The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-21
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BY.I. K. FREEDMAN
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"Only the new gardener" said l. He rushed past me out on the lawn,
 Papa! Papam cried Miss Clara. glid- | ing gracefully after him.
 1 have no distinct impression now of
 what that boiler room looked like when
 l clambered into it; to the best of my | recollection 1t was a muddled heap of
 coal and iron and furnace apparatus
 floating or sinking in water. Miss Clara l her skirts drawn above her ankles was
 standing on the bottom stairs, a heart 1 rending expression on her face that made l one yearn to throw ones arm around 1 her in sympathy. Her father stood just
 above her, peering into the darkness with
 his big, angry eyes.
 Much to eyerybodys relief but mine,
 the amateur gardener finally crawled out 1 of coal bin, very dirty, very wet and
 very frightened, but not at all hurt
 Miss Clara sighed joyously and clasped
 her hands when Hawkins's head hove in
 sight.
 After making sure that the gardener | was less damaged than his property, MT. 1 Middleton flew into q passion, shook his | heavy cane, wished the miscreant had | been knocked to smithereens and threat | ened to do it himself forthwith. There is 1 no doubt in my mind that he would have | been as good as his word if Miss Clara | hadn't pleaded with her father so elo- | quently and stirringly in behalf of the |
 there too crestfallen to defend himself. | Her father gave way to her pleas at l last, appeasing his wrath by merely call | ing the rascal hard names. He had
 magnificent vocabulary, as ineXhaustible l as it was recondite.
 | saw my opportunity. A month might | pass before l could hope to gain an- other such d chance for iusinuating my | self Into the good graces of Miss Mid | dleton.
 Excuse me, Mir, Middleton" I inter-
 posed q know 1t is none of my business, l but the whole blame may be with the l gardener who tended the boiler before my i assistant At any rate, he has had his | lesson; he will be more careful arter l this while a new man may "I hired you for a gardener and not for 1 a confidential adviser" snapped the old ! gentleman. "As for you. young man. | he said turning toward Hawkins you may stay here during exemplary behav- 1 for Come on, Clara, let's take our
 selves away from this mess" Miss Clara 1 rewarded me with a look of gratitude,
 of thankfulness that l never shall for get When the Middletons had gone, | Hawkins rushed forward, grasped my | hand and poured forth his gratitude pro- 1 fusely but 1 cut him short | It was an all day and night job for the plumbers and steamf1tters; but the dam
 age appeared more serious than 1t really | was. ~
 After eating our supper in the kitchen with the servants, we retired 10 our
 room in the stable, which was next lo
 the coachmans, s, facing the house. "You have done the square thing by
 me" Hawkins said. after bolting the
 door. "and I don't mind taking you Into
 my confidence and letting you know am
 not gardener by trade might as wei
 let you know that I'm a Harvard man.
 myself"
 T thought so, Hawkins I said flatter-
 ingly. you handled the furnace ike l Harvard man.
 'I'm going out for a walk" he said.
 And I'm going to bed, yaWheu' l I intended to do no such thing. was 1 tired hut not at all sleepy, and l thought | 1t might prove worth my while to stay up
 and watch Hawkins. I had the unconn-
 fortable presentment that something or l importance would happen, and l put out | the light and peered out on the brightly | moonlit lawn.
 Hawkins strolIed up and down the peb- | ble paths, his hands in 1is trousers pock- cts, puffing at his pipe. Every quarter or
 an hour or so he drew back behind the
 shadows of the shrubbery and gazed up
 longingly at one of the side windows or
 the house. It didn't look to me like hon. | est business.
 One by one the lights of the house
 save the dim beacon in certain side l room-went out and left the world to the | moonlight, Hawkins, me, and, was Will l ing to take my oath to Miss Middleton. Suddenly I heard a handful of pebbles | grate against a pane of glass. dldn
 want to be unjust to Hawkins; could see him nowhere in sight, not even behind the ! trees or the shrubbery, but l suspected l that his was the invisible hand that d1s- | charged those missiles.
 | Another handful of pebbles called the
 .I,,,r no n
 presence I saw Hawkins that time; l then I heard the slipping of bolt and | the creak of door. A few seconds | afterward Miss Clara Middleton, her | dark tresses unbound, white shaN | thrown over her shoulders, emerged on
 the lawn in all her loveliness, and my
 first assistant gardener ran forward to
 meet her. I could have thrown my arms
 around Hawkins and squeezed his heart l out
 | Miss Clara and her worthy escort walked up a friendly path that took them 1 beyond my ken Toworrow I would show
 my skill as a landscape artist and turn | that path in another direction, but to- 1 morrow was long way off, and before | I could bend that path Tn one direction l Hawkins might bend Miss Middleton l fate in another. Give me twenty minutes 1 alone with her on moonlight night in | the shadows of the elns or the beeches 1 | decide her fate and mine, I would never ask another favoT from fortune. But now
 it was my duty to Miss Middleton. to the love I bore her, to act and act quickly. | I dodged around the off side of the
 house, crawled up the porch and rang the | dor bell MT Middleton answered my summons himself
 "Who Is it?'' he growied.
 Me! The head gardener" I answered.
 "What's the matter now?" he roared
 "Is the greenhouse gone up the flue this | time?" he screamed.
 1 "Histw I whispered, "I don't like the
 way the assistant gardener"
 And you wake me out of sound
 sleep to acquaint me with your objec- | tions to his manners, to-"
 ,'To tell you, MT. Middleton" I inter rupted in turn, that he is with your | daughter, Clara. behind"
 Without waiting to hear the end of my
 carefully balanced sentence he rushed |