The Washington herald., 1908-07-31

man in the dark hallway. equally incum-
| bered. An avalanche Of paper bags fol
lowed
I beg your pardon" zane siuuitaae-
ously from both.
Then. as they stopped to the task Of
| picking up their respective belongiugs. the
maR ventured an inquiry
| can you tell me where the Horrigans
1--we, I wonder2'
7 haven't the least idea" replied Pris-
ella I'm a stranger here myself"
| The cOmmotiou had caused the sudden
Z apparitiOn Of several t0useIed heads from
behind half-opened doors In the din
/ light that fIckercd out Priscilla stole an
I iaquisitive look at t1e man beside her.
I Gerald HOLSTER she exclaimed eX-
citedly, and in her amazement dropped
all her paper bags again.
Priscilla Ballad he exclaimed, and
Z his paper bags followed Priscflla's
I II is quite probable. had not the squeak
ing doors stretched their curiosity g bit
too Ear. that Priscilla and Gerald would
have spent the rest Of the morning drop
/ pins and picking up parcels But Pris-
ella, catching sight Of the woman in
whose care she had left her little charge,
rushed past her. grabbed up the child,
and commanded Gerald TO follow her
Imagine Mrs Horrigan's surprise a half
! hour or so later, when she came In from
her days cleaning. 10 find seated by a
cracking hot stove, with littIe jim IN his
arms, an ''iiligant gintlemau wfd q fur
coat al the back " I'm. and, more than
that. shtandin' near i'm. shtlrring Cruel
as Il her lie depended on Il. a beautiful
young LADY with cheeks CLOWN roses
The woman listened Ike one sDeu5Ound
70 the explanations that followed, only
half ccmprehending how IL was that q
gentleman who had become interested iH
little jim from buying papers OF him
night and morning should for that reason
be now holding the child IN his arms '-fr
all the wOT-Tl' as she afterward told the
neigh5ors. as Il he was Jlms father
that's dead. bless his sowL- Nor was
Priscilla's part IN the fairy story perfect
j. clear. either
However. there was one thing Mrs
Horrigon g-asped with true feminine IN
sJinct
you was saying you was looking fr
some wan 70 cook yer New Years dinner
Tor ye tomorrow. miss, an was just
aItleT Lhlnkin Z you'd thrust ne
'Oh. would you help ne out. tIrs- Hor-
rlgans' begged Priscilla. gratefully.
Until this moment Priscilla 81 her ex-
element. had forgotten the utter failure
Of her domestic quest
Shu-re. IL help We out. miss. returned
Mrs Ho-risaa, beam'as- Before Pat
died, an there was plenty 20 CO wtd.
could make II best t'iugs 70 ear av any
woman you tvtr ate"
I n sure of u. Mrs. Horrigan." Gerald
agreed. Enthusiastically. but YOU can't
cook ANYBODY eIse's New Years dinner
tomorrow You've got TO cook your own. [
just look al the things piled Up on the
table there-and thereu be a fat turkey
7vaddliEs over tomorrow Miss Ballad
doesn't need you She and her family are
coming 10 my house 20 dinner
Way. Gerald ilterposed Priscilla. IN
creduloUsly.
Yes. you are 7 sha'n't accept any ex-
cuses- I wanted you 20 ell the tine. only
/ didn't dare ask you Now ler's get
started for home and give AIRS. E0rrigan
a chance 20 hold her own child"
As they hurried along in the fast-faIling
darkness outside. both looked most re-
narkaoiy happy. even taking into account {
that tomorrow was 10 be New Years
Day.
on. I Just love that little jim Hort /
gam Priscilla suddenly exclaimed Don't .
you. GeraIdg-
"Oh. I'm not losing any sleep over him.
But there's some one else that do love. I
Priscilla What do you say % our an /
nouncing our engagement AZ dinner To- 4
morrow
Gerald beamed under the eruIge1ce OF /
his inspiration and gave PriSc.Iia's hand
an ecstatic little squeeze
I didn't know We were engaged 90 de- I
mUrely commented Priscilla
But don't you think we could arrange z
10 be tomorrow. GearssCT- i
Wen" answered Priscilla. condescerd-
ingly. suppose you come over this even
ing and vel see what we can do about
i Il so very sudden II I should say
yes. Gerald would you promise 70 give
AJtle jim HOrrtEan turkey every New
YearZ'
Every New Year and birthday and
Christmas" promised Gerald. !nduIgentlv.
And Jim got his turkeys.
tCoIg--s1-. lss, b J C. Rsedl