Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-20
MIR. HOLIDAY p, 4cr;;r~ ,c;,,.
He Had Millions and the Habit of Asking Personal Questions

Personal Questions.
is friend of mine-he has to be. I'm
not much on Christmas myself" he
said but an Obligations an obliga-
uon. lie shook hands with her, nod
| ued IN friendly way to the former
convict, and passed out of the car on
ms return journey, consulting his
note book as he went.
| linen he started to revisit Miss
| Hampton, but was turned from his
purpose by a new face in the car
| Inc new face rose, thin and white, on
| a long thin neck from "a clerical collar,
and its owner was busy with "a pad
| and a pencil.
Writing a scrmon?" asked Mr..
| Holiday
No. SIR, he said. I'm doing a
sum in addition, and making heavy
work of it."
IN do it for you" said Mr.. Holiday
eagerly. The clergyman still smiling,
| yielded up the pad
m trying to make it come to two
thousand dollars" he said, "and l
| can't"
That's because said Mr.. Holiday,
returning the pad after one swift
glance up and down the columns, sit
only comes to thirteen hundred and
twenty-five dollars. You had the
answer correct"
It's for repairs TO the church." said
| the clergyman. The contractor calls
Tor two thousand; and I'm just about
ready to give up"
We'll" said Mr., Holiday, I'm going
to get my dinner now. and maybe
later | can give you some idea how to
raise the balance. I've raised IA good
deal OF money in my time" He
chuckled.
Il know that. Mr.. Holiday" said the
clergyman. AID / should he glad of
suggestion that you might care
20 make
x = i. i
MR.. HOLIDAY seated himself fac
ing Miss Hampton. She smiled.
and nodded. and laid aside the book
she had been reading. Mr.. Holidays
eyes twinkled.
I'm going to turn you out of this
section" he said.
Now. really" said Miss Hampton.
You're going to carry your buds To
the drawing room, Car g." he said
/ Then he told her about the young
people who had eloped without exactly
meaning to. Miss Hampton was de-
lighted.
She and Mr.. Holiday hurried to the
drawing room in Car 5, of which the
door had been left wide open, accord.
ing to Mr.. Holidays orders. The
young people looked very happy and
! unhappy all at once, and as soon as
Mr.. Holiday had begun to state their
situation to them without mincing
they assumed "a tremendous pair of
bushes which they were not able to
efface for long time.
And now" he finished, glaring al
the uncomfortable young man. you
bring your buds and put them in Miss
Hampton : section. And then you
gather up Miss Hampton's buds and
bring EN- in hereS And he turned
and shook his finger at the girl Mind
YOU" he said. don't you ever run
away again without a chaperon. They
don't grow on every bush"
somehow, Mr.. Holiday had over
looked the other drawing room OBJ in
Car 5. Now he same suddenly upon
it. and peered in. But he drew back
With sharp jerk as if he had seen a
rattlesnake. All the kindness Went
out of the old gentleman's face, and
between anger and hatred he turned
white
''Jolyff." he muttered. And, all the
elasticity gone from his gait. he stun
bled back TO his own car, revolving
and muttering unchristian thoughts.
For he and Jolyf had been meeting
all their lives. IL seemed, in court and
out; sometimes with the right on one
side, sometimes on the other. Each
lad cost the other thousand wicked
threats and a mint of money.
Mr.. Holidays wonderings through
the train had aroused all the kindlied
feelings in his nature. But now he
did not care about pleasant things any
more. He could think Of nothing but
Jolyff; of nothing but old sores that
ranked of great deals that had gone
wrong, through his enemy. And in
that spirit he picked at his Christmas
eve dinner. and went to bed.
1t seemed to Mr.. Holiday every time
he woke, which was often, that the
train had just started to move, after
standing still for a long time.
Two O'Clock. He got to wondering
at exactly what hour all those hun
dredS of years ago Christ had been
born. Had 1t been as cold as this in
the old barn? Whew,
No, Bethlehem was in the semi
tropic. or thereahout. but the common
car in which the three children were
passing the night was not. This
thought came to Mr.. Holiday with
out invitation, and. like all unwelcome
guests. made long stay. SO per-
sistent, indeed. was the thought, meet
ing his mind at every turn and dog
ging its footsteps. that he forgot all
about Jolyff and all about everything
else. Finally he rang for the porter.
but had no answer. He rang again
and again. Then the train jolted slow
ly to standstill. and Mr.. Holiday got
up and dressed, and went forward
once more through the narrow aisles
of thick curtains to the common ear.
But the passengers in that ear had
amalgamated. Alice and the eX-con-
vict, blue with cold, were in the same
seat, and Alice was hugging Freddie.
who slept fitfully, to her breast, and
the eX-convict was hugging Euphemia.
who cried gently and softly like a cold
and hungry kitten. to his. The eX-
convict had taken off his overcoat and
wrapped it as we'll as he could about
the children.
Mr.. Holiday tapped the ex-convict on
the shoulder.
Bring these babies back to my
car" said Mr.. Holiday, land help me
put 'em to bed
That's a good deed. Mr.. Holiday"
said the man. He started to put on
his overcoat. The undressing and put
ting to bed had not walked Freddie
Euphemia had stopped crying. And
Alice, when the two men had helped
her with her dress, which buttoned
down the back, had suddenly flung
her arms first around one and then
around the other, and given each a
kiss good night.
The ex-convict buttoned his coat and
turned up his collar.
Good night. SIR" he said, land
thank you"
| Mr.. Holiday waived the thanks
aside and pointed to door Of shin
! ing mahogany.