Luther Register. (Luther, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, December 29, 1922 Page: 3 of 8
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THE LUTHER REGISTER
The Case and The Girl
INTO A TRAP
SYNOPSIS—Answering an adver-
tisement calling for a young man
willing to engage In service of dan-
ger. Matthew West, ex-service man
Just returned from France, where
he had been captain of engineers,
meets Natalie Coolidge, writer of
the advertisement, and without be-
ing instructed us to his probable
duties. Is engaged by her. and that
same evening Introduced to her
friends as her fiance. That night.
In the Coolidge home, West Is star-
tl#d by the appearance In his room
of a young woman, whom he takes
to lie Natalie. Next morning Na-
talie tells West she has been trou-
bled by some woman, apparently
her double,* who has been Imper-
sonating her Perdval Coolidge,
Natalie's uncle and guardian. Is
disgruntled by West’s appearance
as Natalie's tlance. Natalie. Cool-
Ulge and West plun a visit of char-
ity. Leaving West In the car, Na-
talie and Coolidge enter a small
cottage. Before they return, West
secures Information which leads
him to believe Coolidge Is deceiving
Natalie for a purpose. Natalie In-
forms West she has been mistaken
In her suspicions and that she has
no further need for his services.
West is astounded, but leaves. On
his way out of the grounds, West
hears a revolver shot, and finds
Perdval Coolidge dead, apparently
a suicide. In the city West is vis-
ited by Sexton, an old servant of
the Coolldges. Sexton tells him he
has been abruptly dismissed, for
no apparent reason. lie thinks
Coolidge was murdered.
CHAPTER VII—Continued.
— 6—
“Where was it the three of you
went on Sunday in the runabout, Cap-
tain West?" asked Sexton.
"To ii house over In the factory dis-
trict ; some charity case that Coolidge
was Interested In—the widow of one
of Ills employees, I believe.
“Did you see the people?”
“No, I didn’t go in; walled outside
in tlie enr; it was no affair of mine.
Why?" lie asked in surprise.
"Be<’ause, sir. Miss Natalie seemed
like a different person when she got
hack. Not in looks, or notlilng like
that, I don't mean, but in the way
she talked and acted. Nothing suited
her all ttie rest of the day. You
know how she was to you, sir. Weil
she was Just that snappy with all of
us, even after we brought the body
hack to the house. And she wouldn't
look at him, sir. not even after lie wus
dressed proper and laid out.”
"I hardly believe,” said West
thoughtfully, “you can attribute her
sta*e of mind to anything that oc-
curred on that trip. Indeed she was In
high spirits all the way home.”
"I can’t help that, sir,” Sexton in-
sisted blindly. "It was something that
happened yesterday vvliut set her
wrong, an' if 1 was you, sir, I'd find
out what happened In that house lirst
of all. Could you find the place?"
"Yes, 1 think so. I’ll look it up, al-
though I don't have much faith in your
theory.” He glanced at Ills watch. “I'll
go out there now. You come buck here
about five, uud we will talk over any
discoveries I may make."
"And what shall I do, sir?”
Both were standing, West with bund
on the knob of the door. The light in
his eyes hardened.
"Nothing occurs to me now, Sexton,
unless you can find an excuse to return
to Fuirlnwc, after something you have
forgotten, let us say. If we can learn
what Miss Natalie proposes doing it
might turnish a clue.”
"Very well, sir, and I am to he here
at five o’clock?"
"Yea, at five; I will leave word with
the doorman to show you in at once."
West picked up ii taxi cab for the
trip, bidding the chauffeur to drive to u
certain section of the city, and then
up and down the various streets un-
til told to stop. Ills conversation with
Sexton hud greatly strengthened his
conviction that this was a murder,
and lie lutd determined to ferret out
the truth if possible. Yet, thus mi
there was nothing to build upon, no
clue, no motive, no suspicion as to
who had perpetrated the deed. He
simply faced a blank wall, in which no
entrance wus apparent, yet there-must
lie one, if he was only fortunate
enough to stumble upon It. Deep down
in his heart West was conscious that
he possessed a motive in this search
far more worthy than mere curiosity.
That motive was Natalie Coolidge. He
smiled at the thought, yet confessed
it true. In spite of her curt dismissal.
Ills memory of the girl centered about
those earlier hours of their acquaint-
ance. Something mysterious had oc-
curred to make her change so quickly,
and he was unwilling to condemn her
'before learning the real reason
The chauffeur drove slowly up and
down obscure streets for half an
tiour before West recognized familiar
surroundings, and motioned for him
to draw up against tin* curb. He
liad ill? overed the place sought, hut
from the street it exhibited no signs
qt occupancy, nor did any knocking at
the f. ant door bring response from
wlihin. lie circled the building. Every
door was locked, lull, as lie passed
along the other side to regain the taxi.
L man emerged from I lie next house,
and tin! him.
"Say. whwt’re yer snoopin’ round
there lor? Bookin’ for somebody?"
“Yes, Hie parties who were here
Sunday. What's hecnm* of them?"
"Hobart, you mean?"
"Is that his name? 1 met him down-
town, and lie told me to come here,"
West explained rapidlv "We had a I
deal on."
"Oh. yer did. hey." leaning Ills arms!
on the fence "Well, Jim llolnirt was
the. name he glv’ me. Thai's my house,
which is why I happen to know what ;
Ills name was. Something queer about |
that fellar. I reckon, hut fain't none
o’ my business. You ain't a delec- j
tlve, or nothin' like that, are yer?"
"Nothing at all like lluil," West
laughed, although Interested. "Why?!
ldd you think the police might la*,
after him?"
"Not for anything I know about
only he skipped out mighty sudden.
Paid me a umnih's rent, and only
st ay ml there three days That locks
sorter qu.-vr Then Sunday that tellur
By Randall Parrish
Copyriqhl \|1S by Aljrtd A. Knopf. In*.
what committed suicide out south—I
read ubout It In the papers—came to
see him in a car. I got a hoy workin' In
his factory, that’s how I mine to know
who the guy whs. The next night
Hobart, an’ them with him, Just nutur-
ully skipped out.”
"Who did he have with him here—a
family?”
"A woman 'bout his age, I should
say, an’ a younger one. 1 didn’t see
’em only from the window; didn’t get
no sight o’ the girl’s face at all, hut
could tell the way she walked she
was young. They didn't have nothin'
with ’em; that’s all iu> stuff in the.
house there.”
Feeling the uselessness of trying t?»
learn anything more, West thanked
him, and returned to the taxi.
"Back to the club," he ordered brief-
ly, and settled Into his seat to think.
The Information thus gained had
been small enough, yet sufficient to
stimulate his belief that he was at
least upon the right trail. The sudden
departure of this man Hobart, and the
fact that no young children were In
the family, were important Items to
consider. Coolidge, then, had not
visited this cottage to aid a widow
and orphans. There had been some
other object in his call. The girl must
have known and understood the real
purpose; that was why they both ac-
quiesced so readily to his remaining
outside in the car. It was part of
their mutual plan to thus leave him
In Ignorance. Yet they had made a
mistake in taking him along at all.
This error alone gave him now an op-
portunity to unravel the riddle. But
did It? What did he know?' Merely
that Coolidge had not gone to this
house on an errand of charity; that
the occupant called himself, tem-
porarily, perhaps, Jim Hobart; that
his family consisted of two women,
undescrlhed except as to age; and
that all three had mysteriously dis-
appeared together. He might take ii
for granted that this disappearance
was caused by the death of Coolidge.
hut they hud left no trail, no inkling
us to where they had gone. He might
suspect this sudden vanishing had di-
rect connection with the crime he was
endeavoring to solve, but he pos-
sessed absolutely no proof, and, ap-
parently, any further movement on
his part was completely blocked.
More puzzled than ever, although
now fully convinced that murder had
been committed. West could do nothing
but wait the reappearance of Sexton.
The latter arrived promptly on time,
and West told his story. His listener
seemed to sense the situation clearly.
"It wasn’t no mistake, your gain’
out there, sir." he said confidently.
"What we know now gives us some
thing to work on anyhow, an’ it’s Just
what I thought—that trip Sunday led
up-to this killin', an’ something hap-
pened while they was in there to stir
Miss Natalie all up. Now we got to
find this fellow—what did you say his
name was. sir?’’
"Hobart—Jim Hobart; that Is, he
was known by that name there."
"And did you say he has simply
dropped out o' sight?”
"That’s true; never left a "clue be-‘
hind him.”
"Well, sir. I’m not quite so sure
about that. You listen to me. sir
This afternoon I walked out to Fair
lawn from the ear line, an’ come in
across the fields to the house. I didn't
have no good excuse for goln’ back
there, sir, an’ was sorter afraid to
meet up with Miss Natalie. She might
have thought I was Just spyin' ’round.
But I didn’t have no need for being
afraid, for It seems slic’d driven Into
town about noon, an' hadn’t got hack
There wasn’t nobody but the servant
around the place, sir. Do you remem-
ber Lizzie, the second maid—sorter
full face, an’ light hair?’’
West nodded, wondering what all
(Ids might be leading to.
"Well, she an' I always hit It off
together, an' id liked with her quite a
bit. She told mV sir. that Miss Natalie
had a telephone call this morning that
took her Info the city. Lizzie sip*
went to the 'phone when it rang, an'
It was a man's voice. He wouldn't
leave no message, hut Insisted on
speaking to Miss Natalie. Lizize had
to call her down from upstairs.”
“Did the girl overhear the conversa-
tion?”
"Not so as to make much out of it.
sir. She was sorter interested, the
man’s voice being strange, and hung
around in tlie hall listening, hut about
all she could make out was whut Miss
Natalie said It seemed like he was
glvln' her some kind of address, which
she didn't exactly understand, an' |
so she repeated It after him two or
three times to he sun*.”
"What watf the address?"
"22W Bay street, sir. an' then about
an hour later. Miss Natalie ordered I
her ear. an’ drove into town."
“Alone?”
"Yes. rir; It wn tile eleetrie she
took."
West remained client, tapping with |
his knife on the table. This might |
prove important, and he could not yf- j
ford to ignore the Information. While
to his mind it was hardly likely Ho
hart had called the girl, yet the pos
nihility remained
"I never heard of a Bay street." lie
said at length, “hut of course, tli re
may he one Oh. Charlie." he stopped
a waiter passing. "Bring me up a dtv
dlrcrfnry. will you?”
The man returned with the hook
placing It on n chair next West who
Immediately began to inspect the voi
ume
"Bay street.” he said doubtfully,
fingering the paces. "There is no smh
street here Sexton Are you sure you
got that right?”
"That's what sin* said, sir; I mad'*
her say It over twice."
"Bnv Street; wonder If If could In-
spelled with a W? By Jove, It Is-
Wray’ Here we hn\e It, only fl\*■
Plnrks lung extending from t’onwav
to Grogan Bather lough section I I
should Judge. It wouldn't do any
harm to take a look around there. Per-
haps that Is where Hobart went; he
might have been the one colling Na-
talie. Bather a wild guess, but It will
ghe us something to do. Are you
game. Sexton?”
"Quite so. sir.”
West hardly took the adventure serl
ously, being more influenced by curi-
osity than any other motive, but Sex-
ton was deeply In earnest, In full faith
they were upon the right trail. Doubt-
ful as lie was. West had neglected no
precautions. The map assured him
that they were invading a disorderly
section of the city, where to be well-
dressed would only Invite suspicion,
and might lead to trouble. To avoid
this possibility, he bad donned his
most shabby suit, ami wore a cap
largely concealing Ids face. In one
pocket of his Jacket within easy reach
lay hidden his service revolver loaded,
and he had induced Sexton to accept
a smaller weapon in case of emergency.
The street was not inviting, the
saloon on the corner being Hanked by
several small factories. The brick
sidewalk was In bad condition, and lit-
tered with junk of all kinds, while the
roadway was entirely uncured for,
and deeply rutted from heavy traffic
Half way down the block was a tan-
nery, closed now for the night, but
with Its odor yet permeating the en-
tire atmosphere. Altogether, the
scone was desolate and disagreeable
enough, but the street was deserted
of pedestrians, the factory doors
tightly closed for the night.
The two men pressed their way
through along a narrow passage,
finding less obstruction as they ad-
vanced, the second block being com-
posed entirely of houses, largely of
the tenement type, and apparently
principally populated by children.
Wray street was lined with homes,
usually humble enough outwardly, yet
the thoroughfare was clean, and the
small yards bad generally an ap-
pearance of neatness; 2,*18 was a
three-story brick, on the corner,
the second story evidently utilized for
living purposes, and the ground floor
occupied as a saloon. The upper story
exhibited no signs of occupancy, the
windows unwashed, and two of them
boarded up. The two lingered In un-
certainty opposite the house. Standing
there Idly, however, did not appeal
to West.
"Well, let’s go o.er," he so hi Im-
patiently. "There is nothing to be
learned here.”
It 'was an ordinary bar-room and,
their entrance apparently aroused no
special interest. Besides the man be-
"Well, What Is It You Fellers Want?”
hind the bar, a rather rough-looking
foreigner, a Bole, in West’s Judgment,
three customers were Ir. the place,
two with feet upon flic rail talking
with the drink dispenser, and. one at a
small table moodily contemplating a
half emptied stein of beer. Then* were |
three other tables in the room, and tlit* j
captain, with a swift glance about,
drew out ik chair and sal down. Ids 1
action being Imitated by Sexton. The i
bartender came forward around (lie
end of the bar. while ilio man nearest
shifted his position slightly so us to
look them over, conversation instantly
ceasing. Something indefinable in the
fellow's uttilude. and steady stare,
gave West u feeling of hostility, which
was not dispelled by the gruff greeting
of the bartender.
“Well, what Is it you fellers want?"
"A stein apiece, and a sandwich—
j you serve them, don’t you?”
"Sure; ham or beef?"
“Ham.”
There was no cordiality, no wclcoim-
State Needs No Outside Aid to Sup-
port In Comfort People
Within Its Borders.
j If Montana were walled in and cut
off from the world she could support
herself, declares the National Editors
j Argus Her half million people would
lack none of the necessities, ami but
I few of the luxuries of life
i For food, site grows all the grains,
fruits and vegetables of the north
temperate z« ne; her cattle, sheep
I-wine and poultry number millions;
I tier wilds abound with game, her wn-
I ters teem with fish
For. clothing there's wool from
-.000.000 sheep, linen from fiOO.OOO
; acres of Max. leather from 700.000
horse hides and pelts from 20 kinds
j of fur-bearing animals.
For shelter there's lumber from 30-
>00.000 acres of forests, limestone and
In either mnnner or speech. It was
plainly the proprietor of the saloon
felt no enthusiasm over his unknown
customers. He came hack with the
beer and sandwiches, pausing this
time to wipe off the table, as an ex-
cuse for speech.
“You guys live 'round here?" be
asked gruffly, “Don’t remember ever
seeln’ yer in here before."
"No,” returned West Indifferently,
looking directly Into the hard face.
“I’m a smoke Inspector, an’ we Just
dropped in on our way back to the
offee. Why?"
“Oh, nothin'; only we don't get
much trade outside the neighborhood.”
He walked back toward the bar.
pausing an Instant to whisper a word
to the taller man who still stood these
staring moodily at the table. Wlmt
he KNid apparently determined action,
for the fellow uddressed crossed the
room to where West and Sexton sat,
deliberately pulled up a vacant chair
and Joined them.
"Bring me another, Mike,” he or-
dered. “That Is. If these gents don’t
object to my joining ’em awhile.”
CHAPTER VIII
Trapped.
West smiled pleasantly, glad the
man had taken the Initiative, thus
naturally opening up a way for ask-
ing certain questions. Whatever his
own Immediate object might be in
thus scraping an acquaintance made
no difference. It would doubtless de-
velop in time, but meanwhile here was
the opportunity sought to discuss the
affairs of the neighborhood. Yet the
subject must be approached with due
caution. The very Indifference of the
bartender, coupled with the evident
desire of this banger-on to form an
acquaintance, served to reveal the
real nature of the place. Plainly
enough strangers were viewed with
suspicion, and this was no ordinary
saloon, catering to whatever trade
drifted within Its doors. More than
likely It was rather a thieves' hang-
out, ever suspicious of the activity of
the police.
Yet this fellow bore no outward
semblance to the common conception
of the underworld. He was well
dressed, easy of mnnnei, with an ex-
ceptionally intelligent face, blue eyes
meeting West’s gaze frankly, a care-
fully trimmed mustache, with white
teeth good humoredly showing when
he smiled, and threads of gray In his
hair. Ills very appearance Invited
confidence and comradeship, while his
outspoken words Increased this Im-
pression.
“Excuse my hutting In," he ex-
plained genially. “But It’s d—n dull
around here tonight. Nobody to talk
with hut a couple o’ bums. You see
I don’t belong around here; Just
dropped In for a bit of business with
Mike.”
"I see.” admitted West, puzzled,
and wondering how far he dared ven-
ture. "You can get lonelier In a big
city than anywhere else.”
“You bet you can. You see I run n
broker’s office down town, an’ It’s
pretty blame slow around a dump like
this—you get me?"
"Sure; this seems to be a pretty
quiet place."
"Quiet! II—1! It isn’t always so quiet.
I’ve dropped In here when It was live-
ly enough, believe me. But tonight It’s
the limit. Fact Is I come up for u lit- 1
tie excitement, as much as anything j
else, but must have struck an off |
night. You’re a smoke Inspector, Mike
says?”
West nodded.
"Know Fred Karvan. I suppose?"
"Oh, yes; friend of yours?"
“Used to he: we were kids together
down on tlie South side, lie’s got a
pretty soft Job now; stands In strong
with the City hall, they tell me. Mean
to drop In and see him some of these
days."
"You’ll find him a mighty good fel-
low," asserted West, to whom the
name was entirely unfamiliar.
"Well. I’m not so sure about that
He’s got pretty stiff the last few years!
they tell me. But then you work un-
der Idm. and ought to know. Head of
your department. Isn’t he?"
"Yes. but I only meet him In a busi-
ness way, of course.”
"And the ex-so!dier went down
as though hit with a pole-ax.”
(TO IIK CONTINUED.)
Business Woman.
My father, an old doctor, has had
many strange experiences In his <*n
leer. I have often heard him tell this
one: He had been called to sec a
man who had been severely hurt in a
runaway. After examining the pa-
tient’s Injured Hmh. lie was summoned
into the next room by the patient’s
wife. She wished to Inquire of tin*
doctor which would lie cheaper_to
set the leg or amputate!—Chicago
Journal.
shale for cement. cla.\ for hrlek and i
tile and gran te, sandstone and marble I
and all necessary ores from copper j
and zinc for brnss to Iron and •
manganese for steel.
For fuel, her
coal mines, natural
gas and oil dep<
•sits are of undeter
mined richness
to Industry her
streams offer 2.7
lit 000 horsepower for
hydro-electrlc cm
•rgy.
For luxuries.
her resources range
from gold, silvt
t tint’ sapphires to
bees for honey, sugar beets for candv
phosphate for mat'lies or fertilizer
ami tungsten for incandescent lumps.
Pectin and Gelatin.
Pectin Is of vegetable origin, and
is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. Gelatin Is of animal origin
and contains nitrogen In addition to
the elements found In pectin.
MONTANA TRULY WORLD IN ITSELF
eave:
• '*«t vmttN Ntvvtm union
"And there were shepherds abid-
ng in the field, keeping watch over
(heir flock by night, and lo. the
mg el of the Lord came upon them,
md the glory of the Lord shone
round about them; and they were
iore afraid.
"And the angel of the Lord said
j unto them, Fear not, for, behold,
l bring you good tidings of great
i ioy, which shall be to all people.
! For unto you is born this day in the
I “tty of David a Saviour, which is
I Christ the Lord.
“And suddenly there was u'ith the
ingel a multitude of the heavenly
1wst. praising God and saying: Glory
to God in (he highest, and on earth
veace, good will toward men."
ND so, down through two
thousand years heavenly
messengers have been going
to and fro In the earth, car-
rying good tidings of great
Joy; sometimes, of course,
there are messages of sor-
row, but In the Christmas
I time, the messages are messages that
j carry comfort and gladness—that
l bring peace and good will. But
j there are heavenly messengers who
j are always speeding somewhere, not
| only at Christmas time, but all the
time, for that matter—and so this story
i has to do only with the small, red-
cheeked boys of the postotflee “Special
Delivery” service, who go and come
far Into the night on Christinas Eve.
Darkness had fallen und shifting
crowds of people hurried, good-
I naturedly, through the packed shop-
ping district of a large Western city,
i»n one of tin* Great Lakes. The crowd
(lowed like a human river with cur*
A House Loomed Up Before Him
rents eddying off into the side streets
and alleys
In the stores could be heard the
crisp wrapping of paper, the continu-
ous blare iff horns, and tinkling of toy
pianos, and weary shop girls serving
patrons equally weary. Outside was
wind and snow, and jostling people
loaded down with bales and bundles
of Christmas purchases.
In the post office the wheels were
turning fast, while a steady stream of
letters and packages poured in through
tin* mailing-eludes, on every hand.
Clerks at tin* various windows were
busy handing out stamps, weighing
bundles and making change.
in the center of the room n man was
pushing a long, horizontal row of let-
ters along a table Into a cancelling i
maeldne; three others were sfondilv j
pounding packages with a rubber !
stamp. Still another man. nervous and i
working under pressure, stood Just
vlthin a horseshoe railing of iron I
pipe, on which hung canvas mail socks. !
With swift, trained hands In* tossed j
letters and packages, from his central i
position in the horseshoe, Into the I
open mall sacks, with unerring eer- i
tainfy.
Suddenly scooping up n small hand
fill of letters, a clerk called out.
‘Special!’’ A small boy arose from a i
’die of mail sacks with a Jump. Bub !
Hog the sleep out of Ids eyes, he went J
across the room and entered the ml
tresses of the "specials" in his hook. |
“Gee. hut my feet hurt." he confided I
•o one of the clerks. It was an »ft-re- !
pented story to the clerk toil he I
sad the sidewalks worn and broken. It
was ths negro quarters, where broken
window panes were stuffed with old
rugs and the window curtains were of
paper, dirty musllu or pieces of faded
red tablecloth.
The Heavenly Messenger plodded
down a side street, stamping his feet
to keep the snow from caking on his
shoes. He came out of the dark under
the rustllug trees, whose Ice-covered
limbs creuked and crackled In the wind
dolefully, past on electric light,
dimmed by millions of swirling white
flakes, then into the dark again.
Suddenly u bouse loomed up before
him that seemed to be settling Into the
snow like u ship on the brink of
foundering. Even us the Christinas
Angel lit the first match, shielding It
from the wind, and holding It close to
see the house number, the door was
opened. He had been expected. An
old negro man bowed him In. Ills face
was sad and wrinkled, und bis hair
the color of wood ushes. He wore
enormous carpet slippers and a check-
ered shirt, open at the neck, showed
underwear of course red fiannel.
"We-ull been 'spectin' you. eah!"
he quavered. “HI gran'chil’ sick In
Chicago hospital. Ellenl Ellen!” he
called, shrilly.
A slow, heuvy movement In the room
beyond, uml a stout “mammy" came
Into view, breathing heavily as her
weight threw her slightly from side to
side, us she wulked.
"Do lettab come?" asked the old
woman, haltingly. She rubbed her eyes
and blinked for n full minute before
she could see the writing. Woman-
like, she turned the pages und read
the last paragraph first.
"Its from do nurse,” she announced.
"Praise de Lord, de chile am safe an’
soun'; out oh nil dangnh, It say! Now
It suali will be Christmas Joy wlf us.”
Although he could not write, the old
negro man proudly touched the pencil
as his name was written In the boy’s
receipt book. Quite Warm, now, and
minus one of his glnd tidings, the
Heavenly Messenger departed Into the
falling snow, which soon swallowed
him up, and then quickly covered over
Ids foot prints, as if In fear be might
be followed, und some barm come to
him.
The next message of glad tidings
was delivered to a stenographer tucked
away In a back room of a rather
dilapidated-looking rooming-house. It
was a letter from home. She knew’ It
would come at the last moment. Yes,
she bad been crying, and It wouldn't
have been like Christmas at all, had
It not been for the Christinas mes-
senger.
"I’m so tired of the office grind,’’ she
confided, more to herself, than to the
boy. “I'vq written ‘Dear Sir’ u hun-
dred und fifty thousand times this
week, I'm sure."
Then she straightened Ills necktie,
pntted him on tin* head, and the angel
trudged down stuirs and out into the
night again.
Next cume a letter for the head of
a family In a magnificent home—
where the Hwvenly Messenger passed
a relay of servants before reaching
the person named in the address. That
worthy held the portieres aside and
stepped forth in evening dress—ii seri-
ous man. with gray*hair He signed
for the letter, then looked at the
Christinas Messenger, Inquiringly.
"Come in here son," lie directed, and
led the boy Into the library. The room
wus a confusion of dazzling women
and holiday decorations. An ever-
green tree that reaehed almost to the
celling was loaded with toys and
Christmas presents of every color and
kind, while other parcels and pack-
ages were heaped on the floor, at the
foot of the tree
"A little girl," the man was saying,
"our daughter, an only child; she
seems discontented-—nothing makes
her happy. Now. Just suppose you
were she; do you think she will like
all this?" And all I lie women listened
eagerly to hear what the hoy would
sa y.
"I would, tint maybe—well, there's
too much of this”—pointing to tin*
gaudy toys "1 remember my baby
sister got a lot of fine toys when clad
was living, and she left them all and
went Into the kitchen to play with
some new tin pans and tilings mother
had Just got from the store.”
The star of the New York Opera :
company dnhla.nl at tier face with n I
rabbit's font A fine Christinas, this, j
she reflected bitterly; snow three feet |
deep, Broadway hundreds of miles j
away and the show going to pieces j
this very night. Ah. rue!
She signed for her special delivery !
letter while the Christmas Angel
stared curiously at the hare walls of I
the dressing-room.
The star gave the messenger a quar j
4topped his hurried work and regard '
ed Hie hoy with kindly eyes as In* said : \
"Lust trip, son; It Is after ten
o'clock now, and If anything should
come In later, we will hold it until
morning. I know how It is. used to
'•nrry I hem myself.”
The hoy went out Into the night, and
made his way towards the outskirts
■rt the town, where there were no street
cars; where the way was often dark.
ter and tie passisl on tils way.
"You will find him In room three-
forty-two," said the night clerk at the j
Commercial hotel And the Christmas !
i Angel found him. ii young athletic !
: traveling man lie was just unpacking |
his grips and the very first tiling he
} took out was n picture In n silver !
! frame The Angel studied llils picture
as the traveling man looked at his
I "special."
CHILDREN HAVING FUN WITH SANTA CLAUS
No
OJV
v
h
V
“I've seen that lady before," volow*
teered the Heavenly Messenger.
"Whut?*’ shouted the traveling man*
“Where Is she?"
“I Just took U letter to her over at
the opera house,” explained the boy.
"She’a u lady In a show."
“And I’ve looked for her for nineteen
months,” said the traveling man
slowly. “How strange that 1 should
find her on Christ mas Eve. It Is sum
t tie 'glad tidings’ they tell us about**
And the next moment he had his coat
and hut on. and was rushing for the
elovutor, on his way to the opera house
and the girl he hnd sought unuvulllag-
ly for nineteen months.
The Heavenly Messenger whistled
softly as he plodded through Hi** drift-
ed snow uud pulled the knob which
caused u hell to ring In the Interior
of nil old-fashioned house. Light
shone from the frost-eon ted window*
of the front room, though It wus ngvr
far past midnight. An old gentleman
cume to the door and pulled the Angel
Into the room abreast of a strong gust
of wind and ii blinding flurry of snow.
J "Muke yourself right ut home, my
little friend," lie insisted warmly.
1 "Take that chair up close to the fire,
i Emily! Emily! here's a letter from
the British consul in New York. What?
ns I live. Charles Is safe. He was
; shipwrecked off the coast of France,
hut he is not seriously injured und la
j on his way home.”
j The motherly woman who had come
Into the room cried a little over the
| news from her son, hut she did not for-
get to turn to the hearer of the good
tidings and say: “Boor hoy. It Is a
hud night for such u little fellow to he
out. An* your feet wet? Take your
shoes off and we will dry them."
More warmth came from the old
gentleman than came from the fire-
place, as he pictured to the hoy Christ-
mas time In England. The wife brought
a plate of cookies shaped like animal*
and covered with pink und white
frosting.
"Merry Christmas" she called soft-
ly, holding u lamp high over her head,
us the Christmas Angel slowly tnude
Ids way down the walk, and out Into
j Hu* night. "Glff my luff to your ma,”
"I've Seen Tha*. Lady Befere.”
were the parting words the Angel
heard, as he turned the corner of u
street and lost sight of Hie little house
of the kindly German folk.
When the Special Delivery Angel
awakened Christmas morning _ or
rather Christmas noon—his mother,
sitting at Ills bedside, and stroking bin
hair, said to him In a regretful tone,
"I laid planned to have a turkey for
dinner today, hut I could not quite
manage It. You have your father’s
eyes. dear. My, hut he would have
been proud of you!"
"I’d rather have chicken than
turkey," answered the hoy. “The
gravy Ir better."
“Tell me about last night."
"Nothing hut glad tidings, ma.
Everyone seemed to he almost tickled
to death at their mail. I guess folks
don't send any other kind of letters
toil cheerful ones on Christmas Eve."
-
Christmas Trees and Stockings.
Two Christmas practices, both old
and very pretty, that have come down
to us are the Christmas tree and the
hanging up of children's stockings on
Christmas eve. Each provides h wyy
of making gifts, und the way provided
by the stockings Is especially pleasing
to children. Perhaps it Is going out,
but in homes where it Is still followed
there are delighted children o* Christ-
mas morning when the mysteriously-
tilled stockings are examined in some-
thing tike awe blended with great
pleasure. The Christmas tree sur-
vives and no Christmas school .esti-
val Is complete ultho.it one. hrillinnt
with lights and loaded with presents,
presided over bv a merry yet vener-
able Santa Claus
Removing vVater Spot.
Some silks and wools are spotted by
water. A satisfactory method for re-
moving Hiit'li spots is to dampen the
entire material evenly und press It
while still damp Either sponge the
material can folly with clean water
or shake It In the steam from a briskly
I toiling ten kettle until it is thoroughly
damp, then press It.
CHRISTMAS DAY IN ICELAND
Natives Still Cling to Old Customs and
Songs; Day Is One of Great
Happiness.
’CII a strong-winged thing
Is Christmas Cheer that It
has betaken Itself even to
that Isolated Island of the
far north, where Hie short-
est day Is four hours long, and where
at Christmas time the sun does not
rise above the horizon for a week.
duj with the
people of Inland and they still cling
I" all then old < U«t"i:lN HL'd Song* HU<1
the day t » them is • n>- of great hap-
piness.
One of their favorite old songs la
filled with slm; li ry that is touching
and vet gives a glimpse of a philos-
ophy of life that Is pretty fine
When I k<> good find think arli*ht
At | »■ u>- with man, resigned to Ood.
Th'"f lookM on no? with eye* of light.
Tasting new Joys In Joy's abode.
- =«8J||BS*£=-
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Keyes, Chester A. Luther Register. (Luther, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, December 29, 1922, newspaper, December 29, 1922; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc924997/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.