The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-09-20
BORN TO JERDE
BY CHARLEJ M. SHELDoN
Au,h.r Of Tin HIS steps, JOHN KINGS QUESTION GLASS;
By CHARLES M. JHELDoN,


every day"
you are fattering me now" said
Barbara. smiling a little.
mo, only the truth as Il ought to
have been told you. My sickness, the
children, my cares, Mr.. Wards bust
ness complications, some of which have
been serious the last ten days, have all
conspired to make me careless of you;
but even my carelessness has been
sign of my confidence in you. Don't
leave us now, Barbara. We need you
more than you can realize"
What Barbara Clark Here has
been trouble in this home, and trouble
of serious nature, and you have lived
in your own troubles, absorbing all
thought about yourself. She began to
be ashamed. She turned towards Mrs.
Ward.
81 don't want to seem to act on just
my feelings alone. Let me go home to-
night and think it out"
Mrs. Ward looked at her wistfully,
and again tears came into the older
woman's eyes.
81 am asking a great deal of you.
Maybe / am promising n good deal for
myself, too, if you decide to go on
with us"
you mean?" Barbara began, and
then stopped.
81 mean that, If you will keep on as
you have begun, ! am willing to help
make your place different in many
ways from what il has been. don't
know all that this may mean to you.
1t is not an ordinary case, as you are
not an ordinary servant girl. There is
another thing ! ought to say. If you
remain with us, it ought to be great
source of satisfaction to you that the
children think so much of you. Do you
realize how much it may mean to
mother to know they are being helped
in every way while with her servant?
That is another great reason | don't
want you to go, Barbara"
Thank you, Mrs. Ward" Barbara
answered, and the tears came into her
eyes for the first time. Praise is
sweet. Why don't we all give more of
it where we know it will help, not
hurt?
"We cannot spare you out of the
home. We have not treated you right,
but"
Don't say anything about that, Mrs.
! Ward" Barbara interrupted. feeling
of renorse growing in her at the
thought of her grievances. Some of
them were beginning to seem small in
comparison with her privileges She
was a real influence in il if what Mrs.
rI baI IA 81. Al 4. HI
was true. Surely there was more in
the position than physical drudgery.
Gould even n school-teacher expect to
be more useful? A host of new ques-
tons rose in her mind
'Let me go home tonight, Mrs. Ward.
and | will return i'm the morning and
/ give you my answer. In any case, |
will not leave, of course. until you
have secured some one else"
VERY well, we will leave the mat
ter that way" Mrs Ward answered.
and she went out of the kitchen as
Carl began to clamor for his pie and
Barbara turned to attend to him.
But Barbara was strongly moved by
this interview. 1t had begun with her
heart full of encouragement and re-
bellion. 1t had ended with a feeling
of doubt concerning her resolution to
! give up her position, with "A renewal of
| her former enthusiasm. There were
! possibilities in the situation that she
had not considered. And so, with all
these new ideas crowding into her
thoughts, she finished her work early
I that evening and went home.
Her mother met her with a happy
smile and instantly put into her hano
letter that had come in the afternoon
mail, 1t had printed on it the address
of teachers agency,
Another polite note saying there
are no vacancies at present, etc is
| that it, MOTHER"
81 opened it, Barbara. You remem-
Der you told me to if anything came
from this agency, and l was going to
send over to the Wards for you this
evening if you had not come" Mrs.
Clark said, as Barbara took out the
| letter and began to read.
1t was an offer from the principal of
an academy in neighboring state Of
fairly good position as teacher in the
department of French and German,
the two languages Barbara had made
the most of at Mount Holyoke.
ITS a good offer, Barbara. Just the
| position you can fill, isn't it?"
Eyes, mother" Barbara answered,
slowly. But she dropped the letter in
to her lap and sat thoughtfully quiet.
What are you thinking of? Bar
bara, you don't mean to refuse, after
all this waiting?"
Then Barbara told her mother all
about the mornings talk with Mrs.
Ward.
81 am in honor bound to stay with
her, anyway until she finds some one
else. l promised. If l accept this Of
fer must go at once, as the place re-
quires an immediate answer in per-
son. That would leave Mrs. Ward
without anyone just at a time when
she is most in need of some one"
'She will let you off for such an I'M
9Xppptan pfrar tI,fg nn NJ,