Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-12-19

turned 10 Iue uOust. But ne Sat on tne
chest there by the fireplace and won
dered silently.
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 than 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 wear it when he went
a-wooing. He expressed his disapproval
of all this hoky poky and asked her
what she was going to have for dinner.
She said nothing for a time She wished
he had not asked her There was so lit
tie, but she had planned TO make it ap-
pear as fair as possible.
Across her silence came the bark Of
Dash over there III the woods, and the
hunter instinct in Zeph was reused
Since no one had asked him to 90 hunt
ing he felt no disinclination to look for
game. So he glanced out of the win
dow, 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 a
squirrel
Billy was i'll great glee. His mother
had baked a colander full Of cookies and
bad then nodded with her fingers, lit
tlo crudely perhaps, number Of ami
mails from the dough. Billy didn't rec
| ognize all OF them, but when she told
him he saw the points of resemblance.
And when his father came back ne was
quite happy playing with them.
Aeph cut hazel 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 dish Of mashed
| potatoes-quita an unusual thing-and
some baked apples and the wonderful
cookies. Billy couldn't imagine bet
ter dinner than that. Zeph ate with
| great relish, but by no means forgetting
to regard the whole thing as "hoky
| po6Y." And after dinner ne went down
| 20 the sawmill and told stories with the
rest Of the men, coming home rather be-
| fore they had exhausted their jug of ap-
plejack. He had taken one drink him
self, and it may be that mada the differ
ence. Anyway he was moved to unusu-
al behavior.
The fire was low, and he stirred up
| the huruing ends of logs till the cabin
was filled with food Of light, and as
he turned he saw there ON the pillow at
| the side Of his sleeping son 5 head pitt
| ful 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 Enclosed the
| heavy gates Of dreams.
Heph saw the happy face and knew
| that somewhere his boy was wandering
among delights more rare than any his
hand had given. And the spirit of con-
| tentiOn, Of rivalry, of race, awaked
within him.
'sFIuh a. ha said, and wondered why
| the smoke should burn his eyes to weep
ing. Then he turned to the door and
| stole out in the moon gemmed night
Down the road he went with sweep
ing step, full Of Yigog and with rising
! haste, till the miles lay behind him and
he fronted the lights of the town. 1t was
early evening in spite of the hours Of
darkness and Christmas joy was full.
He turned neither e tha right nor the
! left, paid no attention 70 the gaudy doors
Of the saloons, where loud young men
! were boasting, or betting, or trying to
quarrel He kept right on till he reach
ed the shop Of the tinker, down by the
bridge, and there he stamped tho snow
| from his heavy boots.
The tinker had not expected a Gus
toner, and he had been looking at the
| TOYS left over from the sales Of the sea-
son. He had done very well, but he
wished now he bad nos bought so many.
| Ehe hand on his latch lifted his hopes
| little, and his eager face was a strange
contrast with the puzzled countenance
| of Zeph, now for the first time in his
life yielding to the weakness Of scanning
| Christmas presents
tiHoW much for this?' inquired the
countryman, touching camel with his
| great forefnger, And the tinker was 50
willing to sell that he quoted figure
far below his ruling prices,
"Xa-as, and this, continued Zeph.
| 1t was candy castle, with powdered
gilt and frosted silver on the sides.
There was quite store of painted
woods and ruflled tins and nodded candy
! there at the end of tho counter by the
| tlme Zeph reached the limit Of his purse.
| He felt the same STRINGS he had known
while husking corn, when some boaster
tried to beat him I'm the race He bought
without reflection, with HG thought but
| that pi giving Billy better Christmas
| than other children had.
And then he tramped back home.
| There was no hurry in his walking now.
He simply strobe the miles, uACopscious
| Of his Splepdia muscles assured Of
| reaching home IN time and giving little
care to what the thing might mean.
One house was lighted brilliantly,
and through uncurtained windows he
saw n Christmas tree. The presents had
been stripped away bat tapcrs burned
there, and strings Of wool and tiny flags.
"Santa Claus brought them there
things on his way out, " said Zeph to
himself. "Ho'u git to Billy ON his trip
back home. " And the. lao uied to sneer
at the wuolo affair
At the first barb Of light Zoph fought
against his drowsiness and turned to
wait till Billy's eyes should open. 1t
seemed SLOW. long ppa, Bat after
awhile the large blue eyes unveiled,
tho sense Of present things came back to
him, and then they rested on those
glories at his pillow. He did not move,
but studied them moment with a look
so strange that Ycqa "a" Things his
VISION had not Dreamed. Then Billy's
eyes were closed again, and soon the
larger breathing told that he was deep
in droamland paths, with richer treas
ures on each hand than there had been
before
He reused at length and saw the toys
again.
Il droamt Of them, no said and
wondered why his mother smiled. 1t
was long before he dared to touch them,
and all through the day his bovisL y,ay
would be rgsQe-.aa, ana ne would look
at them as if afraid that they would
vanish into dreams again-tho dreams
where no 7ras sure his happy eyes had
found them
"But it's all hoky pokyi said Zepb