The sewing was a harder task than it would have been to a girl who had led a less toilsome life. Nell’s hands and arms, roughened and strengthened by much wood-sawing and chopping, digging, and similar tasks, felt the awkwardness of what our great-grandmothers called sewing white seam.
But sewing is a distinctly feminine accomplishment; and as Nell yearned to excel in all womanly occupations, she persevered with needles and cotton until she became an adept at the gentle art.
As the time drew on for Gertrude’s arrival, she found herself looking forward to it with an eager delight, which pushed her personal pain of losing her employment quite into the background. Some work would be sure to turn up for herself sooner or later. Meanwhile she would have the pleasure of seeing Gertrude, and hearing news of the children.
Just a week before the day when Gertrude was to come, Nell got a letter which set her pulses fluttering, and made her dance about her office in sheer joyfulness of heart.
The letter was from headquarters, and offered her the post of telegraph-operator at Camp’s Gulch, at a salary equal to what Gertrude received at Bratley.
She longed to rush over to Mrs. Nichols with the good news, only she could not leave her office. So she hurried off to find her good friend the baggage-clerk, and ask him to go to Mrs. Nichols as soon as he could spare five minutes and say how badly she wanted speech with her.
“No bad news, I hope?” he said, with clumsy kindness; for her face had grown white and strained with the intensity of her hidden emotion.
“It is good news—for me. I will tell you presently, only I want Mrs. Nichols to know first,” she said, turning abruptly away, and walking off to her office again, feeling horribly afraid that she would break down and cry like a baby before his face.
“She’s a queer girl in some things. I’m blessed if ever I saw anyone take good news like that before,” he muttered, as he watched her hasty retreat.
Then, because he was decidedly curious on the subject of Nell’s news, he went over at once to the house where Mrs. Nichols lived, and startled that worthy woman rather considerably by the manner in which he delivered his message.