St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-12-24

would not stay buttoned. 1t required
much time and he sat down on the
step and with all his ten fat, wee fin
gers labored. Then. "Das doodle
boy" he objurgated himself as he
resumed his climb of the stairs, the
button buttoned; "Das a daryin' yittle
gentleman"
He shook the knob. Waited. Jug
ging on the toes of him and discours-
ing to Nicodemus.
The door remained closed.
Two fat palms smote it wrathfully.
"Open." he commanded; ''pease
open dis door,
Nobody answered.
Poor yittle boy" he wheedled at
keyhole: "zere amt nobody loves
i'm"
Nicodemus yapped and made feints
at desertion when a dog barked out
side. Fawned back, and licked the
fingers where bread and honey aroma
fingered. Sat up and waved an affable
paw at him.
He sat down on the floor and gath
cred his yellow dog into his pinafore
and Rugged.
"'Cept Nitodemus an myself" he
said.
Great-grand came up the hall.
SIS you been bad boy, dreat-dran ?"
he said. rs you all shutted out?"
Great-grand sighed.
Seems like this horse just will run
IN dol fy ISx,o a
bone in my foot and can't run after
him."
In a wink he was after the rampant
steed. Captured and mounted. rode
1t lordily hither and yon. and when
at last he came back from the breath
less miles We had slipped down the
back way and at stairfoot waited.
Slowly, with dignity, he dismounted.
put his steed in stall, came back to
stair-head. and, legs astride and head
thrown back. surveyed US from the
heights of remembered injury. Be-
side him. perky. tongue lolling out,
Nicodemus squatted.
Long legs gathered to his chin,
great-grand ranged himself on the top
step and twinkled.
Eyes. sirs," quoth great-grand:
"shutted us all Quit"
Our baby nodded confirmation and
Nicodemus yawned In our faces.
Men mys Nitodemus an mys dreat.
dran," he said AN mys dreat-dran
is dot bone in his foot an / needed
to kiss mys muvver."
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 cogitated to Nico.
demus, and poked broom straws under
| the door
Christmas eve we sat about the
great open fireplace. Great-grand sort
! ed and piled his red-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
From the end of the new backlog the
saps distilled. all the summers rains
and dews and green growings in their
whicker-Whicker. We had hated to
shut out the skies. so divinely near
| they closed In upon earth. with their
starry strands garlanding the rim OF
hills. Our baby had seen his first me.
Of or
and a soundless splendor as the me.
teor burst and biggened into q globe
of slysian azure, and went out And
the black violet skies seemed yet
deepIier black with that blue glory
memoried against them. and the stars
pallid and cold. And my baby won.
dered If there might not be another
Christmas baby, in that blue glory. He
wondered whether, If we'd go out, we
might not find 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
he could have brought 1t home to his
own SETS house. He wanted a baby
so bad. And even his sweets-freighted
babble picked up that blue sky-mistery
and wondered about it. And his eyes
were wide and fathomlessly sweet in
the freight. and his hand chung all
the while to my face and deared It
and wove heavenly weave into my life
in every least little touches of it to
Criopled