Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

n OOKING over her shoulder,
turning her wheel deity. Flora
backed the yellow station wagon
IL to the side door of the tiny
post office and the postmaster $
son, almost obscured behind the pyra-
mid of packages in his arms. began 70
pile them in Some of them were ob-
Viously TOYS, with the trade mark of a
we'll known shop on the wrapping
paper. and the postmaster's son
thought how pleasant il must he to
have the opening of those. whereas
Flora was thinking how poisonous it
was OF her family-through motives
of rather inefficient economy--to in
sist on spending Christmas in the
country, when the happiness of her
whole life depended on her being in
town.
She cast her eyes over the boxes
and parcels--that was from Aunt Lily.
probably a knitted anti-maca ssar-a
book from Walter; Walter always sent
her book. All, that looked interest
1ng-but it was for her mother. Good
heavens, another rocking horse for
her small brother. Now they were
all in
Better take the first-class in front, =
said the boy, and he gave her a bundle
of letters, and with them a small,
square box. This last was done up
very neatly in white paper: il was
sealed at both ends, as jewelers. seal
their parcels, and it was labeled twice
Once on each side-"Not to Be
opened Till Christmas" 1t was di-
rected to her. Who had sent it? The
printed letters told her nothing-but
the seals suggested g. great deal. She
took it UP and gave it a, shake; the
result was a pleasant. heavy little
chunk. 1t looked like jewelry. it shook
like jewelry. But who was there who
would send her a jewel?
As she drove home through the twi-
light of the December afternoon her
imagination played about that box,
and. as she was 81 and unhappy, all
her dreams were gay. Suppose it
were Roddy, come to his senses-sup-
pose he was taking this way of telling
her. She turned over the pile
of letters, but there was no letter from
him, only what looked like billS-billS
and bills for her father.
The Cages were one Of those fami-
lies who had always-that is to say,
for three or four generations-had
money and large families and country
places; so that now, when the money
had decreased by subdivision and other
causes, only the country place and the
ICtIldll1Cus lOId lathe :,
Archibald Gage, like most Cages, was
incapable Of dealing with such a situa-
zion. He merely put the bills, un-
opened. into his pocket and said to
his wife: II don't know what we can
do about it, Mary; every year we go
into our capital; it won't last forever,
you know" and went off to play golf.
X X X
MRS. GAGE (she had been born a
Avn Vernon of Vernons Landing) vyor-
ried great deal, but she, too, could
not see her way to depriving the chill
dren of their natural rights and pleas
ures. The younger boys and girls were
sent to the best private schools. and
the eldest son was a freshman at col
1ege. Flora, the eldest Of the children,
was the only one who suffered by the
present spasm of economy, which con-
sisted in renting the town house for
the Winter. OF all the Winters in her
life, Flora most passionately desired to
spend this one in New York.
In September she had fallen in love
the first time in her life. A great
surprise to her, for she had always be-
fore imagined as she listened wonder.
ingly to the condolences of her friends,
that 1t was an experience she was
never likely to undergo.
She had been staying with some
people on. the south shore of Long Is
iand. II was brilliant September
day--the sea was very blue and the
sun was very hot, and the wind was
blowing wisps of foam from the reg
ular waves which broke always in the