Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-12-18

Fl
vsAA q Wy; s;:s: e II :i Il ~:
woman's anx-
7A - ious eyes looked
~ q r. deprec atingly
- - u into the hus-
bands face.
wv A< "What is it,
H1Lt1\~ Mary?" his tone was
NfR. ~ 4 gentle, with an under
FhULlLTX current of sadness
NlLMTi ~ and dependency in
lMT E%"it. Christmas comes
tomorrow, Lionel" She
did not look in his face
now, but closely scrutinized the frayed
button as If it were the absorbing
object of her thoughts.
az know it, Mary"
"Could-could-you let me have lit
tie money, Lionel? For the children,
you know, dear-we have never let the
day go past without something for them. "
"And we must not now" he said;
''they will never be young but once, poor
things" he took out worn wallet
from his pocket.
IT have looked over all the old things
In search of bits to make over into gar
ments or fancy things for them" she
continued apologetically, "but every
thing is worn so close, Lionel. try to
be frugal and saving" Her eyes were
filed with tears now.
"And you are, Mary. Where would
we have been had it not been for your
careful management? VIII two dol
lars be enough? 1t is all l have
this morning. Heaven knows l
wish could make 1t twenty or hun
dred-there is no limit to the deserts of
the good wife you've been to me, Mary.
Don't cry, dear, it takes all my courage
and strength to see you unhappy"
The faded face was pressed against
the frayed button now in vain at
tempt to hide the hot tears which would
come, and his worn glove, much too
thin for the season, smoothed the thin
gray hair tenderly.
"Then must not cry" she answered,
looking up with forced smile. Eyes,
it will be enough-more than had ex-
pected, but l feel so wicked to ask you
for money when I know you have so
little to spare me-"
Yes, debt was the skeleton which
danced, not only in the closet but all
over the house, in this humble home, and
Mary went back to her work, her face
drawn up thoughtfully as she calculated
Just how many pennies could be spared
for this or that, and balanced the differ
ences between the strictly useful and
the more chiIdlike but less material
gifts. Two dollars after all was such a
little drop in the bucket of necessities,
to say nothing of the ornamental or the
beautiful. 1t was not q debt of careless
ness or of extravaganza, she could scarce
ly have borne the self-reproach and the
shame of it if it had been, but was the
natural result of long years of sickness
and reverse. Lionel Webb in his young
er days had just escaped with his lie
from an attack of spinal meningitis
which had resulted in partial d1sabil-
ity for life. He was very ambitious, and
though obliged to accept work which
had as little of manual labor in it as
possible, still he did it often when
stronger men would have been in bed
with a physician in attendance, did it
in such bodily torture that he hardly re-
allied what he was doing.
Mary had her share of sickness, too;
the anxiety and care attendant on
Lionel's disability was enough to break
a woman of iron, which she was not, and
in addition to it all, three darling chill
dren had sickened and died.
Lionel had secured new situation of
late-he was growing better with years
and could now take up different class
of work, and his present employer was
a man of large wealth, employing many
clerks in his great business.
All this day Lionel worked in a maze
of perplexity and regret. Mary's face,
with the tears on it, was ever before him.
Tonight was Christmas eve, and all day
long a procession of richly dressed
mothers and fathers thronged the store
buying, buying, from full purses, while
Mary, his true, faithful wife, whose
seventeen years Of married life had been
one long struggle with toll and care, had
only pitiful two dollars with which to
do her Christmas shopping, and 1t
grieved him to the very hearts core.
The rush was ever now, and in a half
hour more the great esta blishment
would be closed, when an errand boy
touched his arm. 'Air. Dale would like
to see you in the private Office, sir" he
said respectfully.
Lionels heart sank in his bosom like
lead Could it be that in addition to his
other misfortunss he was going to lose
bis situation? This engsgementhad
been provisionary. and his employer had
MADE no sign as to whether his service
was acceptable. He crawIed rather
than walked to the Office in his
nervous dread. for the past had
been so persistently unkind to him
that he was coming to dread the future.
Sit down Sit down, sir" said Mr..
Dale, cheerfully.
Lionel took a seat near the prosper
Gus business man. who noticed, as he
olo so, the look of care and detection IN
his employees thin face.
ut has been my custom. sir. for soma
years to make my employees a little
present on Christmas eve" he proceed
ed genially, as he took a bill from his
desk drawer and laid it in Lionel-s
hand i presume you can find use
Tor 1t; or If you can not, no doubt the
good wife can, chr
Lionel looked at the bill in dumb as
constituent; if an angel had come in and