The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1919-12-13

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nonsense" Hilda answered III you
knew the trouble l have with her,
Mrs. Holmes, you wouldn't be asking |
me to put any new ideas into her
head She is contented with her
dolls and is satisfied. and my WORK
takes up every minute Of my time
And you don't do your york.
cried the Scotch woman. There's
better and more natural work at your
hand for you to do. and YOU leave 1t
to others"
What do you mean by that@"
81 mean Eunice," said Mrs. Holmes
defantly. and wiped her hands on her
apron and stalked away, leaving Hilda
Groves indignant and resentful.
Mrs. Holmes had put her little
charge to bed on Christmas eve and
later stole on tiptoe to the door.
Eunice was lying with her face to
the wall, her head resting upon her
arm. The good woman looked twist
fully at her, and at the little stockings
which hung from the head of the
bed. She had never had child Of
her own.
She was going to I'LL them to over
flowing with certain store OF good
things that she had purchased and
hidden away insthe linen closetsamong
the sheets and pillow-cases She had
candies and oranges, and firecrackers
that snapped disconcertingly, contain.
ing foolscaps and notices and paper
ornaments within their; fat and crink'
ling bodies; jack-in-the-box, too,
and doll, just large enough to be
cunningly concealed inside stock
ing. Mrs.sHolmes watched the child
Her sleep did not seem sound, for,
once or twice she stirred, and the
good landlady had that morbid ter.
ror of discovery which real Santa
always feels.
I'll wait till Mr.. Cunningham has
| come in and then I'll do i" she re-
solved. Mr.. Cunningham, the last Of
her boarders to come 4home, was al
ways punctual upon the stroke Of
eleven. Eunice would then be SOUND
asleep, no doubt.
But Eunice had not slept at all.
With a child's deliberate craft she
had deceived the good-natured land
lady. She waited till she heard Mrs,
Holmes go into her room, and then
she rose up ever so softly and pulled
on the empty stockings, dressed her
self, and crept into the hall. She
listened In terror at Mrs Holmes
door. She was reading aloud, as she
did of an evening, and the solitary
voice was terrifying. Not much less
so was the regular breathing of Mrs
Bennett next door, the middle-age(
woman who always insisted on stop
ping and speaking, no matter how
busy Eunice might happen to be. The
floor creaked, and once Mrs. Holmes
stopped reading and sat up In hel
chair. Eunice shrank into the reces!
between the hall curtain and the UNI
brella stand. Then all was RICH
again and Mrs. Holmes voice droneC
on. The child opened the hall doc
and fed out Aeo the December blasts
She had gone to find Santa Claus
for she knew that he would not COM
to her.
The theater was only three block
away, and, Eunice could see the dis
! tant glitter of lights as soon as sh
, was in the street. The road was full
+ of vehicles, and pedestrians went hui
. rying along the sidewalks, but M
a body molested her or was euriou
I ,about the little, thinly clad girl tina
/ slipped among the crowds, dodgin
p here and there until she reached tn
corner of the third block. The
Eunice halted before the rush of al
8 tomobiles that Whizzed past her j
never ending line, and big polic'
a man took her by the arm.
t Where are you going. little girl?
q he asked gruffiy.
"Thanta Clauth," said Eunice, poin
q ing toward the theater lights.
!. do you belong to the theateri
asked the policeman dubiousl
= where is your Mammal"
q "Over there" said Eunice, and tt
a policeman carried her across Il
street, while the automobiles parke
q upon either hand on a wave of b
v lordly fingers. He set her down
the stage entrance.
It Anybody lost a baby?" ne asks