The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1905-06-03

asked me whether would come to his
house this afternoon. and take hes
place"
"And your gasped Mrs. TOFrancS
II said yes. OF course"
Eleanor" cried Lucetta. II sm
scandalized by your conduct Yes. per
fectly scandalizedl You viii do moth
ing of the sort"
Certainly not" said Mrs. Torrance.
developing hysterical symptoms. III
your Cousin Brown intends to inaSS
/ US"
But he doesn't" pleaded Nelly.
HE intended the offer in good faith.
and accepted it In the same spirit.
You surely do not mean to de-
grade yourself" cried Lucetta, by
turning-cOOk-for any living manr'
81 don't see." argued Nelly. that II
Is any more degrading to cook for
Cousin John that it would be to EN-
broider slippers for him. or to read
the newspapers aloud to him Of an
| evening"
Eleanor never had any proper
PRIDE" said Mrs. Torrance wringing
her hands.
Never echoed Lucetta.
And" added Nelly. my cousin
would have every reason to believe me
an impostor II told him wanted
work and then refused the offer he
made. 1t viii be useless for you to
| demonstrate, Lucetta, and hope mann
ma will not place any obstacles in my
way. for l am quite determined TO 20
to Grandover Park this afternoon
Ii was 8 o'clock exactly when Mr..
Brown let himself into his house with
the latch-key which always depended
from his watch-chain. The gas-jeA
burned softly behind the rose-colored
shade in the hall, and the fire clicked
cheerily in the crate Of the parlOr be
yond.
"HumphF' be muttered; "she hasn't
come. Thought sol There Is no such
thing as a practical woman nova
days"
At the same moment a light. white
sproned little figure came out OF the
dlning-room beyond. and Nelly Tor
RANGES voice uttered the words:
Dinner Is ready. Cousin John"
The old man smiled. He had a
pleasant expression on his face when
he smiled. and NeHy wondered that
she had not noticed what a handsome
man he was
oh" said he; you did come.
thenY'
Il always keep my engagements"
said Nelly. 'Punctuality is the soul
OF business, isn't It. Cousin John1 At
least that's what used to write in
my copy books"
Mr.. Brown patted her hand az she
helped him with his overoOat
You are a good girl" said be.
And In his secret mind he determin-
ed to put up with any deficiencies in
the cooking Of a girl who had such ex-
cellent business principles But to his
infinite amazement there were no de-
hciencies to overlook He ate and rel
ished and wondered by turns.
My dear" said be at last, when the
cloth was removed, "all is very nice.
I'll concede you are a tip-top house
keeper. But, Of course, you ordered
all Of this from Monerato's restau-
rantY'
But Of course didn't, Cousin
Brown" said Nelly. decidedly. II
cooked It myself"
Mr. Brown closed his eyes. and made
a hasty calculation. His life had been
worried out OF him" to use com
mon expression. By capricious house
keepers, inefficient cooks and untraiG-
ed servants. At last here was a gate
way out Of AL his tribulatiOins.
My dear" he said. II should like
to have you come and live here"
As q cook, Cousin BrownT"
NO; as my adopted daughter and
housekeeper. need some one to take
the helm OF my affairs"
But my mother" hesitated Eleanor.
and my sister. Lucetta."
Let them come, too, there's plenty
Of room in the house. Can they cook.
too7''
NO, Cousin Brown" confessed
Nelly.
We'll, perhaps It's Just as we'll"
said Mr. Brown; there cant be more
than one head to the household
So the Torrance family found com
Portable refuge for the soIes Of their
feet, and Nelly's desplsed accomplish
ment proved the sword wherewith she
opened the worlds oyster. Lucetta
sighed. and wondered why she too had
not taken cook.Ek SESSIONS.
Nelly Il the old mans favorite,"
said sh- He'll leave her his money
when he dies. And all because she ac.
cepted the ridiculous offer Of turning
cook for a living!"
NJ. Brown, however. looked at the
matter in a different light He said:
Nelly IL not like the typical young
lady. 100 lazy to work and too proud
to beg. She does with her might
whatever her handR and to do
WomaI's Journal.