those papers take up
so much room; besides, they smell
musty. Why can't you keep them at
your Officer"
Because they're too important to be
rummaged through by any one else.
.. don't want any of my clerks to even see
them"
That's funny" murmured Mrs.
Frapp, with condescendirg smile.
You trust your clerks with money,
don't you? Pm sure that money is
worth great deal more than horrid
bundle of papers. so don't see"
"That's because you're woman and
see?" snared Frapp.
The wi fa tOOk rafI1ua in mont but q @
that did not reduce her husband to sub
mission, she began to cry.
THAT'S it," exclaimed Frapp, in mock
encouragement. "Cry-cry ABOUT some
thing that doesn't concern you In the
least. Come to think it over, though, it
does. Pve done everything for your
sake; you've got a handsomer house.
finer dresses, and more money than any
woman you know. Do you know how
it came about? All through those 'hor-
rid papers, as you call them. You want
to go to Europe pretty soon, and Ive
promised to take you. Well, if those
papers in your desk happened to fall
into the hands of any one who might
care to do me harm, we might have to
start for Europe all of a sunderland
perhaps go in the steerage. Now, will
you try to have some sensew
Gracious, yes" gasped Mrs. Frapp,
Though | shall always be afraid, after
this, to be in the same room with those
papers,"
Don't be a fool" growled Frapp.
abruptly leaving the table and burying
his face in the newspaper.
Nora, who had heard this converse
ton from behind the door that led
through the buffers pantry to the kit
chen, was so excited that, as she after
ward told her husbands sister. she felt
her head split open the width of three
fingers" For two days and nights she
was in daze, and did all her work so
badly that Mrs. Frapp had to give up
several engagements and 60 from one
intelligence Office to another in search
Of an additional servant. During these
outings Of the mistress the cook had
the house all to herself, so again and
again she went to her mistress room
and gazed in fascinated way at the
desk which contaiped the fatefuI docu-
ments. Could it be possible that
they had anything 10 do with
the transactions which had made Whit
way poor man? She wished Whitway
might see them; several times she was
him all she had heard One day she
saw the desk had been left open, for
Mrs. Frapp was careless creature;
Nora peeped in, and quickly discerned
the only portion of the contents which
could be called ''horrid;" it consisted
of several long, soiled, bulky envelopes.
Suppose she were to take them and
hurry to WhltWay's house with them?
But, no; he would not be at home at
that late hour of the day. Perhaps she
could lind out what they really were;
she had been to school In her younger
days, and could read writing fairly
we'll. Slowly she put forth her hand
to the package, but quickly withdrew
1t, as if it were serpent. She whis-
pered prayer, and made another at
tempt, removed the rubber bands which
held the envelopes together, and eX-
claimed:
1.-THE ould divil. l might ha' known
he wouldn't have left thin uns 'aled."
Replacing the bands, she hurried from
the chamber to the kitchen, her imagi-
nation picturing whole platoons of
policemen behind her. Once again in
her proper place, though, she recovered
her wits and set herself to thinking. Ii
anything were to be done there was no
time to lose; her mistress might close
and lock the desk on her return; she
might even bring the desired new serv-
ant with her-she certainly would try,
for the next day but one would be
Christmas, and she knew that the
family had invited guests, so Mrs. Frapp
would lose no effort to provide herself
with some one to wait at table.
Nora dropped on her knees and buried
her face-in a chair; she remained in
this position several minutes. and then
she sprang to her feet, eXclaiming:
Heaven be praised that liver | was
married. That thrick that Mike showed
lie once-the way some thieves takes
money out Of letterS-that'll do it.'
The DtXt fifteen minutes were each
an hour long to Nora. although the
clocks of the house told different story.