Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-12-04

from a little remembrance for some
body to a suet pudding. 1t was strange.
she owned. No trees being trimmed.
no churches lighted for practice and
the shops closed as on any other night.
Only the postofice had l~ight-she went
in to look In her box. After was there
at the telegraph window. and be ac-
costed her.
little boys comm tonight. is he?"
he said. as one of the sponsors for that
arrival.
SIN on my way to the train now"
Mary answered. and noted the Christ
mas notice with its soiled and dog
cared list still hanging on the wall. 1T
was a good move.' she insisted TO her
self as she went out into the empty
street again.
"You got a merry Christmas without
nc odds of the paper or me either
After called after her. but she did not
answer save with her THANK you. Mr.
After"
"Why do they all pretend to think
It's so fine for me-" she wondered.
IL NnCCt hS up I SdCoos sue thOuSht
grimly.
Tonight they were all sharing the
aloofness from the time. an aloofness
which she herself had known for years.
All save Jenny. To Jenny's house. In
defiance of that dog cared paper In
the postofice. Christmas had come.
Not a Christmas of present trading"
not a Christmas of things at all. but
Christmas. Unto them a child was
born.
"Jenny's the only one in this town
that's got n real Christmas" thought
Mary on her way to meet her W lit
tie guest.
The Simeon Buck North American
Dry Goods Exchange was dark. too
and from its cave of window the gray
st. Nicholas looked out, bearing his
flag-and he tonight an idle, mummy
thing of no significance. The Abel
Ames General Merchandise Emporium
was closed, but in%voluntarily Mary
stopped before it. In its great plate
glass window a single candle burned.
ko4C otOOQ v q nuOAuCul lOOhluEs
why. That's what they do some
places to let the Christ child in Mary
thought. Il wonder il Abel knows.
How funny-for a storeI'
Some one whom she did not know
passed her and looked too.
kind o NICE" said the other.
Real nice" Mary returned and went
on with a little glow.
At Mis- Moran's house on the other
side Of the square the children were
waiting for h~er-Bennet and Gussie
and Tab and Pep and little Emily.
They ran before Mary in the road, all
save little Emily, who walked, clasp
ing Mary's hand.
Aren't you staying up late. Emily?"
Mary asked her.
Yes" assented the child content
eddy.
Won't you be sleepyY Mary pur-
sued.
II was going to stay awake any
how" she said. Il amt goin' sleep all
night. We said SO. We're goin' stay
wake and see santa Claus go by"
go by?" Mary repeated.
EYES," the child explained. You
don't think that'll hurt. do you?" she
asked anxiously. "And them" she pur-
sued. IF we don't see him Wen know
he's dead everywhere else too. An
then we're goin' bury him tomorrow
morning up to Gussie's house"
AT the station M n was yet about.
Utter peace was there, not the prlmeyal
peace that is negation. but a silence
that listened.
while shepherds watched their
f1ocks by night, all seated on the
ground" Mary thought and looked
along the horizon hill. The time need
ed an invocation from some n who
watched. as many voices through many
centuries had made invocation on
Christmas we. For a moment, looking
over the lonely white places where no
one watched. as no one-save only Jen-
ny-watched in the town, Mary forgot
the children.
The showing and grating of baggage
truck wheels recalled her. Just beyond
the bay window she saw little Emily
lifted to the truck and the four others
follow and the ten heels dangle in air.
Now said Pep. And a chant
arose:
"'Twas the night before Christmas when
all through the house
No a creature was stirring, not even a
mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney
with care
In the hope that St. Nicholas soon would
be there"
Upborne by one. now by another.
now by all three voices, the verses
went on unto the end. And it was as
If not only Tab and Pep and Bennett
and Gussie and little Emily were
chanting, but all children who had
ever counted the days to Christmas
and had found Christmas the one piece
Of magic that is looked on with kind