The Falls City tribune., 1910-12-30

the door remained closed.
Two fat palms smote 1t wrathfully.
Open" he commanded. "pease
open dis door"
Nobody answered.
Poor yittle boy" he wheedled Mt
keyhole; "zere amt nobody loves
I'm"
Nicodemns yapped and made felnts
at desertion when n dog barked out
side. Fawned back, and licked the
Ringers where bread and honey aroma
Fingered. Sat up and waved an affable
paw at him.
lie sat down on the floor and gath
ered his yellow dog into his pinafore
land Rugged.
"'Cept Nitodemus an myself" he
said.
Great-grand came up the hall.
rs you been a bad boy, dreat-dran %
me said. rs you all shutted out?'
Great.grand sighed.
Seems like this horse just will run
away" In doleful tone, and I've got a
bone in my foot and | can't run after
him"
In a wink he was after the ampan
isteed. Captured and mounted. rode
III lordily hither and yon, and when
Rt last he came back from the breath.
Hess miles we had slipped down the
back way and at stairfoot waited.
Slowly, with dignity. he dismounted,
iput his steed In stall, came back to
lstair-head. and. legs astride and head
thrown back. surveyed Us from the
heights of remembered injury. Be.
side him. perky. tongue lolllng out,
Micodemus squatted.
Long legs gathered to his chin,
igreat-grand ranged himself on the top
step and twinkled.
yes, %sirs,' quoth great-grand:
"shutted MS all out"
Our baby nodded confirmation and
lNicodemus yawned In our faces.
Men mys Nitodemus an mys dreat-
idran," he said, An mys dreat-dran
is dot a bone In his foot an | needed
10 kiss mys muyyer."
But for three long days the library
ddoor remained locked.
And regularly, after each mornings
breakfast. he mounted the stairs and
tried the knob and eogitated TO Nieo.
demus. aud poked broom straws under
the door,
Christmas W. we sat about a great
open fire. G~reat-grand loved to dig
and delve ia the red-charred logs and
imprison the swarms of rosy bees.
Fascinated, | would watch the swirl.
ing upfled sparks, wondering what
phantasms of youth he saw all-beauti.
full in them, what faces went past In
that rosy mirage that his own should
wear so tender an answering look
into eyes he alone was seeing. Some.
times our baby would come to stand
between his knees, head leaned
against his shoulder. and from within
the encircling arms watch. Sometimes
he would straddle one old knee and
snug his head under the downleaning
old Chin, gold hair and white hair com
mingled, and hand over the old hand.
help the poker that prodded and piled
the embers. And the wide eyes seemed
to be seeing with the old mans vision
ing, so united lie NOulu SlI.
Christmas eve we sat about the
great open fireplace. Great-grand sort.
ed and piled his r~ed-charred logs.
Grandmother was watching. lost in
idleness. Grand father had gone down
cellar for apples and in my lap my
baby was telling me secrets. We
listened beyond the ~singings of the
flames; beyond the delicate soft sing.
ing and the signing and the daughters
of them. the wind in the chimney.
From the end of the new backlog the
saps distilled, all the summers rains
and dews and green growings i'm their
whicker-whicker. We had hated TO
shut out the skies, SO d~iyinely near
they closed in upon earth. with their
starry strands ~garlanding the rim of
hills. Our baby had see his first me-
teor-a feathered trail of ethereal fire
and a soundIess splendor as the me.
teor burst and ~biggened into a globe
of slysian azure. and went out. And
the black violet skies seemed vet
deeplier black with that blue glory
memoried against them. and the stars
pallid and cold. And my baby won.
dered IL there might not be another
Christmas baby, in that blue glory. He
wondered whether. If we'd go out, we
might not find a few boys and girls
and babies that got left over. when
God forgot who had asked to have
some left at their houses. He wished
he'd been there that night at the OK
ems inn, to see the little child. Sos