The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17
guessed to be a portrait of his traant

guessed to be a portrait of his traant
 May I lookT' whispered she. = she had to take the portrait fo tho window before she could get a gooo look at the faded presentmsnt; put sne could make out, even in those blurred lines, that the youth had been indeed strikingiy like what his father must have been in his own young days. There was the same merry eye. the same welI-set hesd. Mary sighed as she gave back the portrait
 If Eben had been like that she whispered
 Bible was open at the story of the Prodigal Son. pered, instinctively.
 The old man shook his head as he closed the Book with reverent hands Y don't think so," said he. But whenever Christmas time comes round" There was a world of pent-up yearn . ing. of iong-repressed feeling, in his look and tone: the girl respected IT, and, with a light kiss on his forehead, stole gently away.
 But the incident set her thinking and wondering and dreaming about the lost son and the sad old story. And the
  lowering about her romantic young mind when. on Christmas Eve, start ling thing happened. It was dusk, ana sine was alone in the house but for old Molly. who was as deaf as post. In the kitchen. Standing by the window, with her needle-work in her hands, straining her eyes 10 tshisn anv ,a.' ,sen Mary was startled by a slight crack ing noise among the evergreens which grew in a clump on the right. and look ing out, she saw mans sort ieit nat above tue dark mass
 She opened the French window and stepped outside on to the grass.
 .'Who is it?" she asked, quickly.
 rbe intruder was a man above the middle height, spare of figure. and shabby of dress; he wore his old soft felt hat so far over his eyes that u was Irnnosgible for the gtrl to get a good look at his face. the lower part of which, moreover, was covered py bushy and ill-kept dark beard.
 She repeated her question. ana tne raan raplied in a somewhat husky and sheepish voice:
 .T wasn't doing any harm. missus.. was I? This is a free country. believe. and a man has a right to LOOK at another mans house, even If he hasn't the right to go into 1t.
 Mary did not at once reply She was filled with a most strange fancy that ,his rough looking, rough spoken in- truder might be no other than John Prittlecy's long lost. son. With this fancy in her mind, she could not DC so harsh as she had at first Intended:
 '"This is private property. you know said she, gently, trying hard to get better view of his features, and Hs startling to find man crouchins ana n In anplnSgA garden.
 "Garden! So 1t is," said the man with a sort of light mockery. which. for the first time made her feel nervous ''Whose Is 1t nowT'
 The blood rushed to Mary's face, and her eyes travelled beyond the strans er's head. to where, behind the great harm. the path was by which she ex- nephew, to be returning homewards'
 Its Mir. Prittleby's." said she with A backward step towards the window "John Prittleby's. eh? And what re- lation may you be to John Prittleny Her heart leaped up within her. TOT this question seemed to her to polnI clearly to the strangers being the man she had supposed.
 I'm no relation to him. He took me in when my father died, that's all No relation to his son either" ue' manded the stranger. curiously. And now Mary saw something III the eyes of the shabby man which re- minded her so strongly of the look sne had often seen in old John Prittleny' that she was more than ever eonIIF"' cd in her surnise.
 What son?" she asked. sn quickly 70 breathlessly. that the man stared a' ! her instead of at once answering, what son?' he repeated, sIoWIy: after lengish pause. why wnat other son has he than the precious EbeneSer. with his heavy jaw, ana ms