"I can do as I am bid," replied Winifred, simply. "If you can, you are a wonderful woman and worth your weight in gold. Come with me, that I may tell you what to do." Paulina grew rapidly worse, and by noon was utterly prostrated. Sir John, coming home to dinner, complained of headache and pains in all his joints; and though he made light of it, and declared that nothing ailed him but his yesterday's dinner, it was plain that the disease was upon him. By night he was unable to rise, and one of the 'prentice lads showed symptoms of coming down. "Only think, Mrs. Evans," said Ashwell, as Winifred came down-stairs to prepare same gruel for her patient, "here have all the servants run away and left us—yes, every maid in the house, and the two men, and the knife-boy that my good lady took out of the very street, as a body may say—all gone but poor black Jack, who has hardly the sense of an ape and cannot talk like a Christian. Yes, every one, the ungrateful hussies, and after all the time I have spent teaching them, and my mistress giving them each a new gown only last quarter! And this new-fangled doctor, with his fancies about fresh air and cool water for Mrs. Paulina, as if any one ever heard of such a thing in a fever!" "Why did not Jack go with the rest?" asked Winifred. "Me not going to run away and leave my kind massa what tooked me out of de ship, gave me good clothes and all, and missus that was always kind to poor Jack," said the negro, answering for himself. "Me stay and wait on my massa! Suppose I do get fever, what then? I got no fader nor moder, no wife, no babies! Suppose Jack die, he buried in the ground; there's an end of poor black man, unless maybe that good Lord Jesus my missus tell me 'bout come some day, and say, 'Get up, Jack, and come 'long with me!'" "Just hear the poor creature!" said Ashwell, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Whoever thought of his having feeling like that? Well, Mrs. Evans, I suppose you will be going to leave us, like the rest?" "No, Ashwell, I have no notion of going at present," replied Winifred, who was, as she well knew, no favorite with the spoiled and jealous old servant. "I am like poor Jack," she added, with a sad smile. "Suppose I do die, there is no one to cry for me. I shall not leave Lady Corbet so long as I can do anything for her." "Mighty fine!" grumbled the old woman. "But who is to do all the work, I should like to know?" "You and I, and poor Jack, and Mrs. Jem and Phyllis—begging their pardon for putting them in such company," replied Winifred, smiling. "As for what cannot be done, we must just leave it undone; and I am sure Jack will help us all he is able." "Yes, dat I will, young missus!" replied Jack, briskly. "Me could cook do dinner as well as dat greasy Jenny Cook," he added, with an injured air, "only Misses Ashwell she never tink Jack know nothing!" "Yes, you look like it!" said Ashwell, and then added, in a softer tone, "I dare say you would do your best."