The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-08-31

Of the village stood an old house which she
especially wished to possess. It was large
and surrounded by about two acres OF land.
It seemed In the last stages Of decay. Tbs
roof of the kitchen had fallen in, the
fence was nearly all gone, the we'll curb
had rotted away, and the weeds made q
wilderness about the place.
IF there wasn't SO much land with it,"
unused Huldah, II might be able to buy it
but I do not want to go In debt, and II
the Hulsey heirs knew that wanted it
they would want fancy price"
She went home quite tired, and with a
much clearer idea of what $500 would not
purchase than when she started out
Come here and welcome" her friend
Mrs. Ramsdell had said, when the breaking
up at the homestead had left Huldah with
out shelter.
Thank you. kindly" fhe young woman
had responded, sit VIII only be for short
time, for 1 must get settled." So
In the same household was a lad about
10 years old. who did chores for his board
The chores lasted all the day long, and even
the few hours after ;aupeer which Donald
wanted for study were begrudged aud
broken. Thee hildrenl Of the family crowd
ed the patient little fellow away from the
lamp and away from the fire.
Huldah made a resolve that il ever she
had bone Of her own Donald should have
coy nook by the Preside. She had helped
him with him examples, and he was CRATE
full, for poor and homeless as he was he had
set his heart on becoming a great scholar.
| The evening that Huldah had been out
prospecting, a man came to see her about
selling the Hulsey property.
Il am one of the heirs he stated. 'There
are three Of us, and we are tired of look
| ing for buyer. 1t hasn't been so we could
rent it fur long spell, and we amt none
of us but could use bit of cash right handy,
| now that cold weather is comm on. ben
| over to see Sary an Jane about it, an they
| reckon if you hev mind to give us each
| hundred dollars fur our sheer we'll sell out
an the place'll be yourn.'
| Three of them! One hundred dollars
| apiece! Huldah thought rapidly. 1t was
| very low figure. Still. she was shrewd
| enough not to seem too eager.
II will look the place over in the morning
| and let you know" she said.
Bright and early she was making her way
| through the weeds to the old Hulsey house.
| She found good cellar an excellent fOun-
| dation wall and timbers, and three or four
| rooms that could be made habitable with
| out much expense. The land alone she
! knew to be worth more than the price
asked. After ascertaining that the title
| was good, she concluded the bargain as soon
as possible
| It was early in September, but there was
much to do before cold weather. She went
| to her friend and asked for Donald.
Il want him for my boy" she explained.
81 will give him a home and educate him.
| Donald stood by, anxious to hear the de-
| cision.
ho TO fO Do
II have no claim on him. just took him
| in out of charity, but 1 have enough of my
own"
do you want to be my boy, Donald?"
ooh, yes'm. if you please
Huldah was not a demonstrative woman
| but she kissed the eager, uplifted face. That
caress made the motherless boy her friend,
| willing to lay down his life in her service.
| In the busy days that followed she found
| her boy very efficient helper. 1t was Don
aid who cleared the place of weeds. 1t
was Donald who helped to scrub and white
wash the rooms 1t was Donald who
worked with all his might when the dray-
| man brought Huldahs furniture from her
| old home.
Donald, I do not want you to work so
| hard. I fear you will injure yourself" re-
monstrated Huldah, 'and want you to
have time for study.
Il love to work for you," responded the
boy. "You never scold me, and I want to
| see how we'll we can make the place look"
"It is wonderfully improved already.
Since you pulled up those great weeds and
burned them it looks like another place.
but we need a carpenter to put new roof
on the wing of the house, and to fix the
doors and windows. Then, il the house had
coat of paint, 1t would be quite respect
able"
She soon found carpenter who was will
| ing to make repairs If he could turn his
work on rent. Huldah furnished the ma
| terials, and in a week the man and his
wife moved into part of the house, SO
that almost from the first the property be-
gan to be paying investment. Donald
| begged to be allowed to paint the outside
| OF the house. He also learned to put on
shingles. and was SO much help in making
| the repairs that the term of the carpen-
ter's service was comparatively short. At
| the end of the second month the rent was
cash, and 1t went far toward providing food
| for the two happy inmates of Husey house.
| Her success prompted her to greater ef-
! forts. She found mechanic who was out
of work, and she agreed that if he would
build house on her grounds she would
| pay him in rent. Having wife and child.
| he was glad to get shelter on those terms,
especially as he was at liberty to work at
other JOBS as soon as the house was up and
1nclosed, being allowed to finish it when
| other work was not to be procured
BY figuring Huldah found out that she
could AFFORD to borrow money to buy or to
| build, as the rent was much more than the
interest So her rent roll heightened year
after year, and she gained the desire of
her heart by becoming property owner