The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, December 13, 1912, Image 18
(Copyright, 1SM2, t>y A??oetttt. d I. Horary
U8T In Unto for tht
wo dd lit ?, Ollv?.
>VIbU you inerry
Cttiiitnut
but lt'? bully to
h(>o you home u?alii.
Three year# ulitoe
you walked on thla
old platform, wait
liift for tho down
? tain. How have
they treated you
down eaut?"
"Fine, t h u n k ft ,
Mr. Dunkley," Cllve
anawored heartily.
"WhoBo wuddlnu
urn I In time for? I want to load up
with KlftH."
"CJutiHB you'll have to. It's In your
own family. Hob finally got hor."
Cllvis turned quickly ub tho old sta
tion agent wont chuckling toward th?
eapross ofllce trundling a truck ol
baggage. I In followed him, hla dark
eyes keen and troubled.
"Got whom, Mr. Dunklcy? I haven't
hoard any nowu from homo for weekB
I've boeu abroad Blnce June, and Just
got back In time to catch the exprest
west for Christmas. So you see lt'e
all a KurprlHe to me."
"Burprlae to all the town. Nevei
thought Bob had the nerve to ask a
girl to marry him, let alone thai
npunky little Lawrence one."
The name struck Cllve like a whip
lash,' He called good-night and hur
ried over to where the old station
hack waited.
The driver called a cheery Christ
mas greeting to him, and he an
swered it, but as they swung up th?
long rock hill toward the town, he
leaned back and shut his eyes and
wished he had never come back.
Not that he had any hold on her.
There had never been a formal en
gagemfent. , He
had no right to
nsk ft girl to mar
ry him when ho
was only a young
cub Just out of
college with hi?
Htnndlng to win
Hint. Hut who had
known, ah, hut
she had known
well wherp \he
Btood> and how
he lovod her. He
could uec hor
now, Hinall and
Blender at h I x
teen, h t i 1 1 in
Bhort Bkirtw, her
dark cuiJb flying
In the wind, deep dimples ui the cor
ners of her mouth, and the swift
flashing smile that eyes and mouth
and dimples joined in. Yet It had
been more than beauty thut had held
him true through tho years. There
had been a look in her eyes, a look
of abiding faith and clean, straight
honor, that he had loved and trusted.
The momory of thai look had brought
him back Over the sea, to find her
this Christmas and tell her that now
he could claim her.
Rob! Stolid, good old Rob. Whilo j
ho had been playing globe trotter, i
trying to catch tho flying heels of a
madcap, wayward fortune, Bob had
stayed quietly at home and won the
girl he loved.
There in tho dingy, chilly interior
of the old hack CUyo fought out his
battlo with himself. Ho would bo
game, he said; ho would not mar
their happiness with one word or
look. Ho could not go back. There
was his mother. He could not give
up seeing her merely because Fate
had given him a knockout blow, not
exactly In the solar plexus, but a
trifle to tho left.
"All out," shouted the driver jovial
ly, pulling up. short before the groat
i)ld mansion on tho hill, with i t h bar
ricade of tall pines,
heavy now with
snow. "Wish I waa
In Rob Patterson's
boots t o n 1 g ht,
Turned on some
Illumination didn't
they-i And. oh
Uaten^o tho band..
Thank you," sir.
That gives the mis
Riia and kids at
home a little ex
tra celebration."
Olive picked up
hia two suit cases
and swung np the
gravel path, hesi
tated at si^ht of
the brilliant ly light
ed rooms, and turned quietly around
to tho side door thnt he had had oe j
caBion to line many a time beforo j
when he had been out late larking. |
It was unlocked, and there was no j
one In eight. It was etlll early, about
6:30. Probably tho family wan at
dinner. Yet some one was playing
softly in the long music room south of
the library. He t^ood in the dimly
lighted hall l!r'er?r.p. old memories
?weeping over him. It wm only ?'
little quaint Christinas carol that Kay
had Always loved. Years ago, when
the bad flint come to live with them.
? little forlorn kiddle, orphaned and
with ho one but hie father (o act aa
guardian, ehe had loved that carol,
and always sang U at holly time. He
heard her voice now and gripped, his
bands as be listened,
llark, tho herald angtls sing,
Ulory to tho newborn King,
Peace on earth and mercy mild?"
She saw bis figure reflected In the
tall mirror and rose with a hair
frightened cry,
"Ityn't, dear," he said, brokenly,
hurryiiig to meet her. He forgot
Hob and all he had heard, aud Haw
only her. "I Just got iu? nobody
knows 1 am hero yet ? why, dear
deer ? "
Hho was sobbing on bin shoulder,
her handH, wrenched from hie graup,
held hi* head ugalust her cheek.
( live naw slm wan dre?sed In white
soft satin that crushed under his
cluHp like bruised (lowers; he felt
he whs robbing Hob, aud yet there in
tho dear old room they both knew ho
vra|)t in the tender winter gloom, he
blld ln-r oloia, and klHHml hrr -lips,
hair, wet eyelids ? and forgot all ex
cept the splendor of the might hav?
been. * *
"They won't miss you," she man
aged to nay finally, pushing back hit
face aud holding It lu her hands at
u safe distance. "I'm ho sorry ? hut
you see I whs thinking of /ou, and?
aud wanting to see you ho, and then
suddenly I looked, und you were here,
right here, with me."
"And too lute," ho added bitterly.
"Oh, no, you're tuft, Cllve," h)i?
flushed back earnestly. "They haven't
been married yet.*'
"They? Who?"
"Hob and Gretchen."
"Oretcbenl Who the devil Is
Gretchen? I 1)0g your pardon, Fay
? you don't kuow what I've suffered
? isn't Hob going to marry you?"
She looked at him for a moment
in utter shocked silence, thon laugh
ed her old ringing, gay laugh that h?
/loved.
"I marry Hob ? Bob? You silly,
silly r** i
"Go ahead. Call me what you
like. Who's thla person Gretchen,
anyway?"
"She's my cousin, Gretchen Law*
rence. She came to spend her sum
mer vacation
with me, and Dob
fell In lov6 with
her. That's all,
Cllve."
"Ah?" Clive
sighed and drew
her into his arm*
again. They
would make it a
double wedding
just to pay him
back for the mis
ery of the last
half hour. Yes,
they would. And
he'd go back and
punch that old
fellow'B head
down at the Bta
tion for not tolling him it wa?
Hretchen Lawrence Instead of Fay.
"Oh, Olive, let me go," she whis
pered. "They're all at dinner, ana
you know your mother- "
"1 know all about it," said Olive,
comfortably. He raised her chin
Kontly und looked into the dear, truo
iVyes ho had trusted. Fay did not
know all that lay behind that look,
how, mentally, he knelt in all humil
ity and asked for forgiveness. Yet
ull he said was:
"I forgot to Wish yoa Merry Christ
mas, dear!"
ALL ABOUT THE MISTLETOE
~ I
Popular Christmas Plant Is a Parasite j
and In Olden Timet Was Con
sidered Sacred.
. Although In the majority of Ameri
can and English homes mistletoe Is
displayed at Christmas time, it Is re
markable how littlo Is known of this
curious plant.- Mistletoe Is a para
sitic growth, appearing most frequent
ly on apple trees, although it is also
found on evergreens and on poplar,
hawthorn, pear and oak tre?s, but
very rarely on the last named. It la
an evergreen bush, about four feet
In length, thickly crowded with
branches and leaves. Unlike all oth
or plants, Its leaves extend down aa
woll as up. The plant flowers every
year, but does not bear tho littlo whit
ish berries until it is four yoars old.
Tho mistletoe proper Is a native,, of
Europe, especially of England and
Normandy. In olden times It was con
sidered a sacred plant, because Its
berrjes grow in/clusters of three ?
emblematic of tho Trinity. Tho an
cient Celts used to hang sprigs of
mlstletoo around their necks as a
safeguard from witches. Tho maid
that was not caught and kissed under
tho mistletoe at Christmas would not
bo married within the year, so the
tradition goes. According to the old
rules the ceremony was not properly
performed unless a berry was pullod
off after each kiss and presented to*
the mnlden. When all tho berries
were pone (ho privilege ceasod.
Christmas Presents.
"I thought it better to get you some*
thing useful," saUl Mr. Dobb to his
wife, "so I have bought you a couple
of good broom 3 for your Christmas
present."
'That was very thoughtful of you,
my dear," replied Mrs. Dobb. "I share
your ideas, and have bought a good,
strong coal-scuttle for you to carry up
roals from tho cellar In."
HOME FOfCHRISTMAS
HAD btxsn west taklug
a convalescent patltmt
to bis home and was re
turning to New York
when a case fe? unex
pectedly Iqto iny bands.
The Pullman conductor
startled us early one
morning by calling out
to know if thsre wan a
physician In the car.
There was no responuo,
so without hesitation I
offered my ?ervicea. Ho took tne at
once into the ntateroom and Intro
duced me to a worried -looking young
niui) Thert vv?h no need to auk hi*
trouble. On the couch tonned a little
girl of five or h1* year*, her cheek#
and eye* blight with fever.
1 had a few Him pit* remodlcH with
me, hut tin- t hild showed Wither
alarming Hymptomn of an aggravated
cold- Deciding to take no link, 1 ?eiit
a telegram ahead, and when we reach
ed Chicago a phyBlolan with n? ?c?
Hary medicine! came aboard and ac
companied u? to JJuffalo,
Dorothy escaped all of the maladies
with which ghe wiiB threatened and
by the; time we reached New York
wan very much better. However, .Mr.
Singlet on, her father, letalned me,
h ml the three of ub went to a fa.. 1 >
lonable hotel.
The little girl con
tinued to improve,
but the (spontaneous
gayety of childhood
was lacking.
ChriBtmas was ap
proaching and Dor
othy was now ablo
U> go about. I was
Instructed to take
her to shops and
matinees? rln fact,
to do everything to
afford her amuse
ment. .Her father
suggested that she give a 'Christmas
tree for twenty less fortunate little
girls, and he kept the big limousine j
car touring the shopping district
while we played Santa Glaus.
One day we had been out all of the
afternoon. Dorothy had selected
twenty dolls, and In retrospect I view
ed my own meager childhood and
fancied what such a glorious after
noon would have meant to me, but the
child appeared even more listless
than usual. Peeling rather anxious, I
took her temperature, gave her some
stimulating nourishment tand asked
her to get into my lap while I read
to her.
Dorothy had the beautiful old-young
manners in which the little children
of the rich are drilled, and always
treated me with careful consideration
ind politeness, regardless of her own
wishes. Obediently she climbed into
my lap, put her head against my
shoulder, and I began to read aloud
a wonderful Christmas tale. We aro
all of us children at Christmas and I
found enjoyment in the story. Dor
othy was very quiet, and as I turned a
page I looked down to soe if she had
fallen asleep. To my consternation,
the wide blue eyes were brimming
with tears, fast overflowing and run
ning down the child's white cheeks.
As I dropped the book and clasped
her closely in my arms she gave way
to convulsive sobs.
Mr. Single
ton came in.
The opening
of tUe door
r (Ai Hod Dor
othy, and, see
ing her father,
she stretched
eager arms to
him and cried
out:
"Father, dear,
I don't want a
tree. I just
want mother
for Christ
mas."
I placed the child In her father's
arms and left the room. An hour
pa&sed and then Mr. Singleton rapped
on my door.. Me told mo the story.
Mrs. Singleton was not dead, as I
had supposed; Bhe was in Paris, and
if the separation of which he told me
was caused by fault of hers he did not
so much as hint at it.
Mr. Singleton cabled at once to
Paris. There would just be time. ?
Christmas Eve came and still no
word, and though Mr. Singleton's face
looked thin and strained, ho started
out with Dorothy at noon, telling her
they wore going to have a grand and
glorious time that afternoon.'
_J was left to attend to the last de- 1
tails of the tree that stood in glittering j
bravery in the center of the sitting I
room. There was a lot to do. and I 1
was bustling around when the door
flew open and a radiant young wom
an rushed in, calling:
"Dan! Dorothy!"
Stopping quickly, her look arrested j
by my 'uniform, she exclaimed: "He ? j
sho ? oh, who is ill?" Sho falterecl, go- i
ing white. ^
My smiling assurance thht all was ;
well brought forth a thousand ques- j
Hons, and we both talked at once, j
and I helped her off with her i
wraps. She cried in my arms and J
kissed me with fervor when 1 told her t
of how Dorothy had begged for ner, j
and then she bubbled over and we had
a gay afternoon finishing the tree. j
Mrs. Singleton was on tho steplad
der laughing down at me when Doro- i
thy and her father came in The laugh
died on hor lips, but 1 caught his glori
fied look and heard Dorothy's glad cry.
Then l crept silently from the room,
feeling the loneliness of spinsterh^od .
us 1 had never thought to ?lo. ? 1
B. R. McCreight
FUNERAL DIRECTOR AND LICENSED EMBALMER
Complete line of cloth covered
silk plush, solid mahogany
and oak caskets.
Ladies', Gents' and Children's
Burial Garments
Tomb Stones and Monuments
All Calls Given Prompt Attention
' 0 ? . ? -
WE WOULD*
SUGGEST ?
<jf Before placing your order for the
Christmas Dinner, call and let us show
. '? * .* . .??*''' ' ?- 'fry A
you what we have. Everything in the
line of Fresh Meats, Groceries, Canned
Goods, Pickles, Spices, Fruits and Vege
tables. .*. .*. /. .*. .'. M .*?
<J| Special attention is called to the se
lection of Dressed Turkeys and Chickens
which we will have. Your orders will be
appreciated and will receive prompt
attention. .*.
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