lf.

XXIII.

When Fred had first entered the mill his attention was arrested by Jack
Hickey--a witty, good natured Irishman. He was a quaint character, full
of fun and humor. His employment was washing and scouring wool and
shoddy--not a very genteel labor, for it was wet and dirty work, as well
as tiresome. However, Jack received for such service $1.75 per day, and
this made him happier than a $10,000 salary makes many a bank president.

Hickey was called by the boys the "Jolly Scourer"--not a bad appellation
for him either. His tub and rinser were near the flockers. Fred could
see and hear him while at his own work, and this furnished our young
friend much amusement; for whenever Jack had pitched the wool about in
the strong suds and was waiting for the action of steam upon it, he
usually filled in the time by singing bits of original rhyme and by clog
dancing.

His rhymes were as queer as himself, while his dancing was equally
peculiar. He had been persistent in the practice of the latter art, no
doubt; in fact, there was decided evidence of this, for in spite of the
clumsy cowhides that he wore, his right foot showed much careful
training. It was full of music and always on time. It could tap the
floor with the ease and skill with which a practised drummer beats the
resonant diaphragm. Moreover, it seemed to know all the steps of a
professional dancer, while his left foot was a thorough clod, so far as
this art went.

It always seemed to go just contrary to the other, and gave the
appearance of attempting something more difficult than it was capable of
performing. Indeed, this was almost the invariable result, as its
accomplishments in this line were so exceedingly few; besides, it was
always out of time, was clumsy and awkward, and was such a foot as is
familiarly described among boys as "belonging to the church."

"It is very queer why there is such a difference in the action of that
man's feet," remarked Fred to himself, with a suppressed titter; "but I
think, after all, the clumsy one is the most natural, and does just
about as I should expect a foot to do when incased in such an amount of
leather and belonging to such a man as Jack. What I don't understand is,
how the other one ever became so gamy."

Fred wondered if Jack was doing all that practice simply for his own
pleasure, or if he was trying to fit himself for an engagement with
some minstrel troupe. If for the latter purpose, there was so