Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work

Download in format

What did you say her name was?"

"Eliza Parsons."

"Thank you. Can you tell me where I'll find Mr. Forbes?"

"He's getting ready for dinner, now, and won't need you at present."

"Then I'll go back to my room. It--it was a great shock to me, that

likeness, Miss DeGraf."

"I can well believe it," said Beth; and then she went to her own

apartment, greatly puzzled at a resemblance so strong that it had even

deceived Lucy Rogers's own sweetheart.

CHAPTER XV

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

"If she is really Lucy Rogers, she'll be missing tomorrow morning," said

Beth when she had told her cousins of the encounter in the corridor.

But Eliza Parsons was still at Elmhurst the next day, calmly pursuing

her duties, and evidently having forgotten or decided to ignore the

young man who had so curiously mistaken her for another. Beth took

occasion to watch her movements, so far as she could, and came to the

conclusion that the girl was not acting a part. She laughed naturally

and was too light-hearted and gay to harbor a care of any sort in her

frivolous mind.

But there was a mystery about her; that could not be denied. Even if she

were but a paid spy of Erastus Hopkins there was a story in this girl's

life, brief as it had been.

Beth was full of curiosity to know this story.

As for Tom Gates, he had been so horrified by his mistake that he tried

to avoid meeting Eliza again. This was not difficult because the girl

kept pretty closely to the linen room, and Tom was chiefly occupied in

the library.

Kenneth had little chance to test his secretary's abilities just then,

because the girls pounced upon the new recruit and used his services in

a variety of ways. Tom Gates's anxiety to give satisfaction made him

willing to do anything, but they refrained from sending him often to

town because he was sensitive to the averted looks and evident repulsion

of those who knew he had recently been a "jail-bird." But there was

plenty for him to do at Elmhurst, where they were all as busy as bees;

and whatever the young man undertook he accomplished in a satisfactory

manner.

Page:: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48; 49; 50; 51; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58; 59; 60; 61; 62; 63; 64; 65; 66; 67; 68; 69; 70; 71; 72; 73; 74; 75; 76; 77; 78; 79; 80; 81; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86; 87; 88; 89; 90; 91; 92; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 98; 99; 100; 101; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106; 107; 108; 109; 110; 111; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117; 118; 119; 120; 121; 122; 123; 124; 125; 126; 127; 128; 129