secretaries
are."

"The person lives in Birmingham," was the guarded reply, "and goes by the
name of Owen."

Miss Jemima felt by instinct that her brother was keeping something back.
She shot at him a keen, swift glance, and then resumed the peeling of the
potato just then in hand, which operation she effected with such extreme
care, that it was a very attenuated strip of peeling which fell curling
from her knife into the brown water in the bowl beneath.

"What is this young man's other name?" she calmly asked.

"Well, now, I don't know," said "Cobbler" Horn, with a shrewd smile.

"Just like you men!" whipped out Miss Jemima, pausing in her work; "but I
suppose, as the minister recommends him, it will be all right."

There was nothing for it now but a straightforward declaration of the
dreadful truth.

"Jemima," said "Cobbler" Horn, "I mustn't mislead you. It's not a young
man at all."

Miss Jemima let fall into the water, with a sudden flop, the potato she
was peeling, and faced her brother, knife in hand, with a look of wild
astonishment in her eyes.

"Not a young man!" she almost shrieked, "What then?"

Her brother's emphasis had been on the word _man_, and not on the word
_young_.

"Well, my dear," he replied, "a young----in fact, a young lady."

Up went Miss Jemima's hands.

"Thomas!"

"Yes, Jemima; such is the minister's suggestion."

Miss Jemima, who had resumed her work, proceeded to dig out the eye of a
potato with unwonted prodigality.

"Mr. Durnford," resumed "Cobbler" Horn, "tells me it is a common thing for
young ladies to be secretaries now-a-days; and he very highly recommended
this one in particular."

Miss Jemima knew, that if her brother's mind was made up, it would be
useless to withstand his will.

"When is she coming?" was all she said.

"I don't know. Mr. Durnford promised to write and ask her to come and see
us first. You shall talk with her yourself, Jemima; and, believe me, if
there is any good reason to object to the arrangement, she shall not be
engaged."

Miss Jemima permitted herself just one other word.

"I am surprised at Mr. Durnford!" she said; and then the matter dropped.

Two days later, in prompt response to the minister's letter, Miss Owen
duly arrived. Mr. Durnford met her at the station, and conducted her to
the house of "Cobbler" Horn. He had sent her, in his letter, all needful
information concerning "Cobbler" Horn, and the circumstances which
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