reports from the sanitarium and they are
most discouraging."

"And the children?"

"Oh, they are in excellent hands, both of them well. They never ask for
their mother, however, nor does she ask for them. It is a strange
case--one almost of antagonism. They have shown the strangest lack of
feeling in regard to their mother and she seems really to hate them. I
can hardly blame her because while they are only little children their
callousness is positively diabolical."

Josie permitted herself the slight revenge of sprinkling a little extra
pepper on her master's English mutton chop.

"Very imprudent of me, but I hope he will sneeze his handsome nose
off," she said, giving the pepper box another shake.

She had her wish. His handsome nose didn't exactly come off but it was
not for lack of sneezing.

"Kerchoo! Kerchoo!" he gasped for breath, choking and sneezing at the
same time.

"Heavens, girl!" he finally sputtered. "How much pepper do you usually
put on chops?"

"Mine is fine," ventured his guest.

"Excuse, please," and Josie gave a stiff curtsy. "My foot slipped and I
bane put more pepper than I meant."

His feelings were soothed by a caramel pie. After dinner he came to the
pantry door and called the new maid to him.

"You have done very well, all but over seasoning the chops."

"The chop!" corrected Josie.

"I think you will be able to do the work. I want breakfast at eight.
You must look after my mail carefully. Most of my mail comes to my
residence. I shall expect you to do the marketing and not bother me
with details of housekeeping. Do you need any assistance with the
cleaning? I fancy everything is pretty dirty."

"Filthy!" ejaculated Josie, "but I bane strong."

"All right! You understand about looking after my mail carefully, do
you not?"

"Yah! I yoost put it on the desk. I bane take care."

How much care she did not think it advisable to tell him, but his mail
was one of the things to which Josie was determined to give much
attention.

CHAPTER XIII
A NEW BROOM SWEEPS CLEAN

Being an innately honest person it went sorely against the grain with
Josie to pry into anybody's private mail, even though he be an
arch-villain who was doing his best to keep two poor little children
out of their heritage.

"He is so handsome I don't see how he can be really wicked," she mused
as she endeavored to get order out of the chaos that reigned in the
kitchen. Josie had determined to clean up