He takes care of the schoolhouse, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"How much pay does he get?"
"A dollar a week."
"I hope he will be able to keep the position."
"What do you mean, Melinda?" asked the widow, not without anxiety.
"You know Doctor Snodgrass has resigned on the school
committee, and Squire Duncan has been elected in his place."
"Well?"
"Mrs. Flanagan went to him yesterday to ask to have her son
Tim appointed janitor in place of Luke, and I heard that she
received considerable encouragement from the squire."
"Do they find any fault with Luke?" asked Mrs. Larkin, jealously.
"No, not as I've heard; but Mrs. Flanagan said Luke had had
it for a year, and now some one else ought to have the chance."
"Are you quite sure of this, Melinda?"
Miss Sprague, though over forty, was generally called by her
first name, not as a tribute to her youth, but to the fact of
her being still unmarried.
"Yes, I am; I had it from Mrs. Flanagan herself."
"I don't think Tim would do as well as Luke. He has never
been able to keep a place yet."
"Just so; but, of course, his mother thinks him a polygon."
Probably Miss Sprague meant a paragon--she was not very
careful in her speech, but Mrs.
Pages:
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56