The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-28
UNEMPLOYED

ton
''Pray take seat offered Hardy
gallantly,. moving up his chair,
charmingIy. .toh. / do hope You can
find me post as nurse-l should so
love to be nurse. But it must be
quick-before papa comes back You
know she added naively, I've
wanted TO be a nurse ever since | was
n little girl. But papa always laughed
at me-
"I hope he has changed his mind, -
said my friend sympathetically.-
Her face fell. "But he 9 abroad
he's so seldom at home now," she
pleaded with a piteous quavcr in her
voice. "And Miss James has run away,
and IN all by myself, and L thought
I might never have such another chance
again. y
"And what does your mother say7''
asked Hardy, with honest desire to help.
The pretty cheeks turned pale and the
bright eyes grew dim. ! could have
kicked Hardy, But he could have
kicked himself.
Forgive mel didn't know IN SO
sorry he stammered.
But presently her sobs ceased, and she
freely and frankly told us all about
| herself
1t was four years since her mother
died, and her father was growing more
and more absorbed In that horrid bust
ness, that would take him away for
weeks at n time. And then, how lonely
II was for her, with not a relative in
London and hardly n friend. She had
had governess after governess-the lat.
est being Miss James, who had tried
TO treat her as if still baby. So she
had grieved but little when that lady
had eloped with the coachman three
days before. And then she had the
happy idea Of also taking a decisive
step before her father IS return Her
childhood s dream once fait accompli.
she was sure he would forgive her. In
thus frame of mind, she had seen our
advertisement In the .'Daily Dash. -
and had taken advantage of her weekly
excursion TO town-for her Lesson at
the Guildhall School or Music-to hunt
us up on her way home.
All this. of course, took some little
while to tell in her ingenious way 1t
was awfully mean of us, ] felt. TO listen
to the girls childlike condolences under
more or less false pretenses. But which
would be the best way. | wondered, to
dlssuade her from her impracticahle
PROJECT? Hardy, who seemed unable to
take his eyes of her face, appeared to
have found solution.
viii you kindly wait a moment,
Miss he said gravely, ''while I con
suit our. bookkeeper 2" And of he
rushed into the inner office, while
JSble had retired thither, an hour ago,
with a view TO posting up his books un-
disturbed. He had apparently fallen
asleep IN the process, for ! caught a
yell as if he had been rudelv awakened.
lhen came an animated colloQuy-the
sound of CONS flung upon table-the
closing of the other door that gave up
on the. staircase-the noise of someone
scurrylng down the stairs, And then
my friend staggered in again with
the big ledger under his arm
Our FAR client looked up wistfully.
Hardy>s trst words were 10 apologize
for the length of his absence; his next
to ask for her name and address. These
he proceeded TO book methodlcally in
Inc ledger: Jessie Robins, IL. Rvland
Gardens. Croydon ] mildly wondered
what Joble would say when he saw il.
But when Hardy had once taken the
bit between his teeth no power on earth
could stay him
I" regret to say, Miss, Robins" he
went on gently, "that we don t happen
to have any vacancy for nurse on our |
books, at the present moment. "
~, l IN so sorrTy,,' she cried sadly.
''Oh, no, no." he replied hastily.
On the contrary. But I'd like to
talk your plans over with you-that is,
If YOU re in no great hurry?''
Well, not very. j told Mrs Carter
she S our housekeeper, you know-I'd |
be sure TO be back by seven, as usual. |
You see,' she exclaimed simply, f'Miss |
james has al ways come with me up till |
now, and Mrs. Carter didn & like the
idea OF my going to town alone. But ] |
didn't want her TO come with me- she
las ! d made up my mind to
call here
offered TO look up the trains in the
time table, but Hardy interposed.
We are about to have cup OF
tea, said he IN his most insinuating
if You would join u.s. We can discuss
business as ne 90 along -
! gasped. Jessie looked the least bit
frightened;
"I dom think I ought" said she
nervously, Miss James always used to
take ME into Fuller -
But it would hardly be the thing
for You TO 20 there by yourself,' as
sured my Machiavelian friend, "and
we ma IT rule to provide our coun.
try clients with tea Besides,p he
ended In his irresistible way, Hlet us
see how good nurse you would make
we were your first patients -
AT this Jessie broke into "A merry
laugh, and all her timidity seemed to
"hioh WIN iIs lHtutc1DTUH she mad
no morS misgivings. and gave us-or
rather, "a. dashing companion-her en-.
tire cAEHence. We found ourselves
growil% deeply interested iu Miss
James deficiencies and Mrs Carter's
peeuliarities, when Joble interrupted us
with the announcement Of tea. Where
upon we all adjourned into the next
room, to find that he had really risen
to The occasion, and provided a splen-
did repast. Hardy never does things by
halves
Jessie did the houours of the table
AT our unanimous request, and de-
lightlnl tea IT proved. How she laugh
ed at our makeshift tea servicc-even
as supplemented by Joble's borrowings
from the floor below And she candid
ly confessed she had never drcamt that
City men were so partial to confection.
cry.
All was going merrily as a marriage
bell, when the girl suddenly looked
at her watch with a little cry
>, Six, already! Oh, must go-Mrs.
Carter will be thinking I'M lost, -
Hardy maIe Iiftlo Jnnur ,rL..l