The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-12-25
Just after breakfast a sleiphload OF

| just after DreakfaSG 8 SlelgnlOaQ d
people passed, their bells jingline
with tempting melody and jinglinf
still till the horses stopped in front o.
the squire's farmhouse, when they
gave way to shoutings of cheer anG
answering shouts of welcome.
"Must be Miller's folks, from Burr
Oaks. said Zeph's wife, as she closed
the door and wondered if her Other
dress was not better than this one.
The boy stood there at the window,
with his chin on the sill, and tried to
regain his dream estate, from which
the daylight had elected him. Present
ly he saw the squire's children coming
down the road with a basket, and he
went out and stood on the steps in the
sunshine. The squire's childfen were
taking turkey to old Mrs. Stevens,
down by the lake. They stopped al
the gate, and he went down to look
at their presents. They each had a
pair of skates and were going to try
them on the lake if tbs lee was good.
But no ice could add to the present
pleasure of ownership. They had
new shoes and silk handkerchief,
with letter in the corner of it, and q
number of candy. horses, and one OF
the girls had a gold finger ring. They
had hung their stockings on q line be
hind the stove, and everything was
filed in the morning.
Little Billy added another view to
his Christmas lore. It was time for
making people happy. He remember.
ed party of children that came down
here in a light wagon when hazlenuts
were ripe and stopped for drink Of
water from the spring, and he found
himself wondering what the day had
brought to these children. sa,.5g
OF course it never occurred to him
to take a personal view Of the matter:
He never imagined himself included
in that wondrous embrace, "For of
such is the kingdom of heaven"
His nose was red. and his hands
were thrust deep in his pockets when
he returned to the house. But he sat
on the chest there by the fireplace and
wondered silently. 4.
= Zeph was greasing his boots and re-
GREETING that he didn't have Oil instead
of tallow. He rather resented the fact
that the house was tidier tha / usual,
that plate of apples was upon the
table, and that his wife was rolling pie
crust and cutting cookies her hair
done up as she used to weari it when he
went q. wooing. He expressed his dis
approval of all this hoky poky and
asked her what she was going to have
for dinner. She said nothing for q
time. She wished he had not asked
her. There was so little, but she had
planned to make it appear as fair as
possible. sgj 4
Across her silence came the bark OF
Dash over there in the woods, and the
hunter instinct in Zeph was reused:
Since no one had asked him to 60
he felt no disinclination to
look for game. So he glanced out of
the window, caught sight of the hound
sitting there in the timber, looking up
for one moment and then turning his
eyes to the house, barking occasionally
the short, emphatic statement that he
had found asquirrel. FEt
4 Billy was in great glee. His mother
had baked q colander full of cookies
and had then nodded with her fingers,
q little crudely perhaps, number OF
animals from the dough. Billy didn't
recognize all of them, but when she
told him he saw the points Of resem-
blance. And when his father came
back he was quite happy playing with,
them. q. Z gE,.'5 ,s5
Zeph cut q hha7el stick as he came
back through the woods, and after the
squirrels he had shot had been dressed
be held them on the stick and broiled
them before the fire. They were deli.
cious, and there was a dish Of mashed
quite an unusual thing
and some baked apples and the won
derful cookies. Billy couldn't imag-
inc better dinner dish than that.
Zeph ate with great relish, but by no
means forgetting to regard the whole
thing as ''hoky poky." And after
dinner he went down to the sawmill
and told stories with the rest Of the
men, coming home rather before they
had exhausted their jug of applejack.
He had taken one drink himself, and
it may be that made the difference.
he was moved tounusual be-
havior.
The fire was low. and he stirred up
the burning ends Of logs till the cabin
was filled with a food of light, and as
be turned he saw there on the pillow
at the side of his sleeping sons head a
pitiful little menagerie Of bent, brown
dough and knew that each animal had
been perfect in the large blue eyes
that had fought so hard to keep un-
closed the heavy gates of dreams
Zeph saw the happy face and knew
that some ewhere his boy was wander
ing mong delights more rare than
any his hand had given. And the
spirit OF contention, of a rivalry, of q
race, a vaked within him. y
"Hus b !" he said, and wondered why
thesmoke should burn his eyesto weep
ing. Then. he turned to the door and
stole out in the moon gemmed night.
Down the road he went with q
sweeping step, full of vigor and with
rising haste, till the miles Ney behind
him and he fronted the lights of the,
town. It was early evening, in spite
Df the hours of darkness, and Christ
mas joy was full. He turned neither
TO the right nor the left, paid no at
tention to the gaudy doors of the sa-
looms, where loud young men were
or betting, or trying to quar-
rel. He kept right on till he reached
the shop OF the tinker, down by the