Evening star., 1924-05-18

clothes!"
The other boy subsidized onto the
turf again with a careless laugh.
Clothes amt everything" he said,
with precocious wisdom. you've got
good clothes enough, but you don't
look higher than to be a servant all
your life. If you can be a servant to
lord, that's all you look for"
What do you look to be, them"
Me? I'll be a lord myself, or as
good as one" replied the ragged
child. "I'll have a castle, and all
the gold and silver what you've talked
about, and great lazy men to hand me
my Hictuals. I'll have you, Bill Page.
to wait on me, if you're quick and
obligin'. If you amt, I'll sack you
Come on, Bill Page. Well play at me
being a lord and you my servant.
Take off my boots"
They played Enthusiastically for an
hour, the little outcast comporting
himself with impressive dignity, the
respectable servants child waiting on
his whims.
x !: x =
DAGE'S master stood in front of the
fire in his business room, a tall,
full-bodied, hearty man.
"Oh, yes, certainly, Page: by all
means" he said loudly. I'll write
today
I'm very much obliged to you, my
lord" said the butler. "It will be a
good start for the boy to get into
such an establishment"
"Yes, he ought to do we'll. 1 sup
pose you've made it all right with
the house steward?"
"Yes. my lord. He is willing to
take the boy, but he is not allowed to
engage any servant without his
grace's approval"
"I see; see. Well, we'll make that
all right. There's nothing against
him, is there? Good report from the
school, and all that sort of thing,
eh?"
The butler was trifie disturbed.
Very good, my lord" he said, "ex-
cept for one thing. His mother and
me haven't been able to break him of
following the rat-catcher's boy.
There's no good hiding it,
This piece of information, some
what to his surprise, was received
with hearty laugh. The rat-catcher,
firmly established on a nettle-grown
plot of his own ground on the skirts
of his lordship's best covert, had oc-
casioned acute annoyance for many
years to that estimable landowner
and to the community in general,
and his name was not usually greet
ed with laughter.
His lordship threw himself into an
easy chair.
"You needn't worry about that any
more" he said. i've got rid of that
rascal at last. 1t is what I have been
trying to do for the last twenty
years"
Indeed, my lord." said the butler,
hoping to hear more.
Yes, Mr. Carpenter has just been
in to tell me about it. I've been able
to put that fellow in prison half a
dozen times, but I've never been able
to get him to sell his holding"
"I suppose your 1ordship knows
that he has married that woman at
last?"
Yes, and she's done the trick. 1t
is she that has made him SELL / take
it. She's greedy. I hear she has
turned the boy out of doors, too. Is
that true?"
"Yes, my lord. He's gone off, no.
body knows where. The way the
other boys run after him-well, no
| body could do anything to stop them
"Ah! Well, the temptation is re-
moved now. He was shocking
young rascal, as bad as his father,
and a good deal cleverer. Very we'll
Page, I'll write to the duke. / dare
say you're right to start him some
where else. 1 hope he'll do you
| credit"
From London to Ireland, from Ire
| land to Scotland. from Scotland tc
| the great palace in the Midlands
William Page followed the family
whom he served, year after year
steadily rising, and. finally, when he
was not much over thirty. reaching
| the proud position of house steward
| and the summit OF his ambition.
| His master died, and he served his
| successor, saw his new masters chill
| dren grow up, marry and have chill
dren of their own. He knew of al
| that went on in the family and in
the numerous great families with
which it was allied-was, indeed, /;
humble member of it himself, rely.
ing upon it's doings for variety ii
his life and desiring none of his OWL
! making.
He put by money. year after year
He inherited the savings of hi.
! father and mother when they diet
| and put them by, too. But he had a
no time any inclination towart
matrimony. His position was sufn
J cient for him.