The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-14

were nttcned a pair OF horses THAT udHCeu
and jumped and stood on their hind legs
as the train went rumbling past
On the front seat there was tall, shy
boy of about sixteen years, who was none
other than the Little Parson. He touched
the horses gently with a whip, spoke to
them in a soft, low voice which had
strange quality of command, and they
quieted down. From watching them, he
turned fur:ive glance at Dolly. His eyes
were very deep and very dark. She could
not have told what was in them that af-
fected her so, but she knew she had found
a friend, and smiled.
A very gentle smile shone back into her
face from his, and. curiously enough, a
blush stole over his freckles and tan.
Whatever that emotion was there was
never a day in his later life when the
Little Parson would not have told you that
IL was one of the most divine that he had
ever felt.
Keep them quiet and watch the little
gurreI till I get the thrunk, his father
said
II dot a dolly" said Little Saint Sun
shine, holding il up for him to see.
TITS a beauty said the Little Parson.
blushing again and not knowing what else
TO say. For. although he had romped with
the daughters of cowboys in the district
school, this was his first vision of an
angel!
Her name it'll Thuthie"
Its a good name"
"Are you my new papa?"
''Oh. Lord, nor exclaimed the Little
Parson, bIushing deeper red than ever.
''who are your" Dolly asked.
''Oh, I'm only Micky. Here comes your
father
Dolly would as soon have believed that
a mountain could have been her father as
this immense being who came round the
corner bearing her trunk on his shoulder
as If it were bandbox-he was so unlike
her own papa, whose delicate white face
she could just remember.
Let 'em go. Parson," said Donovan as
he climbed into the wagon, and away they
whirled in a cloud of dust. Dolly sitting
like a little midget by the side of her
colossal friend.
The attempts made at conversation were
not very successful. Micky was too busy
with the horses and too embarrassed to
take any part. Mike could have talked
with Little Saint Sunshine If she had
known anything about horses and cattle:
and Little Saint Sunshine could have talked
with Mike had he known anything about
dollies But things being as they were.
silence was inevitable and best.
Everywhere was silence, save the low
rumble of the wagon and the soft thud OF
the horses feet 1t was land OF great
silence. The vast prairie stretched like a
frozen ocean in every direction. The prairie
dogs ducked into their holes as the wagon
passed. A coyote Hoped on his cushioned
feet along the edge of the horizon. Herds
OF cattle noiselessly cropped the grass in
the distance. In the blue depths of the
sky the buzzards sailed as quietly as
thistle-down.
For the first time, the soul of the little
traveller came under the spell of nature
The infinite and the eternal had forced
themselves into the consciousness of her
soul. The immensities around her hushed
and subdued her sensitive heart Her
feelings were too deep for tears, and she
suffered herself to be borne along like a
straw upon the river. helpless. purpose
less, unquestioning. the victim, the sport.
the darlng-she knew not what, of the
irresistible energies around her.
And now the light of day began to fade
and the stars began to peer out of their
hiding places in the sky, the same stars
that had looked down on the cradle of the
infant Savior, two thousand years before
on that Christmas eve when the Magi were
steering their way toward the place Of His
birth, by the chart of the heavens.
For 1t was Christmas eve, though neither
Mike nor the Little Parson, nor anyone
else in the Donovan home, save Bridget,
had thought OF il, life having become too
serious and full of the getting of cattle
and horses and sheep and gold. for such
sentimental nonsense as Christmas stock
ings and Christmas trees
The night was warm, as il sometimes
Is at that time in the Panhandle OF the
Lone Star State, and Dolly, wrapped in
her muff and boa with her dolly in her
arms, sat comfortably against the side of
her mighty friend.
But she was tired. and the motion of the
wagon, the freshness of the air, the shad-
ows of the night, the mystery of the stars
were putting her to sleep
Mike had forgotten all about her. until
she suddenly fell against his side He bent
over. and for the first time felt an emo.
tion OF pity and tenderness for the orphan
The littleness, the helplessness, the trust.
fulness of that tiny atom at his side
shook his big. Irish heart to its center
lie took her I'D in his arms, kissed her
cheek with his bearded lips and laid her
against his heart, where she slept like q
bird in a nest upon a cliff. until they drove
into the dooryard of Donovan's old rock
castle.
When he bore her into the house and
placed her in his wifes arms, he was re.
paid for his trouble-Aike was For Bridget
laid the sleeping babe on her ample bosom
and gazed through salt tears into the
serene countenance Of the child. and then
shaken with sobs and calling her. 'Kath.
leen. Kathleen" she kissed her and
erooned over her until a solemn hush fell
upoa the group of giants who stood gains
at tho. scene.
And then the child awakened from her
sleep and looked around upon this new.
create5 world with frightened eyes
Suppose yor should awake i'm a world
as much too biz for you as was this fol
Dolly. Do you think your lips would not
have quivered aad your chin puckered as
did hers?
Those mute signals of distress completed
the awe OF this Brobdinsnagian ring Of