John van Alstyne's Factory, Part VII-IX [pp. 334-353]

JOHN VAN ALSTYNE'S FAC70RY.
day to invite you to dinner with us, and to find out how my plan
would suit you before consulting the other members of the school
committee. I am treasurer this year, and thought I could manage it without difficulty. But when I found you had gone home
with Fanny Murray I concluded that a little experience down
there wouldn't hurt you-eh?"
"No, indeed! " said Zip, so heartily that her companion
smiled again. "But still I don't see "
"You don't see where you come in as a firebrand. Well, I
am going on to tell you. What I had been thinking of Bill
Mesick had been doing. At tea-time I received the notification
of a business meeting in the school-house, where he submitted
just such a plan as I had in my own mind; only, of course, he
wanted to keep you up there. We had a little scrimmage over
it," said the old man, chuckling, "but there is no such hard luck
in store for you. Will you come to us at once, or would you
prefer to finish your week with Miss Murray? Under present
circumstances she is not bound to keep you, but I was in there
this morning and thought she seemed inclined to regret that the
change had been made so soon."
"Did she?" asked Zip, with an eager smile. "Oh! then, Mr.
Van Alstyne, if you wouldn't mind, I should like to know her a
little better first. If once I leave the house I have a fancy that
it won't be easy, and she she is very interesting, don't you
think? You know you told me you thought it would show good
taste if I made friends with her, and I am sure you were quite
right."
"She interests me," replied the old man; "the whole family
do, for that matter, but I don't know that it would have occurred
to me to call her interesting. Were you able to make her talk,
then? I have tried, but I never had any great success. Her actions speak much louder than her words."
"Well, no," admitted Zip; " couldn't make her talk much.
She hasn't read any of the books I like best, and somehow there
aren't many of the things girls talk of that I felt like speaking to
her about. I don't know why, but Bella and Lucy Cadwallader and
I, for instance, we chatter by the hour, and yet they don't read
much more than she appears to. She did talk to me a little
about her religion this morning as we wvent over to Milton Corners together before breakfast."
"You went over to church with her? Well done for an early riser! And you induced her to talk about her religion?
Why, you have done wonders already."
1887.]
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