Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-10-27

work, but in half an hour she crept
softly into the library behind the child.
Bending over the sleepy head, she
clasped the wee hands and awoke the
baby with kiss.
"You my mamma?' The child turned
half fearfully. us you my mamma?"
Eyes, dear, / am a fairy mamma
now"
The player next door struck up
double shuttle. The little woman broke
into the step with a toss of her head
1t was luEicrous, of course "He"
would have thought her crazy, but the
baby enjoyed it and watched her with
dancing eyes, keeping tremulous time
with its little feet The mother danced
on. The days of yore had come back.
She was before the glazing lights.
Presently she stopped, out of breath.
In her ears rang the echo of the old
time applause. She laughed hyster-
ically and kissed the child. Tears
rolled on the grease paint.
you amt my mamma. You's little
girl fairy. My mammals great, big
fairy" the child said. The little wom-
an laughed again. She wished-no; if
''he' was present he would not under
stand. He had changed so much since
the days he used to hang around the
stage door for her to appear.
The music in the adjoining fat
trailed away into silence. Then a wo-
mans voice, humming lightly, came
across the hall, and again silence.
They were closing the piano and turn
ing out the parlor lights.
The mother stood like one transfixed
in the center of the library. The
laughter died on her lips. She looked
down at her beruff1ed skirts, which
had suddenly turned f1imsy and taw-
dry. Then hard, dry laugh rose in
her throat. Yes, that was the way
they all dropped from her, the illusions
of her youth and her love-
The child lay on the great leather
couch, blinking sleepily at her fairy
mamma" The long lashes dropped,
and happy smile crept round the
baby mouth. She was in fairyland in
truth. With sob the mother flung
herself beside the couch and clasped
the dimpled hand in hers This at
least was her own, something real,
something tangible and lasting, the
blessed mother love-
And 'he" found them three hours
later when he returned with the smiles
of fair women still dazzling his eyes
and their fairer words still ringing in
his ears. He bent over her with
frown, but when he saw the tiny fur
rows which the tears had made
through the grease paint his eyes
softened. Then he walked to the ia
BILE and picked up the calendars. His
brow was puckered as he studied the
queer pencil marks until he found the
last one. Then he remembered the
day. He turned abruptly toward the
graceful figure crouched by the baby
form, their two hands tightly clasped.
A mist passed before his eyes, and
when it was gone he no longer saw the
fair, fiattering faces of the ballroom.
He was back at the stage door of the
theater waiting for her.
She started suddenly and found her.
self in her husbands arms. He was
smiling into her eyes the sort of smile
that carried her back to that first
year.
what sort of game is this, Bess?"
he asked.
She flushed under the rouge and
Stammered:
81 was-the baby and l have been
taking trip to fairyland"-
"And the prince came along Just in
time to wake up the princess he MUIR
INJURED, with a low laugh that made
her think more and more Of that first
year. And when she looked into his
eyes with sudden impulse she flung
her arms about his neck and whis-
pered smilingly:
I'm so glad l waited for the prince"
And he, looking across the table at
the scattered calendars, understood.