Mr. Mountjoy will end by having a nursery rather than a
mill, but he knows his own business best, I suppose. New hands are not
in my department, however. Mr. James," he called, reopening the office
door and putting his head in again, "here's some work for you."

The "new hand" expected now to have an interview with the awful Mr.
Mountjoy, Miss Etta's father, of whom she had heard so much, but had
never yet seen, and began to tremble a little in anticipation. But,
instead, a rosy-faced, light-haired young man appeared, to whom the
foreman made a slight bow, and then went away. This was Mr. James
Mountjoy, Miss Etta's brother, and the only son of the proprietor of the
mill. Katie had heard her brothers, who were in his Sunday-school class,
talk about him, but had never seen him before.

"Your name, little girl," he said pleasantly, as he ushered her into the
office.

"Katie Robertson, sir. Mr. Sanderson"--

"Oh, I know; Mr. Sanderson recommended you to my father. You look almost
too small to work. Can you do anything?"

"I can cook, and wash dishes, and help mother, and sew; I was in the
first class at school"--

"That is not any of it precisely the kind of work we do here," said the
young gentleman, pleasantly; "but no doubt you are a quick little girl,
and if you are used to doing some kinds of work others will not come so
hard to you. But you must understand in the beginning that work in a
factory is work, not play; work that cannot be laid aside when one is
tired of it, or when one wants to go on an excursion or to do something
else. It is work, too, for which you are to be paid, and it would be
dishonesty not to do it faithfully as in the sight of God. Our rules are
no stricter than they must be for the best good of the work and the
comfort and protection of all, but we _expect_ them to be obeyed. You
will remember that. There must be no playing or whispering in work
hours, and you must always be on time. We want all our work-people to be
happy, and I am sure that the best kind of happiness comes from fidelity
to duty. Can you be a _faithful_ little girl?"

"Yes, sir," said Katie, with a slight blush, though she did not feel at
all afraid of him; "I am trying to please God everywhere, and I am sure
he will help me to do so here."

"I am glad to hear you say that," said the young man, with a smile. "If
every man, woman, and child in this factory were really trusting in God
and trying to please him, we wouldn