The leader., 1904-12-31
BY MILDRED M'NEAL

catch plump mice in the little old brown
shed across the road. She had been
young then; now she was old But you
can catch plump mice when you are old
they can't run as fast as thin ones.
Roxy's gentle purr sounded like gentle
sigh.
IF it should be anything else, Roxy
not spot drying,-if it should mean
what it used to-" She lifted the big cat
down suddenly and opened one of her
table drawers, where rows of black
bound diaries were neatly packed away,
and selected one that bore date five or
six years previous to this new year to-
day. 1t didn't matter if it were five or
six,-or seven or eight,-so long as you
subtracted four of the years. The sig
nal code" was in the back of all the rest.
Desire turned the pages to it with trem-
ulous fingers. She read it aloud as if to
Roxy:
"Red-trouble. Come over.
"White-all's we'll.
''Blue-nothing but rheumatism. Will
come over as soon as it clears off.
"Green-come to tea. Have made pork
cake"
The little code" ran on through one
or two more colors. But Desires eyes
went back to the first and third signals.
"Red-trouble. Come over" and then
the third with its quaint ending-Desire
smiled over that. She and Delight had
always spoken of their rheumatism as
Clearing off," instead of getting we'll.
She and Delight had always had rheuma-
tism; it had been strong connecting
link between them always. Delight had
inherited hers from her mother,-Desire
hers from her father. They used to
laugh and say they couldn't see that
there was much choice between the FEM
mime kind and the masculine! Both of
'em hurt!
How often they used to laugh! That
was another connecting link. When they
were little bits, they had cried together
over their names and made long lists of
the beautiful 'poetry-names" they
longed-for on the walls of Delights shed
-Isobel, ,-Ethelind,-Jea eannette,-Maude
Mathilde,-how they had pored over the
lovely names and chosen" again and
again! But when they grew older, they
had laughed over the quaint old names
their mothers had put their heads to-
gether and given them. For they had
been named on the same day, when they
lay, little red-faced, squirming morsels
in the same big cradle. The mothers
had waited until they were month old
and then met together for mutual coun-
sci.
"Red,-trouble. Come over" Desire
shut up the diary sharply, but the words
kept saying themselves over and over to
her. She could not forget them. OF
course it was spot in the red table
cloth, drying in the sun, but it kept on
saying: Trouble. Come over, (" "Trou-
bic. Come overall the morning. It
took the pleasure out of the sunshine and
clear, sweet air,-the soft, new-fa1len
snow and the CHEEKY calls of the chicka-
dees,-out of the whole bright New
Years day. Even Roxy could not settle
down to her alternate maps and placid
meditations in the sunny window. She
followed her uneasy mistress about,
uneasy, too. and full of wistful sympathy.
But Roxy was wise and said nothing.
Some things It's better not even to purr
to one another
Four years ago trivial misunder-
standing had separated these two lonely
women. Ithad not amounted to much in
the beginning,-a little grievance only,
but with true New England pertinacity
they had chung each to her own hurt
nursing it into vigorous life. It was
four years old now. The narrow width
of country roadway that ran between
the two little brown houses might have
been the breadth of the sea-
In the early afternoon, Desire and
Roxy had New Years, callers. The min
lister came first and prayed with them in
his simple, heartfelt way He thanked
the Lord for peace and goodwill on
earth,-for the pleasant old year and
the beautiful beginning of the new one
1t was grateful. comforting prayer;
there was nothing in it about misunder-
standings and trouble and rheumatism
Then the doctors wife came in with
her baby. and stayed long enough t1
patch pair of little stockings. Then
Mrs. Deacon Blinn came,-then Hosy
Todd's two little girls, last of all, laugh.
ing Jeffy Rand.
Merry Christ mean Happy New
Year,! laughed Jeffy. Thought I'd
come an wish it. Eve been to all tbs
.this-side-o'- -the-street houses up to here
an I'm comm back on the other side
'xceptin' / shant go to Tolly Wallace's
house"
why not TO Tolly's, Jeffy?'
Jeffy laughed, he always laughed.
Cause we've fell out he said, cheer
lily. You don't go to folks houses you've
| fell out with an wish 'em Happy New
Years, do your
! Desire Drummond WINGED in spite o
herself. But size had her duty to do t
this little laughing child.
No Time for Discussion.