Part 4 (2/2)

Some fruits of their labours were already beginning to make themselves visible. The children always made it a point to appear on Sat.u.r.days, at least, with clean faces and neatly-combed hair, and altogether as tidy generally as circ.u.mstances would permit; and were to be found, on other afternoons, instead of lying about the little gardens, enhancing their disorder, hard at work with their spades and other implements, engaged in weeding them and setting them in order; so that the outward aspect of Hollowmell was being improved at any rate, upon which indication of success the two friends congratulated themselves much, and felt more than repaid for their efforts and sacrifices both of time and money.

Mr. Kimberly had not given much thought to Minnie's freak, as he called it, after consenting to it, and had in fact dismissed it from his mind and forgotten all about it, when Minnie informed him one evening that it was now a month since they commenced their work, and as they had obtained his permission to use the house for only that length of time, she begged him to continue it if the house were still unlet.

”O, yes, I remember now,” he said. ”The house at the end of the hollow.

No, it is not let to anybody but you. I had almost forgotten that it was you who occupied it till this moment. I was just remarking to Menzies, the manager down at the pit, the other day that it was by far the most respectable house in the place.”

”I suppose that is because we keep the windows clean,” laughed Minnie.

”Well, as you seem to be such good tenants--you and your friend--I don't think I can do better than give you another lease of it,” remarked Mr.

Kimberly, smiling at her delighted face. ”By the way, I suppose that is some of your work--the general improvement in the gra.s.s plots?”

”O, no, papa, that is what the children do themselves. And what do you think, papa, one of the little fellows actually comes regularly and weeds our beds, because we haven't time to attend to them ourselves. He did it at first without any prompting but that of grat.i.tude, and now some of the others help him, and so they keep our garden tidy as well as their own.”

”Yes, yes, Slyboots, but who put the idea of keeping their own tidy, into their heads? It didn't grow there, I am sure of that.”

”Well, _I'm_ not quite so sure of that,” replied Minnie, shaking her head wisely. ”Perhaps it has been there a long while, and only required some one to tap it out.”

”Well, well,” returned Mr. Kimberly with an amused expression, ”as you have been so clever as to tap this one out, who knows how many more you may tap out before long, so go on and prosper, and remember if you run short of funds you may draw on me, because I should like to see my work-people in a better condition, though I haven't time to attend to it myself, and _they_ wont. They don't seem to see the good of spending money on anything but drink, and that is how it is, though they have good houses and fair pay, they are always dirty and miserable and discontented.” And a weary look took the place of his former amused one, as he turned again to the heap of papers on his desk.

Minnie saw that he was busy, and though she would have liked to stay and cheer him up, she thought it better to retire, her request being granted.

”He sees I am in earnest, anyhow,” she observed to herself as she closed the door softly behind her, ”and he sees too that we _are_ doing something. Oh, I _will_ be so glad if I can do anything to make it easier for him. These people try him so--I suppose they have been threatening another strike.” And she went to bed, her head full of plans for getting further into the hearts of these rough miners, and drawing them to better things.

CHAPTER V.

AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR.

Meanwhile, Mona Cameron, who had no such philanthropic schemes to occupy her energies, was no less busy with schemes of an altogether different character. She was thoroughly roused by this time, by Minnie's utter impregnability to all established methods of provocation, so that she found herself obliged to invent new ones, which up to this time had been attended with no better success.

She was not naturally malicious, nor did it afford her any sort of pleasure to rouse and anger Minnie as she so often did, neither did she dislike the girl herself; but circ.u.mstances had been too much for her in the beginning, and her nature was such that now it seemed to her almost impossible to change her policy and adopt any other line of conduct. She sometimes rebelled against the rivalry which, she considered, stood between them and any possibility of friends.h.i.+p, but was still firm in her belief, that it was a difficulty which could not be bridged, and the subject had not hitherto been considered by Minnie at all; she simply accepted it, as she did most other things, as it stood, and it had not yet occurred to her that it could or should be changed.

One afternoon, Minnie stood at the outer door of the schoolroom waiting on Mabel coming down stairs from the music-room. There were perhaps a dozen girls inside, but she stood just where they could not observe her--at least, with the exception of Mona Cameron--who seemed much too intent upon her work to notice anything. At last, however, she appeared to have got over the part which demanded such urgent attention, and began to talk.

”I say, girls!” She said in an animated tone, which instantly secured the attention of every one present, at the same time moving nearer the window for the purpose, as it seemed, of obtaining better light. ”Have you heard the news?”

”What news?” eagerly exclaimed a dozen voices.

”Why, that Minnie Kimberly has turned Methodist.”

Minnie started, scarce knowing whether to leave immediately or return and proclaim her presence.

”What?” cried the girls, not quite understanding what Mona meant to convey by that appellation.

”Methodist,” repeated Mona, quite enjoying their mystification. ”One of those people who profess to go about continually doing good with tracts in their pocket--though it's my private opinion they usually contrive to do the very opposite. That's the sort of thing Minnie's going in for just now, though I really think she is a little ashamed of it, she keeps it so well hidden. You see my penetration was not at fault--I said it was revival meetings or something of that sort.”

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