The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1937-05-20
THE
AT TIE CATE
Copyright by Mabel Oseood Wright wNU Service
By MABEL
OSCOOD
WRIGHT

the VOICE uleIIl Win eSA'
derness was the voice Of the man
whom / married ten years ago. Then
it was that ] knew that the touch
Of another would be sin.
IAN through the rest Of those
slow frozen hours my one thought
was to reach you. 70 tell you this,
and that I would not live with you
in such bondage another hourl You
have dominated Joy out o. my life
by leaving nothing in it for me to
do. / must find that other man
who loved me and told me SO, who
loved me and looked love, the man
whom ! married that we might
share and share alike and be the
whole, each to the other, / must
find him. or else live out my life
alone!"
Still Vance sat leaning forward,
immovable, his thin nostrils dilating,
his teeth clenched through his under
lip the blood started.
II had hope" Eleanor continued,
pressing her hand to her eyes az
if to shut in a picture that sight
would drive away, until we found
ourselves on the Glen highway
where the great electric light hangs
high over the trolley terminal and
we stopped to borrow a lantern at
the forge. Then presently I lost
hope, for I learned there that the
man l married was not only dead
to me, but that he was dead also
to himself. Why is Joseph Hess,
with his wife and newborn child,
! taking shelter in your fathers old
forge on Christmas Eve?"
Swiftly, yet with incisive detail,
she told Of the finding of the chill
dren and Of the scene within the
shed.
"Hess-here-in want? His wife
and baby in the old forge?"
Vance paused abruptly, his words
severed as by a sword of light.
Unseen by Eleanor the door from
the back hall was opened slowly,
and on the threshold stood Tommy.
carrying a big brass candle-stick,
his eyes fixed upon the candle
flame, that would flicker and fare.
Seeing his father he set the light
upon the floor and running to him
threw himself into his arms. crying:
"Oh father! Christmas did happen
ever so long ago just as you said.
but do you know every year since
then God has been sending Christ
babies to people who sort Of forget
about it to make them feel kind?
Sister and ! saw the Star tonight
and we followed it and there. sure
enough, was a dear little Christ
baby and Mary and Joseph. There
wouldn't have been a thing on the
baby's poor mite Of a tree il we
hadn't played that we were the Wise
Men and took him Uncle Wills gold
piece and the sweet soap for incense
and the cake!
Nov you'll take an interest in
our tree, won't you, father, since
Christmas has all happened over
again right near home? There's
your little first red shoes on our
tree full of candy, n shoe for
you and one for mother, cause
grandmother says you were her
little Christ-baby once, though !
guess you never knew it. She
knows it all though, cause she talks
to God, every night. I hear her in
her room"
Slowly Vance's head dropped to
the boys shoulder and his arms
closed so tightly about his that Tom
my struggled for breath, while sobs
tore at the mans throat until the
agony was quenched by a food Of
tears.
Very gently Eleanor released her
son, who in an awestruck whisper
said, ~ didn't mean to brighten
father by coming in so soft, only
grandmother said If I'd go to sleep
we'd light the tree in the morning
and I've been asleep and when !
woke up I asked her for a drink
and what time it was and she said,
It's morning, darling, Christmas
Morning So then ! heard you and
father talking and ! came down
right away"
(TO M cONTyNUrDI