The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-12-15

stayed and nursed the baby back to
life. In the poorer be les he heard Of
the baskets Of Chris~--iaS goodies she
had brought, with toys and warm nit
tens for the children
1t was 10 O'Clock before the rector
had finished the days task, and when
he reached home he threw himself,
quite worn out, on the couch in the ii
brary. Not ten minutes seemed to
have elapsed when the sound "Br-r-r-r!'
through his sleep Weakened him sud-
denly to the realization that some one
was ringing the bell with the evident
intention of rousing the entire house
hold and as he stepped into the hall to
open the door he was amazed to see
the hands on the old fashioned clock
pointing to l.
''Sir, we've come to get Mr.. Hare.
The baby's dying, and my wife wants
a minister" announced one Of the two
men who stood on the step facing the
tired rector.
The memory of his vivid nightmare
had not required to him since the morn
ing but at the words ''baby's dying" it
it all flashed before his mind, and he
hesitated an instant with some miSgiv-
ings. Quickly pulling himself together
and throwing off the vision, he ex-
claimed:
I'm Mr.. Hare. Where is your ba-
by?' In harsh voice the larger of the
two men mentioned the outskirts Of the
city, where the houses were small and
low and widely scattered.
Again pushing aside the warning of
his apparition, the rector incased him.
self in warm overcoat and arctics and,
locking the door behind him, bade the
men lead the way. For several blocks
an occasional house showed lights from
top to bottom Or stray light in the
second story gave evidence that an ca
ger youngster was awake examining
Santa Claus gifts. Then the houses
became dark, and the three men trudg
ed On through the gently falling snow.
Hare's questions received but curt,
abrupt answers, while the memory Of
his grewsOme dream grew clearer with
each step of the long dark walk till he
reached the identical cottage of his
nightmare, with one light shining
through the window A suggestion Of
cold perspiration stood on his forehead
and SILVER ran down his spine as he
thought of the sinister group and the
suspicious and foreboding chances Of
the men in that dim scene which he
had passed through before so realis-
tically.
Entering the house behind the larger
man, he looked instantly toward the
corners for the cot and the child They
were there! The thin face Of the child
showed the same pallor of death, but
the mother was not in the chair beside
the bed. In her place sat a grlish fig
ure, holding a vial in her delicate I'm
gers.
''Thank you so much for coming,
said a soft voice, and the Ruth of his
day dreams lifted her eyes to his with
a wistful, shy glance of comfort and
relief. 1.-THE mother never would have
been consoled for her neglect in not
having had her child baptized, and |
felt so sure you would come, even
though it was at this late hour"
So the dying baby. received the bless
ing of the. church, and as the sun rose
between two distant hills the child
passed into it's Saviour's arms. Two
hearts were peaceful from a sense of
finished duty. Unconsciously radiant
with joy at being together, the man
and the girl passed from the low rooted
cottage into the clear frosty air of the
blue canopied earth with it's fresh car
peting of pure white snow. A Christ
mas happiness such as they had never
known before Illuminated the world
for these two alone in the snow clad
woods.
It was some time before the young
rector felt inclined to speak, and then
it was to recount his nightmare with
its realistic reproduction up to the
point where he had found her beside
the dying child.
"And the knife aimed at your heart
that must have been a dreadful
dreamv'
John Hare paused holding her with
his strong magnetic gaze.
''The knife is in your hand. If you
cannot love me, your No will be the
deathblow to my hopes and ambi-
TONS"
She smiled up into his eyes and held
out both hands.
"See-there is no knife