Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-12-30

WON nave enough Christmas 10 nurt
anything"
On that morning of the day before
Christmas Mary Chavah woke early.
while il was yet dark. With closed
eyes she lay in the grip OF a dream that
was undissipated by her waking. In
the dream she bad seen a little town
lying In hollow. lighted and peopled.
but without foundation
1t isn't born yet they told her who
looked with her. and the people are
not yet born"
Who Is the mother:" she had asked.
rs II everything must be born OF wo-
man.
You" they had answered
on which the town had swelled and
rounded and swung in a hollow OF
cloud. gIobed and shining like the
world.
You" they had kept on saying.
The sense that she must bear and
mother the thing had Grasped her with
all the Sickening force of dream fear
And when the dream slipped into the
remembrance OF what the day would
srinG her the grotesque terror hardly
iessened. and she woke TO a sense Of
oppression and coming calamity such
as not even her night OF decision TO
take the child had brought to her.
weight as OF physical faintness and
sickness
Il feel as IL something was going to
happen" she said over and over.
She was wholly ignorant that in that
week just passed the word bad been
liberated and had run round Old Trail
Town in the happiest open secrecy:
Coming way from Idaho with
tag on Christmas eve. We thought
II everybody could call that night
just run into Mary's. You know. like il
was any other night and take I'm a lit
tie something to eat-no presents. you
knOw-Oh. Of course no presents,-juSt
supper in a basket. We'd all have 10
eat somewhere. IL won't be any
Christmas celebration. Of course-Oh. !
no. not with the paper signed and all.
but just for us TO kind OF meet and /.
be there when he gets or the train !.
from Idaho"
Just like il was any other night" I
That was the part that abated suspi- /
cion. Indeed. that had been the very .
y
Christmas tad been based-the day
was to be treated like any other day. /
And. obviously. on any other day such /
a simple plan as this for the welcom-
ing Of little stranger from Idaho
would have gone forward as a matter
Of course. Why deny him this merely
because the night Of his arrival CHANGED
10 be Christmas eve? When Christ
mas was TO be treated exactly as any
other day?
II in the heart Of Mis- Abby Wins
low. where the plan had originated. it
had originated side by side with the
thought that the point Of the plan was
the incidence OF Christmas eve she
Kept her belief secret. The open argu-
uent was unassailable. and she con-
tented herself with that Even Sim
con Buck. confronted with it. was ST
ent-
Coin back on the paper are you
be had NJ first said. and hev a cele-
bra tom
Celebration Of what:" Mis- Wins.
ow demanded; "celebration Of that
little boy getting here all alone. way
rom Idaho. And we'd celebrate that
my other night. wouldn't WEI OF
curse we would. Our paper signing
lOn't call for us to give everybody
he cold shoulder as I know of. Just
.ecause its Christmas or Christmas
We. either
No" Simeon owned. "of course it
ont. OF course it don't
As for Abel Ames. he accepted the
roposal with an aIacrity which ne
.as put 10 II to conceal.
SO do" he said heartily. so do.
guess we can go ahead just like il
vas a plain day o the week. can't
-e:~
-Hetty." he said 20 his wife. whom
nat noon he went through the house
, the kitchen expressly 10 tell. can
on bake M a basket OF stuff to take