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honored her for It anil encouraged
her in her course. The old maa had
grown sour and selfish, and -would
not hear Of a change in their domes
tic relations.
"I may get sonie'thlng yet oiit of
my Unfortunate investment," he was
wont to say, "If, I-uo I'd feel more
certain of things' and then dolefully
he would finish up with, the remark:
"If we could onlyfind out where all
Robert's fortune went tb!"
It was several days after the big
storm and the fallen and, hanging
limbs of the giant "tfpefl surrounding
the Moore homested had not been
cleared away William Moore was
too much engrossed over his life
disappointment td think of mundane
things. Ethel had dragged the light,
stray branches'to the rear of the lot.
The larger ones Archie had promised
to try ana get out of the way Satur
day afternoon.
When John Davis came along one
morning however, saw, rope and
pole in bfcnd, Ethel listened td his
application for work with interest
and sympathy.
"I've been sick forli long time, Miss
Moore," he declared, "and not able to
take a steady Job for some time
aheiid. About all I'm fitted for is a
little spading or grass mbwing, or
something like cleaning up yards.
I'll trim out that hanging stuff up
around the &ous tor fifty cents and
burn1 all the stray, brush."
Ethel .had a little surplus savings,
very limited indeed "compared -with
the oM days 61 affluence. A dollar
now1 was of vast value. She had
intended to buy some lace td the
extent of Just the amount her pen
sioner named to trim up a last year's
hat. . ,
"Yerywell, Mr. Davis," she agreed,
after a moment or two of wavering
thodght "It Isn't much to pay,
thoifgh."
"It's a lot to me," sighed Davis,
thlnkinfc of the hunfery mouths at
home. "ToUTl get a blessing fori
Ithls1' he added, poking a stray fear1 1
from his eye. '1 know that ready
money isn't over plentiful with you,
and that is why I appreciate the work
the more."
Ethel went into the house with s
thoughts of the struggling brood of tr
children of John Davis' in her mind, d
She remembered an old trunk in the tt
attic filled with odds and ends, and ft
Wondered if she would be likely to si
find anything of service to the Davis j
household. c
Several old garments, she discov
ered, might be utilised. She was u
kneeling by the trunk, engrossed in
her ta'sk, when a most unearthly
hubbub drove hei1 to her feet with a
shock.
There was a loud cracking crash
and the plaster rained down. Then
some object of Jarring volume ap
peared to sweep the slanting roof
thunderously. She heard a cry, a
second crash, then another cry.
"Oh, dear! what" can have happened?"-
gasped Ethel breathlessly.
She ran down the stairs aa fast as
she could. Her first thought was of
her father. She glanced into the sit
ting room. He was not there. Then,
as she dashed outside, she saw him
standing in the garden, waving his
arms frantically.
"You've ruined the looks of the
house!" he was storming at John
Davis.
The latter sat on the. ground star
ing vacantly at a mass of wreckage
nearby. It was the shattered rem
nants of the old cupola.
"It's a good thing I dodged," he ob
served. "When I sawed that big limb
it Just swept that old cupola off the
top of the house clean as a whistle,
Sorry, Mr. Moore, but honestly, it i
was so battered and wobbly the 3
house looks better without ft," f
"I think so myself," remarked s
Ethel, immensely relieved to find no j
one' seriously injured. "Are you hurt, i
Mr. Davis?" she inquired solicitously, t
"Oh, no slid only-a few feet with r
the limb," answered Davis. "I'll get i
the truck out of the way right off, j
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