Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-11-13

sonants that spell somebody else. And
how did some names get themselves so
~teiriically overused unless by some
strange might. say. a kind of ~astrolOgi-
cal irregularity. Ellen Bourne sat by
the window and suddenly looked over
her shoulder at the room.
IF we've got the things made" she
said. cant we give EN-? If it's to
children"
II think if we're going to omit we'd
ought to omit" Mis- Bates held her
own; 1T can't matter to you. Ellen.
with no children, So She caught
herself sharply up. Ellen's little boy
had died a Christmas or two ago.
NO." Ellen said, Il amt any chill
dren. of course. But
well. l think" said Mis- Jane Mo-
ran. that we've hit on the only way
we could have hit on to chirk each 9TH
ell up over a hard time.'
And get of, delicate ourselves same
time" said Buff Miles. From the
first Buff had been advocating what
he called IAN open Christmas" and
there were those near him at the meet
ing to whom he had con1ded some
plan about church choir Christmas
carol s~erenades." which he was loathe
to see set at naught.
Not much afterward Simeon Buck
put the motion:
Mis- Chairman" he said. Il move
you-and all of us-that the Old Trail
Town meeting do and hereby does de-
clare itself in favor of striking Christ
mas celebrations from its calendar this
year. And that we circulate a petition
through the town to this effect. headed
by our And that we all own
up that it's for the simple and regret
full reason that not a mothers son of
us can afford to buy Christmas pres
ents this year. and what's thesuse of
scratching to keep up appearances?"
For a breath Abel Ames hesitated;
then he spoke voluntarily for the first
time that evening.
MI. President. / second the hull of
that, " said he. slowly, and without
looking at anybody. and then sighed
his vast, triple sigh.
There was apparently nobody to vote
against the motion. Mis- Winslow did
not vote at all. Ellen Bourne said
mo" but she said it so family that
nobody heard save those nearest her.
and they felt a bit embarrassed for
her because she had spoken alone. and
they tried to cover up the minute.
Carried" said the chair, and slipped
out In the kitchen to put on the coffee.
At the meeting there was almost no
body who, in the course of the ven
ing. did not make or reply to some
form of observation on n theme. 1t
was:
"Well. l wish Mary Chavah'd been
to the meeting. She'd have enjoyed
herself
Or, well. won't Mary Chavah be
glad of this plan they've got? She's
wanted it a good while"
Or, I'VE all seem to have come to
Mary Chavah's way of thinking. don't
we? You know, she amt kept any
Christmas for years."
Unless it was Abel Ames. He, in
fact. made or replied to almost no OBJ
%servations that evening. He drank
his coffee without cream. sugar, or
spoon-they are always overlooking
somebody's essentials In this way, and
such is Old Trail Towns shy courtesy
that the omission is never mentioned or
repaired by the yictim-and sighed his
triple sigh at intervals. and went home.
"Hetty." he said to his wife, who
had not gone to the meeting, they put
1t through. We won't have no Christ
mas creditors this year. We don't
have to furnish charged Christmas
presents for nobody"
She looked up from the towel she
was featherstitching-she was a little
woman who carried her head back and
had large eyes and the long. curved
lashes of a child.
81 s'pose you're real relieved, amt
you, Ahel?" she answered.
my, yes" said Abel. without ex-
preston. "My. yes"
ITO Be Continued.)