THE TREASURE

KATHLEEN NORRIS




CHAPTER I


Lizzie, who happened to be the Salisbury's one servant at the time,
was wasteful. It was almost her only fault, in Mrs. Salisbury's
eyes, for such trifles as her habit of becoming excited and "saucy,"
in moments of domestic stress, or to ask boldly for other holidays
than her alternate Sunday and Thursday afternoons, or to resent at
all times the intrusion of any person, even her mistress, into her
immaculate kitchen, might have been overlooked. Mrs. Salisbury had
been keeping house in a suburban town for twenty years; she was not
considered an exacting mistress. She was perfectly willing to
forgive Lizzie what was said in the hurried hours before the company
dinner or impromptu lunch, and to let Lizzie slip out for a walk
with her sister in the evening, and to keep out of the kitchen
herself as much as was possible. So much might be conceded to a girl
who was honest and clean, industrious, respectable, and a fair cook.

But the wastefulness was a serious matter. Mrs. Salisbury was a
careful and an experienced manager; she resented waste; indeed, she
could not afford to tolerate it. She liked to go into the kitchen
herself every morning, to eye the contents of icebox and pantry, and
decide upon needed stores. Enough butter, enough cold meat for