A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories by Bret Harte
page 81 of 200 (40%)
page 81 of 200 (40%)
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"It's done," said Reddy, smilingly handing her the account-book. Mrs. Woodridge glanced over it, and then surveyed her new assistant. "And you didn't find any plates that were dirty and that had to be sent back?" "Yes, two or three, but I cleaned them myself." Mrs. Woodridge glanced at him with a look of approving curiosity, but his eyes were just then seeking her daughter's for a more grateful sympathy. All of which the good lady noted, and as it apparently answered the unasked question in her own mind, she only uttered the single exclamation, "Humph!" But the approbation he received later at dinner, in the satisfaction of his old companions with the new arrangement, had also the effect of diverting from him the criticism he had feared they would make in finding him installed as an assistant to Mrs. Woodridge. On the contrary, they appeared only to recognize in him some especial and superior faculty utilized for their comfort, and when the superintendent, equally pleased, said it was "all Reddy's own idea," no one doubted that it was this particular stroke of genius which gained him the obvious promotion. If he had still thought of offering his flirtation with Nelly as an excuse, there was now no necessity for any. Having shown to his employers his capacity for the highest and lowest work, they naturally preferred to use his best abilities--and he was kept from any menial service. His accounts were so carefully and intelligently rendered that the entire care of the building and its |
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