Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1905-05-18

thing but very happy at this good end
to labor.
For three days she had hardly
thought of anything but the tree. Ten
thousand gifts, good gifts, for mothers
and babies otherwise giftless, 10000
TOYS for little hands otherwise toylesS,
had seemed to her enough TO crowd her
own concerns aside. Back in her cOzy
room she ran through a sheaf of let
terS. her face as she read rejecting her
mood as water reflects the sky. Home
news made her smile softly bnt wipe
her eyes at the end. Three notes from
aspiring strangers puckered her fore
head in a reflective frown. Other notes,
II handful, sent to Santa Claus and by
some magic turned over to her, brought
Jumps of varying hardness into her
throat, Jumps that swelled visibly over
line from Arran, a beseeching line,
Lefty, if not for Christmas, can't you
come the day afterY'
She dropped it and took up the very
last of the sheaf, her eyes too blurred
TO note the imprint in the corner, but
after the first line she sat up, breath
ing hard, a bright red spot In either
cheek, and at the end sprang up, wav-
ed the letter over her head and said In
audibly, since it was / o'clock: "Hur-
rah. Iettice, Hurrah! Hurrah!
\ knock. heSitating apolOgetic, made
her turn about to see her door open be
fore she could speak, revealing Faith
Farnham. who came in, closing IT pre-
cipitately behind her, and said in her
airieSt way.
oh Miss Santa Claus, I've come to
you like the rest of the poor things
Lend me $50, please. I've spent every
thing on frocks and frills for this visit,
and those wretched magazines are
holding up all my checks
How funny! l got mine-my first"
Lettice said, holding out a note and
futtering a blue slip so Faith could
not choose but see. "As am $10O bet
ter off than | thought to be, you shall
have the money!" she ran on. Faith
covered her face, sObbing hysterically,
but held out her hand for the bills Let
tice thrust in it, and, clutching them
tight, ran away without a word of
thanks. Lettice looked after her, Won
dering at herself. This vengeance
ought to be sweet, yet here she was
finding Ii bitter. She was ashamed for
womanhood, for humanity, by this
clumsy lying. She flung open her win
dow and leaned out of 1t, as though TO
let the night breeze sweep away some.
thing unsavory, unwholesome. She
never understood the impulse that sent
her scurrying TO Faiths door, there to
whisper through the barest open crack
Of it:
Don't worry, Faith. won't tell
anybody. And l hope you'll have q
real merry Christmas"
The next twenty-four hours went by
In a whirl. Letttce slept normally, ate
| hurriedly and worked like q machine.
Nothing else kept the Christmas tree
enterprise from getting away from ev-
erybody, it was so unwieldy, SO turbu-
lent so sloppily full of enthusiasm.
The paper had called for volunteer
helpers. They came in droves and
nearly swamped the distracted regu-
lars. But somehow, some way, the
bedlam at last arranged itself In order
ly semichaos. The ruler of the chaos,
without whom it would at once have
become uproarious. was smallish and
rosy, with the blackest eyes in the
world; not at all the figure of O saint,
yet canonized in the heart and on the
lips Of one decent woman, who stood
hugging warm plaid and looking
tearfully at her flock OF five, brave in
new shoes and each with q toy and d
fat bag of sweets. What she said to
the volunteer who had brought the
gifts is not necessary to be written
down. He listened intently and after
ward went with happy, shining eyes
straight up to Lettice, who started vio-
lently at sight of him.
you've overlooked one case Of des-
| titution," he said. plucking her sleeve.
Il hope you will do something about II,
Lady Bountiful.'
"If only | can. But we have only
gewgaws icft-nothing the least use
full" Lettice began anxiously. Arran
drew closer and said, with his lips al
most on her ear: It's my mother,
sweetheart She's fearfully in need of
a daughter-just such as you. VIII
you Gomez
Lettice vows to this day there was
a conspiracy. Certainly Mrs. Vanston
Quigley must have been in the secret.
However else should both beg dodgers
have been properly dressed at the Ar
ranmore Christmas dinner, where the
lady Of the manor announced her sons
engagement to Miss Lettice Lane?