, 1922-01-05

spot in her heart for the Waterman,
whom Miss Melbourne sometimes re-
ferred to as her beau" The first
shock had come because she had about
made up her mind that Nellie had in
vited a crowd of old friends from the
city-rich people who, thought Polly,
would be loath to rub elbows with
a man who made his living watching
peoples houses at night.
AT eleven o'clock on Christmas day,
as Polly was busy in the kitchen max
ing final preparations for the turkey
that was presently to go into the oven,
Nellie Melbourne came bounding into
the room.
"They are herel They're here!
Eleven of them! You go on in and
stay with them and I'll take charge
here"
Polly did as she was told. She threw
aside her apron and hustled into the
old living room, gayfy decked
with green's and holly, to find her two
married sisters, their husbands and
seven well-assorted nieces and neph-
tWo. lhty hau ptCh IhNitCb hiah
weeks before and had kept the secret
perfectly.
When Mr.. Robinson, looking very
spruce and happy. came an hour later,
he was sent in to join Miss Samson's
family party. Nellie was holding the
fort ~joyously, If not expertly, In the
kitchen. Then it was that every one In
the living room paused suddenly In
their noisy conversation.
II thought 1 heard a scream" said
Polly.
you did, said Mr.. Robinson, as he
made quick strides toward the kitchen.
What he first saw was the dropping
form of Nellie Melbourne propped in
the arms of a stalwart young man in
a s~now-covered ulster. What he saw
when he looked a second time was that
this stalwart young man was his son.
Miss Polly Samson rescued Nellie
and the old man, with tears in his
eyes, embraced his son. But Nellie
really fainting. She came to lmost at
once and took her part in the general
calculation that followed.
The hardest thing for them all to
understand was that Mr.. Robinson
wasn't really Mr.. Robinson at all. He
was Mr.. Hilton, Jeremiah Hilton, as
was natural, since he was Tom Hill
toms father.
He had changed his name when he
had met with business reverses and
had to sell out his business and start
! all over In an effort to earn enough to
keep his son In law school. Meantime
the son, far away from home, finished
his studies and began his uphill work
as a lawyer, never dreaming that the
monthly remittances he received had
been the return for watching at night.
jeremiah Hilton had been very clever
about 1t and only one old friend, the
one who had vouched for his honesty
In the little town of Thatcher, knew
the truth of the matter.
Now young Hilton had made good.
He found himself suddenly one of the
foremost young lawyers in the town
he had chosen as his stamping ground
He had come back a thousand miles or
so to find his father and. failing to
find him at the address to which his
letters had always been sent, used
every means to find aim. Through the
help of the old friend he had traced
him to Thatcher and found he was a
night Waterman. From the humble
cottage where the father had his room
the son had traced him to the Mel
bournes by tracks of his arctics in the
snow. And these tracks had led right
into the kitchen, where he met, face to
face, Nellie Melbourne, whom he had
loved without ceasing for ten years
since his freshman days in college.
So Tom Hilton vas the fifteenth
guest at the table.
1t surprised no one when Nellie was
married to Tom Hilton a few weeks
later. The surprise came when Mr..
Hilton. Sr.. grown very spruce and
courageous and younger by the day,
made it known hat he was going to
marry Polly Samson. Nellie, who could
well afford 1t, gave the old Melbourne
house to Polly as n token of apprecia-
ton for long service. Polly's invest
ments and regular remittances from
Mrs. Tom Hilton tided over the time
before Jeremiah Hilton got on his feet
again as "A business man In Thatcher.