Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-01-06

him, but he'd taken off and sailed
away beyond the trees, and what with
this fog that musta turned many q
pilot back to the airport this morning,
the pavement artist couldn't say which
way he'd taken-mighter been east,
west. or Thames
Appalled,. Peters mistress scurried
to give the few particulars Of her loss
to the policeman at the corner.
p. c. xO33 took them down in his
official notebook. Officially he agreed
that 1t might be an idea, Madam, to
telephone to the zoo
Unofficially. he reflected. Might be
the old girls grandson from the way
Only those who have given their
torn by that dogs loss will understand
the feelings Of the woman who had
lost Peter. True. he had nothing Of
the companionable devotion Of any
ones dog.
But he was all she had.
And she'd lost her all-on Christ
mas day.
"OneEtwo- three" chimed the
church clock that Christmas afternoon.
III
Three most lonely souls heard it
from No. 9.
On her Top Floor, kindergarten
Teacher Mollie threw aside her love
story from the lending library and
picked up a Christmas card from a
Darling Miss Minton, from her low
ing Doris"
Nobody but those tiny girls called
her darling" Since she was about
Doris age no one had called her pretty.
Mistletoe on the card And she
almost forgot what young man looked
like. since one never met any men
but "parents"-and an occasional nice
looking stranger whom one has, ma
turally, to ignore, like that forthcom-
ing young man on the doorstep last
night >. What pity that there was
nobody to introduce anybody-soon no.
body would want to introduce Itself
Non! One must drop this chronic
But when there's somebody else to
pity or talk to. what can girl do?
Put out some cake crumbs for the
Equally alone, on the Second Floor,
the young man from Vancouver
gnawed his pipestem, hunched his wide
shoulders and could have kicked him.
self ca for coming back to the Old
Country, and (b) for having left it too
late. in his personal disgruntlement,
to do anything about getting out of
this great Christmas gloom.
Already this quickly reacting ardent
lover of life was only eager to forget
a 24-hour-old shock and to turn
towards a fresh start. But a man
can't so easily forget ta) when he's
handsome, (b) when he's dashed fas-
tidious about girls -.
Anyway, that demure little Miss
Mouse from the top floor would be
away today. Sure to have bags Of boy
friends and dates for Christmas.
Could man raise even some more
smokeable tobacco?
Still more alone on her ground floor,
Mrs. Pomeroy sat bereft. Somewhere
among Londons birdlife, Trafalgar
Square pigeons. duck Of Ken Wood,
owls of Highgate- her Peter was
lost or stolen stray. Bitterly she re-
preached herself. Because she had
been harsh to her one link, he'd gone
and perhaps. she thought shuddering
while two tears ran down her Deem
ber-rose cheeks, he was even now
crumpled. lifeless bundle of feathers
in one of London's dust bins.
Altogether it seemed as though
Christmas would end in deeper gloom
than it began for everyone at No. 9.
Except Peter.
Thoroughly enjoying his Christmas
liberty. swinging upsidedown among
tne pare DOuglS ana OdnglIng DIack
tassels of the fog-hidden plane trees,
dancing from one claw to the other,
Peter was no further away than his
home square.
When, eventually he took off. he flew
no further than to the facade of No.
9. Then he sheltered behind ledge
Of the portico. Aha! Treasure! Christ
mas chocolates had been thrown out
by extravagant little Mrs. Newlywed,
who didn't like almond centers," for
the sparrows). Peter was kept happily
pecking. Finally, still cloaked by the
fog, he climbed up the housefront,
with a lookin at each window
Rooms can speak as distinctly as
any parrot .
The First Floor boosted Love nest"
here! Eiderdowns in rose color, SYM
bolizing viewpoint Modernist furniture
delivered in plain van. Top dressing of
wedding presents. Large silver-framed