The Washington weekly post., 1899-10-31

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had to begin at the bottom. psuciling in
ladies' eyebrows, ! suppose. and tinkering
up their back hair. and helping them 10
their cloaks when they had finished a sit
ting Then she worked in the office; then
as retoucher, which brought her Up to
the age Of nineteen. At this period Carne-
gie met her again. and was more impress
ed than he afterward liked
had the story from his own lips.
Il was never so struck In nay life" he
said. II weat into the shop 10 get some
cabinets done, and who should ! see but
the Kid pretty as a picture, and manag-
Ing half the business She was full Of
work. and ssauldnt talk with me then, but
they closed At 6. and ! walked home with
her. Do you know, she's actually putting
away money? Earns Il. too That sweep.
young Fsirbalrn. has dropped his remit
iaLces-I never made out how he kept
them going as long as he did-and she's
been living entirely on her own ever since
-he left school"
And ne said more things: but ] saw
here was something still further, and /
pressed Carnegie, and heard II.
You're right McG.,' he said. with a
sort Of grOan. 81 did see more of her. In
fact. l stayed on in town just because l
wanted 10 meet her every day. It's rath-
CT ludiCriOus, isn't it, FOR a man of my
position 70 care for girl who'd developed
from that Kid? She told me So tool
give her all credit for that. She didn't
draw me on an inch, and I'm sure she
was honestly sorry wnen l disregarded
several blunt warnings and proposed 10
| her. But she wouldn't hear Of it-said she
didn't care for NE in that wav and
wasn't going to marry me for money;
. said she'd been behOlden enough TO US
men already, and was going to play the
rest Of the game through with her own
( hand. Shes going TO start UP place on
her own hook directly, but she wouldn't
even let ne advance a pound or two to
help her float that. She says she II get
the necessary credit In the proper quarter,
and fight 1t through on her own business
merits. tell you, Mac. old man. she has
pluck, that Kid of wish | could even
say Of ours. But she isn't ours any long
er. She isn't even young Fairbanks, be-
cause hes gone under. Shes just her
own, and believe. as she says. she'll see
1t through alone"
".
The Kid did start that Photographic
business on her braZen own, and it pros
pered and grew and overflowed into sec
tions and sub-sections, with four studios
in London ana six in the big provincial
/ towns. For Art, with big A, the hid
cared not one little hang; but she knew
what the public wanted, which is TO be
made to look pretty on a card for rea-
| sOnable price, and she did this for them,
| and that's why she caught on. The
mounts of her photographs were punch
ed with mere surname and initials, and
! people took it for granted that they be-
| longed to a man. The Kid never went out
/ anywhere, knew no one except strictly
/ business people, and was known by none.
| She made her one and only object in lie
! the amassing OF money; and because she
/ stuck to this aim and never departed
! from it, she became the pOssessor Of
| stocks and shares and majestic bank ac
counts which would have made London
| stare if London had known about them.
| At the commencement of proceedings
| she had fixed a pecuniary goal post to
make for, to-wit, f250,OOO She didn't mere
| ly hope for it; she made up her mind de-
| cidedly that she would get it, which is
! the way with successful people.
| When the Kid had reached her mark,
which she did at the absurdly early age
of seven and twenty-she did a very Pc
| entirely. 1t was put to her very plainly
| that if she would still remain the nominal
| head a limited liability company could be
| floated on most advantageous terms. But
| she wouldn't DO this; she wanted to cut
it altogether; and subsequently she sold it
! for 4 painfully small price. And now that
| same business is going downhill every
day, because the present owners don't
run it with the nous which our Kid
brought to bear.
1 was in town and called on the Kid just
after she had completed the sale. She
spoke of great many things, and finally
wound up by stating that fortune had
been left out of remorse to young Fair
bairn by some one who had sWindled him
/ on the turf.
On the strength of one or two vague
| hints gathered from what had gone be-
| fore, spoke up.
My dear Kiddie." l said, ''you always
used to be truthful person.
And still remain So"
"As a general thing, perhaps But not
| about this legacy of the Penitent Thief.
| He's blatantly apocryphaL"
He shall exist, Mac if l choose it TO be
| so. He is anonymous and repentant and
| dead Also the money will be placed 10
| Ntit lOG4iS uil 1tiOullts anu IL ut uOCSll
use it, the whole lot will lie idle doing
nothing"
"Kiddie, am beginning to believe, with
Carnegie, that you are about the best
girl in the world"
"BlaIney, Mac. 1 tell you again that
the Penitent Thief bequeathed the mon
ey.'
And I repeat that I don't believe
word of it. You're showing gratitude of
sort which l thought was only made up
| by the novelist folk"
Gratitude! Rubbish"
l leaned my head over her and spoke
very quietly.
"Then if 1t isn't gratitude, Kiddie, it's
it's the other thing"
Then, for perhaps the first time in her
life, our Kid lost her cooIness. She start
ed, flushed, dropped her head against my
shoulder. "Oh, Mac, old friend" she said,
IF you only knew how I've felt about the
Y0ungun all these yeaIsl 1t isn't common
sordid gratitude alone. II is-the other
| thing as well. 1t was that way from the
| very beginning when / sat eating those
| chocolate almonds out Of that white satin
box, and you men stood back Of the fire
and talked over my destiny. You thought
didn't understand. did; took in every
L
Carnegie suggested the workhouse. You
- But never mind that now, Mae,
| you always were a good sort. But ii was
| the Youngun who was the best of you all
| He might be a rackety fool; he might be
| this. that. and the other; ali YOU say and
more Still. il was he who pulled me out
| of the gutter, and he who brought me w.
| You don't know, you can never know
what the Youngun did for me, Mac; ana
! he thought l didn't know, didn't see half
| the sacrifices he made. I'm not emotional,
/ old friend, and l never said much then.
and that's. perhap. why ] felt all the
/ more deeply. I've never spoken about
/ it to living soul yet; but you were here,
! and-and-I had TO tell. Somehow
/ couldn't keep il to myself any longer.
| Mac DO you know how the Young IN
| got money 10 keep me those last two
/ years 81 school? Re labored with his
| hands, and he pawned his labour for years
! IN corDa-vae NIac sold himself into SlaY-