The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-09-19

Hdll HouI ldtt III getting ~ MI >.
Byrd's. She was in the kitchen to re-
ceive him, and he noticed a certain un-
usual graciousness in her manner.
81 amt just on the minute this
morning" he said, with his pleasant
laugh. Bed felt so good, lay little
too long"
Just little" said Mrs. Byrd,
smoothly. Now that you mention it,
| think you have been a little late ev-
cry morning; a half hour or so"
Tom gave her an apprehensive look.
well, you see, them warm mornings
| thought it wouldn't make any differ
ence. You see
But isn't bargain a bargain?" she
asked. calmly. You know you agreed
to be here every morning at half-past
six, and don't you think l had a right
to expect you at that time? l may be
wrong, but it seems to me it was none
| of your business what the weather
was"
"Oh, well, if you look at it that
way"
and another thing" she interrupt
ed him, in the same even tone. yes
terday morning you left the furnace
with only very little coal in it, saying
you would come back after breakfast.
I am afraid your mother was worse,
or you certainly would have come. es-
| pecially as it was such cold day"
"N-no, man. mother wasn't any
worse, but-I'll tell you. One of our
neighbors came in and wanted me to
put up her stove-iust a thankyou job
and l thought just for once maybe
it wouldn't be any hardship for you to
put on a shovelful or two. till"
mo hardship at all, assure you. for
I didn't do it. l was out most of the
day and all the evening. Didn't you
find the fire rather low when you came
in the EVENING""
Eyes. ma am, but I coaXed it up as
well as l could, and | thought it would
| be"
81 imagined so, for the house seemed
cold to me when | came in. Don't you
think it is little below normal this
morning. even?'
She led him into the Giningroom; it
was as cold as a sawmill. perhaps il
would be as well to go down now and
see what can be done to improve mat
ters," she said, and with the same dam
gerous sweetness of manner she
opened the cellar door and followed
close behind him down the stairs.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
At the foot of the stairway Tom
stopped. pale. speeches., overwhe line d.
The cellar was flooded with water, and
small cataract was still pouring into
it. The water pipe had burst.
Mrs. Byrd. close beside him, uttered
cry of fresh Gismay. Bad as the stu
alton had been IS minutes earlier, it
was worse now. Her voice reused Tom
from his stupor, and he splashed away
through the water to the cutoff.
turned it, and so stopped the rush.
Then he waded to the furnace; it was
fireless, and had beer so since the
night before. There, staring him out
of countenance. was the vacant space
into which he had promised to put a
pane two weeks ago.
II thought a few more days
wouldn't matter-and / wasn't expect
ing the freeze yet. and anyhow put
board against il last night. 1t must
have blown in" he muttered, trying to
| excuse himself.
"And you are the one that never
went back on bargarn!"
"Never went back on a bargain!"
she repeated. "You never did any
thing else! I knew your record, but
| I +Innnl+ oiSrl hoy n
lesson at last, so | gave you one more
chance; and this is the use you have
made of it! You have cheated every
friend | recommended You to. Even pa
tient Judge Grey could not put up with
your di!ly-dallying! You are an out
and-out swindler from first to last!"
"No. ma'am, I amt! Excuse me.
but l ANTI" He came and looked
straight into her angry eyes. There
was new sort of dignity in his re-
spectful tone and in his pale face. 81
was, but my lucl's changed, and l
amt now
$50! I have no patience for any
more experiments. Col"
He went meekly up the stairs. She
| lOlIONSu MN SPpN WIN me uDcOHl-
Portable feeling every sensible person
has after fit of anger; she had said
more than she had meant to say, al
though no more than the occasion
called for.
When she reached the kitchen Tom
was at the door ready tc go out. He
faced her, and in businesslike tone
said the most unexpected thing pos
sible: What plumber shall ] 90 for?
That pipe must be fixed right away"
what have you to do with that?
Don't you understand? You are dis
charged"
"No, ma am, I amt. Excuse me, but
really l amt. You see, it's just this
way. I've got to keep on working for
you, and for all the rest of the folks
that dropped me, so as to make up for
the way I've been doing. Understand?
I amt asking pay from you or from
them; only to make it up to you. can
see now that I'm in debt, and | want
to pay up, that's all. And I want to
prove that my luck's changed"
She wavered an instant. then laughed
in spite of herself. 81 really believe
your luck has changed 1t used to be