The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-12-20
THE RED LIGHT.
story of New Years Eve.

story of New Years Eve.
1t was New Years Eve.
Not one of the ideal New Year Ewes
of poets and romance writer's, wherein
he moon is always at the full, the snow
always sparkle, like pulverized dia-
monds, and the air always still and cold
and clear; but stormy twilight, with
the snow driving steadily from the east,
the wind raw and biting, and the sky
what you could see of it-as black as
nix.
But it was New Years Eve, all the
same, and Bertha Hooper S cheeks were
as red as the bitter-sweet berries in the
woods, as she sat, all wrapped up, in
he train that was steaming northward,
on her way to spend New Year with her
Aunt Almira Higgins.
New Year in the country! To Bertha,
who had lived all her life in the brick
walls and stone pavements of city,
he very words seemed to convey some
what of cheer and joyousness. And
Bertha, as she sat with her eyes closed,
and her little gloved hands safely
nestled in a gray-squirrel muff, beheld,
n her minds eye, great fires of logs
roaring up wide-throated chimneys,
and had half composed a poem on New
Year and its associations when the ruth
less conductor came along for her ticket.
''How far are we from Montcourt
Station?' she inquired, as she gave up
the bit of pasteboard.
"Next but one, miss said the man,
as he hurried on, with his lantern under
his arm. 'sHalf an hour YETI
She had never been so far New York
in all her life before. The driving rain
in which she had left her home had
changed, as they progressed northward,
into the steady fall of snow, which flut-
tered around them like white waving
shroud. But Bertha Hooper cared lit
tie for this. Had not Aunt Almira
promised to send Zebedee, her youngest
son, to the station with the pony to
meet her on the arrival of the sixtv-four
train from New York; And was not
Zebedee to have lantern with red
glass door to it, SO that she could iden-
tify him at oncep
She was very pretty as she sat there
in her little black velvet toque, with
its curling plume of cardinal red. and
the wine-red ribbon bow at her throat
with the bloom and freshness
of eighteen. She was dark, with large
hazel eyes, almond-shaped and long,
shaped, clear rosy bloom on either
cheek, and wavy dark hair hanging in
silken fringe over her broad, low fore
head.
"Mont-court-sta-tione' bawled
the brakeman, putting in snow
powdered fur cap, and withdrawing it
again as quickly as if he had been q
edition of the Jack-in-a-
box, wherein children much rejoice at
holiday time. And Bertha Hooper
knew that she had reached her destina- |
ton.
Stiff and cramped for the length of |
lime in which she had been sitting in |
Dne position, she rose up, with a little |
steel-clasped traveling-bag in one hand,
and dainty silk umbrella in the other,
and made her way to the door.
All she could see when. she stepped
'ut upon the wet and slippery platform,
vas blur of driving snow, through
which the lights of the solitary little
country depot CLEANED titfully; but the
lext instant something flashed athwart
Ter vision like friendly red eye-and
'eneath the reflection over the station
l0or, she saw tall, fine-looking young
nan, in q fur-trimmed overcoat. seal
kin cap set jauntily on one side of
rop of chestnut curls, and red-light-
d lantern swinging from his left hand,
nd he stood straining bis eyes into
he stormy darkness, as if to catch
ight Of some familiar face in the little
rowd.
Cousin Zebedcet' cried Bertha,
loud, and she made one spring into
le arms of this blonde-whiskered :
oung giant. For had not she and
ebedee played domlnoes and fox and
sese together in the days when she
ore blue ribbon sashes, and his hair !
as a tlosely-shorn mat Of carroty red ?
Oh! Cousin Zebedee. I'm so glad to .
e you; and hadn' any idea you had
own half so handsomer' ID
And she gave him great hug, at the J