The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-12-18

pied by the Colgrove children in seeing
how near they dared go to the disabled
coach. They would not, by any posi-
bility, get opposite either end of it, for
fear the thing would start and run them
down; but in the course of two or three
days they became more daring. At
last, noticing that the train went past
each day, with another car in place of
it, and that their own invariably re-
sisted the temptation of jumping up
and Joining the procession, they ven
tured nearer and nearer; and, no locks
being upon the door, they finally WIS.,
tied the interior, in a body ;-having
taken with them enough provisions for
one meal, in case they were carried
away init.
Although it would be called very
crude piece of rolliDg-stock by the pres
emit generation, the little coach was
fairy palace to the Colgrove children.
They used it for all sorts of things;
their car, their fairy chariot, their uni
versity, their mansion. They decorated
1t with all the pictures they could fud
or make; they logged as many books
out of the chest as they could smuggle
there, and started small, quantity
arranged library. AS cold weather
came on, they gathered wood and built
a fire in the small stove at one end of
the establishment, and so kept warm
and cozy. Their nervous mother con-
sidered the car as god. send, since it
gave her some peace in the house, aud
let them do about as they liked in re-
gard to it Their father was still away,
doing evangelistic work among wood
men on the outskirts of the Detroit
Conference.
One afternoon the Colgrove children
had got temporarily tired of working
the different possibilities of the car,
and had been silent for full ten min-
utes. Then little Boadicea looked up
and said: " | hev just thought of some
thing. This car is an ans'er."
The children all knew what Gan
ans'er" was, but waited to see how the
car could be called one.
"Well, it come right after we'd been
a-prayin' for frame house fur to re-
ceive Santa Claus in" said the little
girl. at was that very day an hour.
An that's JUS what this s."
1t fell upon the children with the full
force of a revelations; and from that
minute they went to work to adapt the
place to his reception. They studied
all his idiOsyncrasies, as far as they
could get at them, from what they re.
mem bered and wrung out of their
mother. They hung wreatbs for him,
of some wild evergreen pines they
found in the vicinity; they traced
Welcome S anita Claus " in rude wood
land letters; and they wrote missive
to be posted in a conspicuous pace, in
wiling him, after he had got through
with his nights work, to come back
and stay two or three days with them
and rest. " We think you will like u.s."
this strange little missive concluded.
=" We will bring over one of the feather
beds, and you can sleep here nights"
Everything was ready. 1t was the
morning of the twenty-fourth of Decem.
Der, and they were full of expectation.
Their father, who had hoped to be
home to spend Christmas, was still de-
layed; there was an unusual sun-burst
of divine grace on the outskirts of the
Detroit Circuit, and he hated to leave it
just then. "You won't git much from
Santa Claus this year." sa the fretful
buildin' to let him into.'
But the little flock had done good
deal of praying, during the past few
days, and they were full of faith. All
they lacked now was a chimney big
enough for him 10 come down; they
knew he could never get through the
stove pipe. So it entered their little
heads to enlarge the space around The
pipe in the roof of the car; and they
had just struggled the old wood-pile
axe over to the scene of expectation,
when a locomotive came up beside the
car and stopped.
They had become quite used to seeing
the trains go by, and beyond crouching
away from the windows and k eping
down the fire at such times, 80 as not
to show any smoke, they had relaxed
all precautions. But this was, for the
day, the private locomotive of the SUI
perintendent of the road (superiutend-
ents did not have private cars in those
times); aud great bearded, rough
looking man came in upon them before
they had time to get out of the way.
The Colgrove children were pretty
middling we'll frightened
An what are you a-doin here in our
carp" were the first words they heard
"Usin' it for a resde nee, eh? A pretty
litter you've made around here. Do
you want to all 90 to jazz"
Little Boadicea was fairly frightened
into bravery. She inaudibly for a
second joined herself in prayer, as she
afterwards described it, and gave him
the whole story, before he had time to
say another word. He took one more
glance around the car, and went out of
the door on the platform.
Raymond" he yelled to man who
was oiling the engine, L" for heavens
sake come here an see this lay. out"
The two men stood in silence and
looked things over for minute; then
the superintendent stepped little
nearer to the young invaders, and said 4,
in softer voice:
81 lost two little fellows about your
size year ago. wish they could be
here to help you prepare for Santa
Claus; but they've forgot all about him."