The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-26

shteam milne Thin he sighs an
says: Barney, / niver intinded f'r
to do Il, but ye know how it is ye-er-
sill. VIII ye lind me tn loan iv
two-dollar bill SOS we can ate till tn
mkt pay-dayT That's tn wa-ay iv tn
ma-an with tn big hear-rt Mary. an
80 I've had me hear-rt ossihed"
This naturally had It's effect on Mrs.
Flynn. 9TH poor ma-an," she said
to herself; "he do be ha-avln' hazard
time Nv it over th money, an 'tis FIR
me to help him out" So she glad
dened his heart by proposing that they
ignore Christmas entirely As that
was the very idea that he had in mind
all along, he readily acquiesced. And
yet, even in the hour Of victory, he be-
gan to modify the compact, thus delib-
erately disprovlng his previous pessi
mistic assertions about the expected |
return favors.
"A bit iv something fr Maggie an
Terry" he said, but nawthin' ilse"
Here. however. Maggie objected. II
there was to be any such arrangement !
she wished to be included 10 It. There
was no reason why she should receive
any presents II she was expected to
give none; indeed as she was receiv-
ing an independent salary for her
work as a teacher, she told herself that
there was all the less reason why her
parents should incur any Christmas
expenses on her account. AS for her
own money. she could do with that as
she saw fit. II was right that they
should be relieved OF a burden that
was rather hard to 0ear In the exist
ing circumstances, but that was no rea-
son why she should be deprived Of the
| pleasure Of giving. Here, 1t will be
noticed, was another blow to Police
man Flynn's views e. the selfshness
that marks the modern Christmas, but
OF course he didn't know 1t. Maggie
kept her opinions to herself, and mere
" insisted that she should be includ-
ed IN the compact.
Now this is an agreement that many
people OF limited means have entered
into at various times. and they will
appreciate the dif1culties that con-
fronted the parties to It. The Christ
mas spirit is contagious, and more
than once Policeman Flynn regretted
that he had been so far-sighted. When
he saw anything that he wanted to
buy for Mrs. Flynn or Maggie, he
tried to console himself with the re-
Fiction: "Niver mind! T Will be
ma-arked down aither Chrls-mus."
But with this came the haunting fear
that the stock might be exhausted be-
fore the day Of bargain sales arrived.
The occasional queries at the station:
what are We goin' to buy III good
woman?" also worried him, for he
feared a truthful answer would be mis-
construed. and he would be put down
as q misery wretch with little aitec-
tion for his family. He had one con-
ISOLATION. however. BY taclt agree
ment Terry hId been left out Of the
arrangement, as being too young right
: fully TO appreciate II, and so there
was an opportunity to make some fam
lily purchases. Thus II happened that
Christmas eve Policeman Flynn told
HIS wife that he must get something
more for Terry.
but ye ha~ave a pdnty fr him." ar
gued Mrs. Flynn.
Are you tn wan that's doin' this.
or am II" he demanded. with some as
perity.
"Oh. gwan. II ye wa-ant to- Vhe re-
turned. but rav-mimber waA hing"
whats that?v
"Ray-mimber Cullen. tn la-ad Il "a
big hear.rt that niver meant fr to do
IL"
i Policeman Flynn departed with the
uncomfortable feeling of criminal
who fears he has been found out and
, Mra. Flynn chuckled. Then she re-
, tired to her room and made an inves-
r tIgation OF one OF the bureau drawers
, "'Twill niver do" she commented
: as she held up one Of Policeman
Flynn's socks and regarded 1t critical
| ly. "sTis a Shame tn min don't wear
! shtockln's. Now whatli ta-ake II
: to ma-ake it seem fright an proper
. Terry noted his mothers mysterious
/ movements that night. but he was alb.
!. solutely barred from the kitchen un.
til morning. and Mrs. Flynn kept I
7 close watch Of him. Maggie vas su.
F.; perintending or assisting to superin-
1 tend waits Christmas celebration
: and did not get home until late. Wher
: she did come she made mysterious
= trip to the kitchen in the dark and
+ deposited some packages on the table
: with the stealthiness Of thief Po
8 llceman Flynn came still later, ant
i his movements we're the most extraoF
' dinary OF all. He removed hts bootl
: before gcing to the room where Mrs
4 Flynn was peacefully dreaming Of thI