The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1910-12-23

would not stay buttoncd. 1t required
much time II he sat down on the
step and with all his ten fat. wee fin
gers labored. Then. "Das a doodle
boy, he objurgated himself as he
resumed his climb Of the stairs, the
button buttOned: "Das a daryin' yittlc
gentleman!"
He shook the knob. Waited, Jug
slng on the toes of him and discourse
ing to NicOdemus.
Inc door remained closed.
Two fat palms smote it wrathfully.
Open" he commanded: 'pease
open dis door"
Nobody answered.
poor yittle boy" he wheedlcd at
keyho!e: "zere amt nobody loves
i'm"
Nlcodemus yappcd and made feints
at descrtlon 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.
G~rGat-Srand came up the hall.
is you been Il bad boy, dreat-dran?"
he said. rs you all shutted out""
Grcat-grand sighed.
Seems like this horse lust will run
away" in doleful tone, and I've got a
bone in my foot and l can't run after
him"
In a wink he was after the rampant
steed. Captured and mounted, rode
it lordily hither n 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,
NicCdemus Squattcd.
Long legs gathered to his chin,
great-grand ranged himself on the top
step and twinkled.
Yes, sirs," quoth great-grand;
"shutted us all OUT"
Our baby nodded confirmation and
Nicodemus yawned in our faces.
Men mys Nitodemus an mys dreat-
dram" he said. AN mys dreat-dran
is dot a bone in his foot an I 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 nv
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 til I'm. the wind in the chilnnev.
From the end of the new backlog the
saps distilled. all the summers rains
and dews and green Srowings 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-
teor-a feathered trail Of ethereal fire
and a sOundless splendor as the me-
teor burst and blggened into a globe
of slysian azure and went out. And
the black violet skies seemed vet
deepljer black with that blue glory
memoried against them, and the stars
pallid and cold And my baby Won
dered II 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 or
ems inn. to see the little child. Sos
he could have brought it 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 1t. 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 weav inty my life
in overv looc< lit<lo <ocoho. -, /;