Okolona messenger., 1902-06-18

Inv these was his
stable-hOrses,
carriages and coachman.
For the cOachman, indeed, he
took especial credit. having en-.
gagged the man through an adver.
tisement, pending a reference from
a cattle ranch in the far West, and
against his wife's earnest entrea-
ties.
Mrs. Bradley held cowboy and
desperate as synonymous terms,
and was almost fearful in her pro-
tests.
Her husband laughed at her.
"My dear, there is no danger" he
said. 81 can see for myself that
the fellow doesn't drink. / tried
him down town during bus
mess hours, and / know he can
drive. Thave written to his boss,
and taken him only on trial"
The answer from H. II. Talbot,
proprietor of the Hinged Cross
outfit, came prOmptly-"Ned
Hughes is one OF the best men
ever had; sober, reliable, and an
excellent hand with horses.
knew nothing of his antecedents;
we don't inquire closely into those
ont here. If you don't engage
Hughes and he is down on his luck,
send him back to me; | enclose
check to pay his way"
Mr.. Bradley returned the money
and kept the man, fully convinced
that Ned Hughes was the man
above all others to suit him. That
was a year since, aud now even
Mrs. Bradley was mildly enthusi-
astic about her coachman. "Only'
she complained, fretfully, 81 wish
he were not quite so handsome,
and / do wish the boys would not
spend so much time in the stables"
"'We might do worse, can tell
you, mother" answered Thomas,
Jr., a lad of 16 and wise for his
year; Hughes is as nice as any
man / know. He never swears,
and keeps Jack (the stable bOy)
as straight as a string. Besides,
he helps me lots with my lessons;
he can do geometry, and cOnstrue
Cicero; he says he was a dab at
Latin at Public school in Eng
land"
Miss Bradley, who overheard
the conversation, did not consider
it necessary to inform her mother
and brother that public and free,
ss applied to schools in Great
Britian, do not mean the same
thing.
She had no desire that anyone
should suspect how much interest
she took in this servant who was so
clearly superior to his place, and
yet not at all above it. 1t was
part of Hughes duty to attend
Miss Bradley as groom in her
daily horseback exercise, and an
accident had made her aware of
his knowledge of Latin. Upon
one occasion her stiTrup- leather
broke. Hughes felt in all his
pockets, to find neither string nor
extra strap, then with "Excuse
me a moment, miss' he disap-
peared into a neighbOring thicket
to reappear with a tough switch,
from which he rapidly whitfield
two pins. Overlapping the ends
of the broken leather, he bored
holes with the point of his pocket
knife, and fastened them together
with the wooden pins.
Chow very clever!" exclaimed
Miss Bradley.
On returning his knife to his
pocket his cOuntenance fell.
"Excuse me a moment, Miss"
he said again, and once more dis
appeared among the bushes.
AS he did so, Miss Bradley, ris-
ing from her seat on the root of a
tree, saw at her feet small,
worn book, picking it up, she
found it a volume of HOrace's
Odes, in the original, with the
name Hugo Edmond st. John
written on the fly-leaf. She had
barely time to close the volume,
and drop it half under the folds of
her skirt, when Huges returned,
evidently unsuccessful, from his
quest.
''ExcUse me MISS" he apollo
gized; "I lost small book"
She moved slightly, and touched
the book with her foot. 'Is this
itf" she asked.
He shot quick glance, almost
an apprehensive one, at her, then
instantly relapsed into immObility
of feature. eyes, miss; thank
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