Page 174 - A Little Bush Maid

"Oh, all right," said Norah, swallowing her disgust. "Tf you say it’s got to
be, it has to be, that’s all, Daddy. My goodness, how T will hate it! Have T

got to learn heaps of things?"

"Loads," said her father, nodding; "Latin, and French, and drawing, and
geography, and how to talk grammar, and any number of things T never
knew. Then you can teach the tutor things--riding, and cooking, and

knitting, and the care of tame wallabies, and any number of things he never
dreamed of. He’s a town young man, Norah, and horribly ignorant of all

useful arts."

"T’ll turn him over to Billy after school," said Norah laughing. "Ts he nice,

Dad?"

"Very, T should say," rejoined her father. "He’s the son of an old
friend"--and his face saddened imperceptibly. "Your Aunt Eva said it ought
to be a governess, and perhaps it would have been one only young

Stephenson came in my way. He wanted something to do, and for his
father’s sake T chose him for my daughter’s instructor."

"Who’s his father, Daddy?"

"Well, you wouldn’t know if T told you, girlie. A dear old friend of mine
when T was a young man--the best friend T ever had. Jim is named after

him."

"Ts he dead now?"

Mr. Linton hesitated.

"We lost him years ago," he said sadly. "A great trouble came upon him--he
lost some money, and was falsely accused of dishonesty, and he had to go

to prison. When he came out his wife refused to see him; they had made her
believe him a thief, and she was a hard woman, although she loved him.

She sent him a message that he must never try to see her or their boy."