The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-25

| .t,r.,s in tho clouds and in bubbles on her
tea. and In the fire than any other glri VI
her age. The things she had seen In Jumps
| of lead dropped. molten into buckets Oh
water on half-a-dozen successive Haho"
Eens would fill nice little volume OF TO-
mantle visions.
But this was no Hallow Fen, nor was 1t
a. summer evening when she could watch
| cloud shapes in the west as the sun SET
This was the last day in the year, and 1t
was very nearly over, and the New year
was lust coming-just round the corner, as
| 1t were. It was after 10 o'clock and Win
ME should have been asleep in her little
white-draped bed that stood over there, SO
! sweet and snug, in the corner. Instead of
| being in the snug, sweet, little BED, she
was amusing herself with fantasies, staring
at the curtains that hung at her window
| There were white India muslin curtains
next the glass of the window, and inside
| there were pretty green ehintz curtains
| with pattern in dim outlines in deeper
| shade of green. The fire in the CRATE nick-
| ered-a bright fire, 1t was-and the lamp
was turned low, and all sorts of shadows
| played in the folds Of the curtains.
Winnie had sat down to see the New
| Year ina vigil undertaken all of her own
| accord and without the knowledge of her
mother or any of the family. Then she
took it into her head that the shadows
| were dancing a strange sort OF shado"
| pantomime of the past years chief hap
| penings.
| She could see, first, very plainly, the ac-
| cident on the ice last January, when Rob
| Curtis had picked her up, her ankle too
| badly sprained to let her walk, and had
| carried her off bodily in his arms, skating
| something like hundred yards to the bank,
| while half dozen other boys and some
| girls skated by them, and everybody
| thought Rob must be wonderful athlete
| to perform such a feat as that-Winnie
| weighed 12O pounds, or rather more with
| her winter clothes on.
| That was a good deal to see in a few
| folds and wrinkles of d curtain. But there
| was even more coming.
| The first scene in the shadow drama
| seemed to draw other scenes after it.
| cannot explain how the girl contrived to
| see a head of hair that most pople called
/ red in the folds of green chintz curtain,
/ but she did-she has since told me all about
/ the circumstances. The red head belonged
to Rob Curtis, To it and it's redness Winnie
| attributed their disagreement.
| After the first scene of the rescue on the
| ice, she saw another scene in her own
| mothers parlor. There was Rob, with his
| big shoulders and his red haid, come to see
| her while she was still suffering from that
| terribly sprained ankle. She was sitting in
| the long chair, interestingly posed to re-
| ceive visitors as an interesting girl with
| an interesting sprained ankle should be. 1t
| was all quite plain in the shadows OF the
| curtain The fire fiickered and made Rob S
| red head push in through the door, and
| with the red head came all the memory
| of Robs rudeness
| Rob was a boor-that was what he was,
If he was strong and able to skate a hun
dred yards with a full-grown girl in his
arms.
He pushed in and said, "Iuh, glad to see
it isn't serious
| Then she began, "Oh, yes, but 1t Is SER
ious l want to thank YOU"
| Then he interrupted, "You can thank your
| lucky stars you didn't break your neck.
| told you not to go skating with those 1901
skates that wouldn't lock tight to your feet
| and L suppose you had on some OF your
| fnicking shoes made of thin kid. Hum!
| All of which turned her gratitude and her
| admiration to gall She had never seen
| such a boor as this red-headed Rob Cur
| tbs.
"well. Mr.. Curtis" she said, Il meant
| to thank you for carrying me off the ice
| But If you're going to talk that way, lo
| better thank you In writing.
| Then that clown simply said, All right
| Goodbye, them" and TOOK ms reu heau ou
| of the room.
| When the pantomime of the shadows go'
| TO this poirt Winnie's eyes grew dim She
| couldn't see for some minutes and yet she
| was not sleepy. She sat with lump III ne'
| throat, thinking of the letter, or rather tle
| very curt note she had written ana sent u
| Rob that very evening: "Mr. Robert curtis
pear Sir-I have to thank you for carry.
| ;no me off the ice when l had faien ane
| could not move. Everybody sald II Was
| very fine exploit. Yours truly, WINNIE ar
kerr" -. ,or see
" hen the mist in her eyes let her see
| onoa more what the shadows were doing
| thew were representing a street scene III
| early summer. The green on the shaue
trees was fresh, unfaded by the sun, I'M
dimmed by the dust. She saw herseif IN
| her first summer frock Oh the seasoh' WIN
her summer sunshade and her fioWery sum-
mer hat, and she saw that she made a
| nretty ornament for summer. Then came
| along a pair of broad shoulders and a grin
| and raised straw hat to her, uncoverlng a
| red head. The person belonging 10 the
| shoulders the grin, the hat and the RED
head. instead of going coolly by as she
had expected, and as she thought she
| wished got right in her way. Then the
| shadows showed herself bowling with much
dignity and steering her course ASIDE u
avoid the broad shouders-which she sue
ceeded in doing.
As she watched the shadows go through
this scene, she fancied she could hear
| some one grunt, Hull" and then laugh
| very rudely. Which made her angry, and
more dimness came to her eyes to drop a
| curtain on the shadow pantomime.
| In this "entr'acte' she shut her eyes and
did quite a great deal of rejecting. She
came very near blaming herself for being
SO unforgiving, and it was then that she
recalled something her mother had said
to her about that dead cut on the side
walk: winnie, considering how nice Mr..
Curtis was to you last winter, think you
might have spared his feelings little,
even IL his manner is abrupt" To which
she had answered: 81 don't know that Mr..
Curtis possesses any feelings. Do you think
he does?'
Sitting there, all by herself in the fire.
light, with only forty minutes of the Old
ear left to her, she began to feel little
ashamed of that smart anSWer-anyhOW