Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1899-09-21
Saint Nafg's Beacog.
IUsT a HIRED NAN.

Ase eA~e 80 ~ske~ -
ken in the honesty Of the man be-
fore me; but one glance into the
large gray eyes assured me Of his
integrity. eff you we're not wor-
thy Of trust, Mr. shirley would not
have such entire confidence in you,"
/ said.
"Thank, ron, Miss Vane; ! hope
your trust In me will never be mis-
placed" Jimmy Blake replied, re-
garding me curiously for moment,
"and / shall try TO merit your good
opinion while / am here" with
slight emphasis on the last word.
He kept his promise, although
he only served in the capacity Of
'hired man for two days; and this
is the way il happened that ! OBJ
tanned his services.
The most violent storm Of the
season was over, but 1t had left its
traces in the shape Of twisted trees
and broken fences. The water vas
sill drippingl from the caves as.
throwing Q gossamer cloak around
me. / stepped out into the yard to
view the havoc it had made among
my rose bushes.
They had been my special care
and pride, bat now they were
mass Of ruins; scarce O branch was
left against the old stone house,
while on the walk lay roses in pro-
fusion-red, white, pink, ell bruised
and broken by the rain. / looked
at them in dismay for few min
utes, when, hearing some one APP
preaching, / glanced around and
saw q man stop at the gate and
look inquiringly at the house.
who can it be p ! asked my
self; then came the thought: Jim
my Blake, the new man whom Mr..
Shirley has spared rs for awhile.
could not have been better
pleased at the arrival Of any one,
unless it were my father and broth
err; for | must own that / felt rath-
er timid about staying that night,
with no one in the house excepting
Bridget, and our neighbors so far
away.
My father was in the South on
business, and my brother Fred had
been unexpectedly summoned from
home that morning. Several tramps
had called during the day, and
was very much frightened by their
seeming to examine the house on
leaving. Mr.. Shirley, an old friend
of my fathers, had promised to
send ms some one to take charge of
things during his absence; so when
the man appeared at the gate, valise
in hand, took it for granted that
he was Jimmy Blake.
ooh, am so glad You have GOMEZ
Iexclaimed. Come rightin, please.
You viii find plenty of work for q
few days, clearing mp after the
storm. It was kind of yon to come
when we needed help so badly
'Thank you, Miss Vane; / will
do my best for you,' he said. his
moustache twitching as with sup
pressed laughter. what work ia
expected of me ? Am I to tend the
horses, chop wood, carry water and
the like?' And bis eyes twinkled
merrilY.
/ thought it strange that he had
not learned the nature Of his work
from Mr.. Shirley, but informed
him that neighbours boy attended
to the duties named, and the he was
to take charge Of the large garden
aud yaSds. Then l directed him to
the room be vas to occupy.
He paused moment in the door.
way. and laughingly asked me il
could trust him, stranger, to 60
through the house alone; and this
had caused the conversation narrat-
ed at the commencement Of my sto-
ry.
| was surprised, and ! must say
disappointed. in Jimmy Blake.
knew that he was we'll educated.
bat was not prepared for his easy
manners, which were perfect.
could not help noticing that his
hands were small and white and
showed signs Of no hard work.
But what puzzled me most was
his evident amusement at some
thing for which I was at loss to
account; and when I passed his
room once ! was sure that heard
him laughing.
TT