The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1899-12-29
By NJ, s, jameson,


well, IL those fellows are coming
around to see the old year cut they
had better show up pretty soon,"
yawned H. Parker Baxter as he slam
med down the cover Of penderous
and gruesome nedical book and turned
a pair OF sleepy eyes to the clock which
was complacsntly ticking away the
last fifteen minutes Of ,9S. No other
sounds were to be heard, save the oc-
castonal settling of the fire in the
grace, Tor the snow lay deep and soft
over the Uobble and fagstone outside.
The old year, after a stormy life, was
dying calmly and beautifully.
To our friend Baxter, one of these
animpassioned, dusty men who never
join .in," this ancient ceremony of
seeing the old year out appealed but
.feebly. He used to say of New Years,
AN arbitrarily fixed point in time
which has become the inaugural date
'Ior good resolutions, to the necessary
neglect of all other dates for their
formation" but most of his friends
thought this simply a speech that he,
was gratified to make. He was trying!
'hard to pose as a rising young phys,
'lcian," and was really acting the part
to himself, as many an ambitious man
will do.
But however this may be, as the
seconds licked along, H. Parker grew
more and more drowsy. He settled
himself back in, the. chair, stared at, the
fire, and blinked. Then his >eyelids
dropped
This will never do,'' says he
Strengthening up with q jerk and
: reaching out to the table for something
to read or look at, II must keep awake
"a few minutes longer" Chance putt a
stack Of. photographs under his hand,
and though they were stale enough he
began to look them over again-inci-
'dentally' yielding to the comfort of ly-
ing back in the big chair. Some were
portraits of his friends at school and
l. college, some were OLD faded prints
that ought; to: have had romances at
tached, but which were really very
|. prosaic, even to him. Others bore the
brand of the amateurs first attempt
these to be passed by quickly; a few
were the products of his own photo
i graphic skill at Granite Head last sum-
mer-bathers in the surf, the hotel, a
clam"bake, etc.-all very fair photo
graphs. in their way-but hold! here
is one that might be studied critically.
There is M hurry II 10 too loto nov,
for the jewellers to ceme H. Parker
shifts to still more comfortable posi-
ton and the soft lamp light shines
over his shoulder upon as pretty lit
tie. picture as you would ask to see.
It.is the picture Of a dark-haired girl
dressed in suit Of dack. She is stand
Ing on. log of driftwood with her
hands. behind her and her handsome
happy face turned sqafarely to the cam
era. In the developing of this pic
ture H. Parker had conceded that more
+ care was required than i'm ordinary
work he had watched it's delicate lines
appear with the enthusiasm of a true
lover of the chemists art. With any
other. passion? Possibly, but that was
past and gone four months ago.
The, young doctor liked that photo
graph, somehow. Hehad examined it
time, and again until he knew its every
detail. 1t did not grow stale like the
others. But tonight there seemed to
be ANEW light upon il. a new tone in
the unfocused background of sand and