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(Elfriutmaii ? By i ?, Charles Frcdcric (Copyright) I T HAH H1CNN my observation tliu t Ituint of the troubl^ that muny men get Into coined from doing thin km for other people. A man who inukoit a note Kitnernlly meets It; and, if ho Indorses one, often meet* that. too. At u plc ?Ic It Is (ho man who offers to carry the water who gets bin feet wet, or Kits down In the squash pie. It la the cood-natured man who lias the moBt ?eed of good nature, for ho Is always getting Into trouble thut Ih properly the property of Homebody else. Christ mas. especially, offers many golden opportunlUeH to the follow who Ih willing to oblige. There was the cu?e of Henry Onr ruth.'rs, for efcutnple. MFlne!" said Henry, when ho received an Invitation ?to epeml Christina* with the JonescN at a suburban villa In a suburban vil lage. Jones hud been an office mate ?f: h^S. Then he married and, hav ing made u little money, some say by tho rnariiage, he retired to the subur* bun villa aforesaid. Cnrruthers re mained a bnehelor, a toller, and n city dweller. Hut be would have been will ing to change at least two ??f tlioHe conditions if lie had dared to think that Jones' sister, Miss Abigail, would be willing to change her title from "Jones" t? the somewhat classier one #f "Cnrruthers." "Come up and spend Christmas with u??," wrote Jones. "It will bo rather n qutet C irlstmas, but Abigail will be heft; nnd wo shall try to And some thing to keep your time and your mind oceapled." A (pilot CbrlHtmas had no terrors for Henry. And thero was Abigail. So he wired a day letter, the substnnce of wlilch was "Yes." The train was on time, and so ^as Henry. They whizzed him out to the hungle-oh In the dusk and a wheezy car. Abigail, looking lovely, met them [ on tlui poroh, "Welcome to our city," she said. ' "Hut I'm afraid vou will t'md it t'rlj-ht- 1 I fully quiet here." "Not when you are present," replied Henry gallantly ? followed by n sudden realization that maybe that dlU'i't Sound as gallant as be had! intended. At the dlrther table Jones unfolded the great plan. "We've fixed up the JolllfSt wltewe," he rfectnred with en thunlnsm, "and you are just the fellow to put It over for u?!" "Just the follow!" echoed Abigail. "You soo the WilUiiinKes live on the other m| do of the *<iuure. Their buck lot bm'kM rijfht up tooura. with Just the alley between. Now, they don't know you from Aduiu. Of course, wo told thoiu ubout you, and they want to moot you, hut tiioy don't know you aro coming down. The WIIIIuiunoh, you I 'I ' Abigail Herself Led the Rescue Expe dition. hop, are our closest friends, and wo ha vo lots of fun with each other. Now, wo nro goiiu: to put something over on thein^-somethlng nice, you under stand, and we want you to help. The Wllliamsos are the only people wo give presents to, outside the family, except yourself, of course, and a few others. Well, the girls have u lot of Jlmcrocks fixed uo for them. We are going to have you take them over ? " "Hut I have never met ? " "Oh, thnt's nil rljsht. I've got some Santa Cluus fixings here, and we are going to doll you up as Santa ? and they don't know your voice or any thing, and It sure will surprise them I" "1 see," said Henry weakly, with .00,'J per cent enthusiasm. "I Just go up and ring, and walk In ? " "Oh, no, hotter than that! Come here and I'll show you." The victim followed him to the window. "You see that window, that basement win dow, or Is It too dark? Yeh, that's the one. You Just sneak over quiet ly, drop tn, walk upstairs and Just sur prise them rl^ht In the library, or wherever they happen to be." "Hut the window will be locked," Kai'l 'leury. seeking an avenue of es cape. "So It won't. .Mrs. Williams told the murium here flmt they bad coal corning today ? so It will ba opou, for ; Williams won't tMOll ttf lock It Udtt? [ he go??s down to tlx tl?e furunce fur | the night. You *ee, that wludow's where they put the coul In." Homehowj this statement did not add to Henry's pleasure. Hut when Aid' gull asked If It wouldn't he great, the foolish niun said that It would. lluir an hour Inter, In the durkncss, u stranger might have been seen ap proaching, hldd n l?y the shrubbery, the rear basement window Of the WU Hams domicile, evidently with burglari ous Intent. An old overcoat of Jones' mutlled about hlin concealed u red cos tume of some sort, and a bag. The hag contained sundry packages with sundry nhurp corner*, but this was known oidy to the mysterious stranger. lie found the window unlocked, ac cording to specifications, but to his as tonishment It opened outward instead of Inward. He also made a horrify ing discovery* He had expected to drop lightly to th? basement floor, find his way to the stulrWay, whose loca tion had been described to hlin, and make his way upstulrs to surprise the family. Hut Jones had said nothing about a coal chute. Yet her? wue a chute with sides that wero unsur mountable. A dicker of flame shin lug through the mica of the furnace showed that the way was dear. Hut what would a coal chute do to his Santa Claus outfit? To chute or not to chute, that was the question. Fate decided him. lie distinctly heard the click of the back gnte. "flood gosh!" thought llcury, "hern comes . somebody I" And, without "Good Gosh! Here Comes Somebody!" j pause for further thought, he seized the hag and shot the chute ^into tho unknown. He landed in a coal bin nearly empty of coal, but plentifully gar nished with dust. A. minute inter nn ^ ^ - ? ~-T? ? - ? . ? V Interior door opened from the region above, excited voice* were he?r& and a ray of light shot toft ffwftjrfBEt of tlie bttiemcnt Th* chute teemed to offer the only projection. Back into It he climbed and' lay there qui etly. "Oh, It's Just tho man with tho coal," Hnld ft female voice above. And the door cloned ay ?ln. poor Henry now pondered what to do, Ho couldn't go up- In the Mtate he whs. lie hud never seen any pictures or St. Nicholas represented as un Kthi oplan. Anyway, his perils were over for tho moment. Were they? There wan u footstep outside and Into tho chute cnmo pouring a bagful of mixed nut. and egg. Henry Jwd quite for gotten about tho mysterious cllek of (he gate, the coal man and all, and had no way of knowing, of course, that the holiday rush had made that coal mau lato. There was no tlmo or way to escape or dodge. The coal, sliding merrily on Its way, came with Just enough force to give him 40 kinds of head ache In 40 different parts of his head, and brought a, long with It enough dust to finish tho ethnological transformation. It also carried him ' hack Into the bin. He picked him- i self up, found. the comer of the bin most removed, and witnessed, as best he could In the dark, tho rather un interesting ceremony of putting In a ton of coal, lie wanted to sneeze, but would not permit himself the luxury. He had to cough, but luckily timed It to coincide with tho passage of a bag ful of coal down the chute, lie won dered when the coalman would reach the last bagful. When ho reached It, Henry Immediately knew, for the ac commodating coalman carefully hooked tho window, on the outside, and snapped tho padlock. Meanwhile the fun-loving Jones fam ily anxiously awaited tho return of Mr. Henry Carruthers, alias Santa Clans. Half an hour. "They must be having a Jolly time." Forty-five min utes. No remarks. An hour. "Some body run over. No, we'll all go." In the Williams' household nothing unusual seemed to have happened. They were delighted to see the Joneses, of course. After five min utes, n happy Idea sent Jones home to see If he had locked the 4<v>r. Ills Investigation really concerned the Wil liams house Instead. The back win dow was securely locked ? on .the out side. There was no sign of Henry in the neighborhood. Half an hour later Jones made a clear breast of It. Ablgull herself led the rescue expedition.'' Henry would have preferred to see anybody else. An hour In the bathroom, and a suit ot Williams', and Mr. Carruthers was presented. It was really a v?-ry merry party that Christmas eve. nfttr all ? al logenic- ( . >o merry, for Henry. Yet. hnu Henry i.nly known It, sym pathy Is often the Joining of Jove. There are various brands 9# this much souirh* article. The vain person fijids it in display, t? praved person finds it in dissipation. But the ne good common sense finds it in the solid comfort^ good cheer of himself and his family. Chief ^ this cheer is ? lu* A Tempting Christmas Dinner ? 4; ? ? ; ? " """ When you go to prepare it Come to Us for "the ings, For instance All kinds of Nuts and Celery, Cranberries Everything You Can U*. Mince Meet Raisins and Currants 3auces of all Kinds II Will be a Fine Christmas dinner if you use eur Bruce's Pure Food Stoi FUSSY- AUNT SALLY. (he is One of Those Wha Always Find n T Undone. Otir Aunt Sully always bus Olie or two more things t<> do at nl;jht before she can i.o i?> boil. NVe were at her uoiuo a few weeks ago, and all qf lis sat up until late. Ai about 11 o'clock I'nele lUuktum gave a juffii, and In thirty minutes everybody wus under the cover listening to tlio ruin? everybody except Aunt tartly. She do lided that while everything was quiet fcbo would sew the buttons on the ne\v trousers she was making for Butkfum. v When this was tlnlshed she started to bed. but she remembered that she hadn't set her yeast. She went back into the kitchen and worked for about twenty minutes, and then it seemed that she was through with everything for the night. We were almost asleep when she brought in another quilt. She said It might turn cold -during the night and that we could pull It up if we needed it. She weu.t Lxick to her Yxiom uad stood perfectly still for a few seconds. Evidently she was trying to think of something eNe to do be. ore going to bed. and she thought of it. She decld- I eJ she -had best tprlukle down her clothes ho rboy would iron better next day. \\ hen ilii.s \.as finished she Cold v.-, ?>d the rouvh d' iod piocoi* ?nd put them uvi'uy. ? Ac last the house ruin was pourhig; doWl over for a ^ooJ sloop. AllttljIfcIS wo wore facing the Lam, id Aunt Sully out there wftb W; muunvjcU to keep the lump4iy,|| a few minutes It weut out. V later we heard her enter the and while feeling for a place to lt lamp she said: "1 declare that ! heu hasn't auy sense, I put her i *djX.,|^ce and ebe wotiWat j seems determined to I ;bt to let her do It, better go back sod ml her.*? Fort Wortb Btar-Teiegraa ] ? ? r ? . 1 lr" riw'i Largo Power Earily Controllidl In some caees a 1,000 ton or 1 Ml| : press may be controlled by onel upon tho clutch lever, so that the i will rise one-eighth of an incji; at a time. Mqro often, howeri press Is set so4baHfce rain-wtir?ll stop at the top of Its strotejjaa^ control Of (Ms condition lsVM made by a foot treadle, although M times with a handle also or wKj handle alone. Generally suc.b prei are arranged for continuous-', runii Thl3 Is often^ practicable wftli k slow strokes. "-Oberlin Bmltb la B neeriag Ifagarln* * Of all the precious metals, gold has not advanced in price. Not diminished, in fulness. This year you can make gifts of jewelry, without placing a war p gift, for of all merchandise appropriate for the holiday remembrance, jewelry vanced in price because of the war. And what is more cherished, more than an exquisite piece of jewelry? Our display is now brilliant with superb designs; and the stock offers an immense choice and price range. A Few Suggestions: CAMEO BROOCHES JEWELRY BOXES BRACELET WATCHES STUDS HAT PINS CHARMS COAT CHAINS PICTURE FRAMES ? RINGS ? EVERY KIND BROOCHES ? ALL KINDS AND PRICE TIE CLASPS VEST CHAINS BIB HOLDERS SOLID SILVER SETS COLLAR BUTTONS WALDEMAR CHAINS SCARF PINS SILVER and GOLD WATCHES ? ALL KINDS AND PRICE SILVERWARE? IN SU PERB DESIGNS POCKET KNIVES Open Evenings Until Christmas Jewelry A Few Suggestions: CAMEO RINGS SILVER AND GOLD THIMBLES CARD CASES TOILET SETS, COMB, BRUSH AND MlftROR CLOTHES BRUSHES LINK BUTTONS MANICURE SETS SILVER PLATED CIGARETTE MERCANTILE F< PENS - 1 -S Parisian Ivory "5;. SETS ROPE CHAINS HAIR BRUSHES UMBRELLAS, GOLD FILUSILVER AND P' ED and STERLING SIl^ IVORY MILITARY VER BRUSHES VfTTr"; Bracelet ^Watches are extremely popular this We have*a big assortment from $3.CQ-to $50. PHONE 69 G.L. CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA J?w?aL- ^s. h . mm' * 4 a " a'-. :tv. ;