The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16

'AfiIton?"
 'Is my little boy He and Uncle CIem have gone to look for 'possum tracks in that clump of persimmon trees by the creek. The briars are too thick for my skirts, so- T am waiting for them. Milton fs wild with delight at the novelty and freedom of 9 South ern plantation after the restrictions of city life in cold Quebec To actual ly see the flowers and animals 1 have always told about in his bed- time stories, is like meeting face to face with Cinderella or Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. As for the negroes. we'll, he says Uncle Glenn is all the Santa Claus he needs this year, and that l should have told him Aunt Rinday was the old woman who lived in the she and had so many children she didn't know what to do. He Is the dearest little fellow" but Claudia checked an ineipient maternal panegy- ric to glance at her suspiciously silent companion.
 Mardival was pulling his dogs ears rather vehemently. Claudia's child had come as surprise to him. True he loved children in the abstract. but this concrete embodiment of Claudia's pre- ference for another man seemed at first rather disconcerting. With his usual resistless impetuousness Mardt- val had already determined he and Claudia should blot out the past ten years and build together a glorious future, but here was very stringent bond to her past and possibly an active barrier to his future happiness--a boy of uncertain age and temperament.
 How old is he?"
 Seven"
 Naturally this is great change for him. MardivaI added perfunctorily, glowering at the beautiful trees.
 Yes, even the fare is new to him. However, he takes kindly to every thing except corn bread I have been fairly revelling in Aunt Rindy's egg bread made from coarse meal ground at the old mill down wonder, but Mill ton said 1t scratched his throat If you could have seen Aunt Kinds in- dignation. To sooth her feelings. sug- gested he was rather delicate and his throat might be tender. so now she calls him a little delegate and chases after him with overcoat and rubbers much to his disgust" At this recollection Claudia threw back her head and a Till of pure merriment bub- bled up freshly from sglrl-hood's long choked spring of joy. As Claudia shook her head merrily the cluster of holly slipped aside and a tiny sprig or mlstle-toe showed temptingly beneath.
 That infectious laugh. like the flute of mating birds in spring. set the blood tingling joyously in Ben Mardi- vars veins He forgot time, barriers, conventionalities, forgot everything eX- cept that the woman he loved sat be- side him surI ounded by tokens of the holiday season and crowned with the time honored consent to- kiss. Accept ing the mistretoes dare he caught Claudia quickly in his arms and kissed her full upon her crimson mouth, not once but many times. Then he drew back intoxicated but braced to meet her storm of indignation; however, Claudia, though white and shaken, seemed more surprised than angry, as at the premature happening of fore gone event.
 Why, Ben what made you so-"
 You are not only sitting under the mistletoe," he explained hastily, point ing to a magnificent cluster of the Druid's parasite in the bare branches above. "but have a spring tucked In your hair, the pretttestSl ever saw he murmured without specifying whether hair or ornament excelled in lfbeauty. K "Oh, I didn't know that mischievous l Milton. tucked in mistletoe too" she 1 answered with a flush of embarrass- 1 ment; feeling for the vegetable pearls | she threw them on the ground. MardiVal Immediately rescued them; l giving them comfortable berth in hls pocket book.
 But you did know that>I loved>you. | have loved you ever since I carried your light primer and heavy lunch basket along this very path to the little neighborhood school. While you were learning your A, B, Cs, I was be- ing taught amo, amas, anat, with an execrable pronunciation but a full and lasting sense of the definition. You knew my love well by that memorable Christmas ten years ago when we all gathered around Mothers tree, exhuber ant with holidaySspirit and our release from colleges. Yes, you knew it, every