The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 10, 1912, Image 6
MERE are ao more Christ*
mas stories to vrrite. Fic?
tion Is exhausted; and
newspaper Items, the next
best. are manufactured by
clever young journalists
who bare married early and hare an
engagingly pessimistic view of life.
Therefore, for seasonable diversion,
ire are reduced to two very question*
able sources?facts and philosophy.
We will begin with?-whichever you
catenas to call It.
CasV.rea are pestilential little ani?
mals #lth which ws hare to cope un?
der a bewildering variety of condl
tkme. Especially when childish sor?
rows overwhelm them sre we put to
esn* wit's end. We exhaust our paltry
store of consolation; and then beat
them, sobbing. u> sleep. Then we
grovel in the dust of s million years,
and ask God why. Thus we call out
Of Use rat-trap As for the children,
so one understands them except old
jaalda, hunchbacks, and shepherd
Now come the facts la the case of
tao Rag-Doll, the Tatterdemalion, and
the Twenty-fifth of December.
On the tenth of thst month the
Child of the Millionaire lost her rag
doll. There were many servants in
the Millionaire's palace on the Hud
em, and theee ransacked the house
and grounds, but without An'ilng the
lost treasure. The Child was s girl
set five, and one of those perverse lit
tie beasts thst often wound che sensi?
bilities of wealthy parents by fixing
their affections upon some vulgar, In
expensive toy Instead of upon dla
saond studded automobiles and pony
gase st oi a
The Child grieved sorely and truly,
a thing Inexplicable to the Million?
aire, to whom the rag-doll market was
about ss Interesting as Bay State Oas;
sad to the Lady, the Child's mother,
who was all for form?that Is, nearly
an, ao you shall saw.
The Child cried tncoaoolabry, and
grew hollow-eyed, knock kneed, spin
a?ag. and oorykllverty In many other
respects. The Millionaire smiled end
tapped his coffers confidently. The
feck of the output of the French and
Permsn toymaksrs was rushed by spa
seal delivery to the mansion, hut Ra?
gs*] refused to be comforted. She
was) weepsag for her rag child, and
Was for s high protecttve tariff
against all foreign foolishness. Then
doctors with the finest bedside man
gjors sod ?top-wntches were called In.
One by one they chattered fuMlety
gbont peptoroanganste of Iron and
gem voyages and hypo phosphites until
their stop-watcbee showed thst BUI
Rendered was ui der the wire for show
or place. Then, ss men, they advised
that the rag doll be found as soon as
possible end restored to Its mourning
parent. The Child sniffed st thera
peutlcs, chewed s thumb, and wilted
The Child Grieved Sorely snd Truly.
for her Betsy And all this time ca
biet. ams ware coming from Santa
Class ssylng that he would soon bo
here snd enjoining us to show a true
Christian spirit snd let up on the
poolrooms snd tontine policies and
platoon Systems long enough to give
him s welcome. Kverywn -re the splr
tt of Christines was diffusing Itself
The banks were refusing loans, the
pawnbrokers had doubled their gnng
of helpers, people bumped your shin*
OS) the streets with red sleds, Thomas
snd Jeremiah bubbled before yon on
the bars while you waited on one foot,
holly wrea?hs of hospitality were nunc
In windows of the stores, they wt|
had em wore setting out their f-mi
Yon hardly ggjOW which was the best
bet In hall? three, high, moth, or
snow It ?im no time nt wbleh to lose
the rag doll of your heart
If DiK-tr r V.'ntion'H lnve<H-?<Hn ?
frlen J i.. ' > ? :. cnlh d in to solve tail
lt. -I "?' - '?? < i. ? tulg'tt
have oh i in *hc Millionaire's
* ? ' su Ira,* Th.it
Mr. Dunyan It.irvln of Summ, rt< n.
would have quickly suggested, by In- j
ductlou, "A rag and a bone and a I
hank of hair." "Flip,'* a Scotch ter
rler, next to the rag-doll In the child's
heart, frlaked through the halls. The
hank of hair! Aha! X. the unfound
quantity, represented the rag-doll.
But, the bone? Well, when dogs find
bones they- Done! It were an
easy aud a fruitful task to examine
Flip's fore feet. Look, Watson! Earth
?dried earth between the toes. Of
course the dog?but Sherlock was not
there. Therefore It devolves. But t
topography and architecture must in?
tervene.
The Millionaire's palace occupied a
lordly spsce. In front of it was a
lawn close-mowed as a South Ireland
man's fsce two days after a shave.
At one side of it and fronting on an
Ho tat Betsy on the Bar and Ad
dreeeed Her Loudly and Humor
ouely.
other street was a pleasaunce trim?
med to a leaf, and the garage and
stables. The Scotch pup had ravished
the rag-doll from the nursery, drag
god it to a corner of the lawn, dug a
hole, and burled it after the manner
of careless undertakers. There you
hare the mystery solved, and no j
checks to write for the hypodermical ,
wlsard or fl-pun notes to toss to the
setgeaot. Then let's get down to the j
heart of the thing, tiresome readers
th<< Christmas heart of the thing.
Fuzzy was drunk. Not riotously or i
helplessly or loquaciously, as you or
I might get. but decently, appropriate
ly, and Inoffensively, as becomes a
gentleman down on his luck.
Tuzzy was a soldier of misfortune.
Ths road, the haystack, the park
bei ch, the kitchen door, the bitter j
round of eleemosynary beds-with
shower-bath-attachment, the petty
pickings and ignobly garnered larg
ess?* of groat citites?these forme I
the chapters of his history.
Fuzzy walked toward the river,
down the street that bounded one
aulo of the Millionaire's house and
gro inds. He saw a leg of Betsy, tho
lost rag-doll, protruding, like the clr
i to I. Liliputian murder mystery, fro:
its untimely grave in a corner of the
fence. He dragged forth the maltreat
ed Infant, tucked it under his arm, and
went on his way crooning a song of
his brethren that no doll that has |
been brought up to the sheltered life ;
should hear. Well for Betsy that she 1
had no ears. And well that she had j
no eyes save unseeing circles of
h'ark, for the faces of Fuzzy and the
Sec cb terrier were those of brothers, j
and the heart of no rag-doll could j
withstand twice to become the prey '
of such fearsome monsters.
Though you may not know it, Oro
gan's saloon stands near the river and
near the foot of the street down
which Fuzzy traveled. In Grogan's,
Christmas cheer was already rampant.
Fuzzy entered with his doll. He fan
cled that as a mummer at the feast of
Saturn ho might earn a f3w drops
from the WlSOatt cup.
He set Bett y on the bar and ad
dressed her loudly and humorously,
seasoning his speech with exaggerat
ed compliments and endearments, as
one entertaining his lady friend. The
loafers an 1 bibbers around caught the
farce of It, and roared. The barton
der gave Fuzzy a Irink. Oh, many
of us carry rag-dolls.
"One for the lady?" suggested Fuz?
zy Impudently, and tucked another
contribution to Art beneath his waiBt
ggdjl
lie began to seo possibilities in
Itetsy. Ills first night had been a sue
Visions of a vai.v!e\lib* riroutl
about town dawned upon him.
In a group near the stove sat 'Tig
urn" McCai.hv, IPack Klley, and
"One oar" Mike, well and unfavorably
known In the tough ibOS trlU| district
that blackened the |af| lank of the
rti'er. They aajgggd a B< MrapapeT back
and forth among themselves, The
ItSSJ that ? ?? i 11 a blunt lor
who was In the city W d ? day, re?
eigner pointed out was an advertise?
ment headed "One Hundred Dollars
Reward." To earn It, one must re- >
turn the rag-doll lost, strayed, or j
stolen from the Millionaire s man- I
sion. It seemed that grief still rav?
aged, unchecked, in the bosom of the
too faithful Child. Flip, the terrier,
capered and shook his absurd whis?
kers before her, powerless to distract.
She walled for her Betsy in the faces
of walking, talking, ma-ma-ing, and
eye-closing French Mabelles and Vio?
lettes. The advertisement wag a last
resort.
Black Riley came from behind the
stove and approached Fuzzy in his
one-sided, parabolic way.
The Christmas mummer, flushed
with success, had tucked Betsy under
his arm, and was about to depart to
the filling of impromptu dates else?
where.
"Say, 'Bo," said Black Riley to tim,
"where did you cop out dat doll?" j
"This doli?" asked Frizzy, touching
Betsy with his forefinger to be sure
that she was the one referred to.
"Why, this doll was presented to me
by the Emperor of Beloochistan. I
have seven hundred others in my
country home in Newport This
doll-"
"Cheese the funny business," said
Riley. "You swiped it or picked it up
at de house on de hill where?but
never mind dat. You want to take
fifty cents for de rage, and take it
quick. Me brother's kid at home
might be wantin' to play wid it Hey
?what?"
He produced the coin.
Fuzzy laughed a gurgling, insolent,
alcoholic laugh In his face. Go to the
office of Sarah Bernhardts manager
and propose to him that she be re?
leased from a night's performance to
entertain the Tackytown Lyceum and
Literary Coterie. You will hear the
duplicate of Fuzzy's lauch.
Black Riley gauged Fuzzy quickly
with his blueberry eye as a wrestler
does. His hand was itching to play
the Roman and wrest the rag Sabine
from the extemporaneous merry-an
drew who was entertaining an angel
unaware. But he refrained. Fuzzy
was fat and solid and big. Three
inches of well-nourished corporeity,
defended from the winter winds by
dingy linen, intervened between his
vest and trousers. Countless small,
circular wrinkles running around his
coat-sleeves and knees guaranteed
the quality of bis bone and muscle.
His small, blue eyes, bathed in the
moisture of altruism and woozlness,
looked upon you kindly yet without
abashment. He was whiskerly, whis
kyly, fleshlly formidable. So, Black
Riley temporized.
"Wrot'll you take for it, den?" he
asked.
"Money," said Fuzzy, with husky
firmness, "cannot buy her."
He was intoxicated with the artist's
first sweet cup of attainment To se'
'Money," Said Fuzzy With Husky
Firmness, "Cannot Buy Her."
a faded blue, earth-stained rag-doll on
a bar, to hold mimic converse with It,
and to find his heart leaping with the
senso of plaudits earned and his
throat scorching with free llbntion?
poured in his honor?could base coin
buy him from such achievements
Von will perceive that Fuzzy had the
tomp< rament
Fuzzy walked out with the gait of a
trained sea lion in search of other
rates to conquer.
Though the dusk of twilight was
hardly yst Apparent, llghta were begin?
ning to spangle the city like pop-corn
bursting in a deep iklllst Christmas
eve, impatiently expsctsd, was pex p
lug over ths brink of ths hour. Mil
Horn had on pared for its celebration.
Town: WOtlld be fainted red. You
yourself, huve hoard ths horns snd
dodged the capon i 1 ths Baturnallans,
"Pigeon" McCarthy, Blsck Riley,
ports ha fing t negro man
and "One ear" Mike held a hasty con?
verse outside Grogan's. They were
narrow-chested, pallid striplings, not
lighters in the open, but more danger- i
ous in their ways of warfare than the I
most terrible of Turks. Fuzzy, in a 1
pitched battle, could have eaten the
three of them. In a go-as-you-please
encounter he was already doomed.
They overtook him just as he and
Betsy were entering Costigan's Ca?
sino. They deflected him, and shoved
the newspaper under his nose. Fuzzy
could read?and more.
"Boys," said he, "you are certaln'.y
damn true friends. Give me a week
to think it over."
The soul of a real artist is quenched
with difficulty.
The boys carefully pointed out to
him that advertisements were soul
Fuzzy Entered the Millionaire's Gate
and Zigzagged^foward thr Softly
Glowing Evidence of the Mansion.
less and the deficiencies of the day
might not be supplied by the morrow.
"A cool hundred," said Fuzzy
thoughtfully and mushily.
"Boys," said he, "you are true
friends. I'll go up and claim the re?
ward. TLo allow business is not what
it used to be."
Nlgfct v-as falling more surely. The
three tagged at his sides to the foot
of the rise on winch stood the Mil?
lionaire's house. There Fuzzy turned
upon them acrimoniously.
"You are a pack of putty faced
bf ugle-hounds," he roared. "Go away."
They went away?a little way.
In Pigeon McCarthy's pocket was
a section of two inch gas-pipe eight j
inches long. In one end of it and in '
the middle of it was a lead plug. One-1
i !f of it w as packed tight with solder.
\ Riley carried a slung-shot, being
a volitional thug. "One-ear" Mike
r u] a pair of brass knucks? |
an helrlo a in the family.
"Why . 1 :h and carry," said ^ack
Riley, '*wh< a some one will do U for |
ys? Let hiffl bring it. out to us. Hey |
?what." j
"We can chuck him in the river,"
said "Pigeon" McCarthy, "with a
stono tied to his feet."
"Touse guys make me tired," said
"One-car" Mike sadly. "Ain't rog
ress ever appealed to none of yez?
Sprinkle a little gasoline on In, and
drop 'im on the Drive?well?"
Fuzzy entered the Millionaire's
gate and zigzagged toward the soltly
plowing entrance of the mansion. The 1
three goblins came up to the gate and j
lingered?one on each side of it, one
beyond the roadway. They Angered I
tiieir cold metal and leather, confi?
dent.
Fuzzy rang the door bell, smiling
foolishly and dreamily. An atavistic j
Instinct prompted him to reach for th<
button of his right glove. But he
wore no gloves; bo his left hand drop
pedi embarrassed.
The particular menial whose dut
it was to open doors to silks andja< <
.? niea at nisi si^ni or mizzy. UUt a 1
j second glance took in his passport, I
' his card of admission, his surety ol
welcome?the lost rag-doll of the
daughter Of the house dangling under
l.is arm.
Fuzzy was admitted into a great
hall, dim with the glow from unseen
lights. The hireling went away and
returned with a maid and the Child.
The doll was restored to the mourn
ing one. sn?- claspe l her i?>sd darling
in hei breast; and then, with the In
ordinate selfishness and candor of
childhood, stamped her foot and
whined hatred and fear of the odious
b( Ing who had rescued her from the
depths ?>f ?.orrow and despair. Puszy
wriggled himself Into ar IngTatJatory
attitude and essayed the l***otl< sm
:md blatter nnll !
pose'- to i "in to
for him who has gathered anywher
of the young. The Child bawled, and
wps C-agged away, hugging her Betsy
close.
There came the Secretary, pale,
poised, polished, gliding in pumps,
and worshipping pomp and ceremony.
He counted out into Fuzzy's hand ten
ten-dollar bills; then dropped his eye
upon the door, transferred it to James,
its custodian, indicated the obnoxiou.s
?-arner of the reward with the other,
and allowed bis pumps to waft him
away to secretarial regions.
When the money touched Fuzzy's
dingy palm his first instinct was to
take to his heels; but a second
thought restrained him from that
blunder of etiquette. It was his; It
had been given him. It?and, oh,
what an elysium it opened to the gaze
of hi" mind's eye! He had tumbled to
the foot of the ladder; he was hun?
gry, homeless, friendless, ragged, cold,
drifting; and he held in his hand the
key to a paradise of the mud-honey
that he craved. The fairy doll had
waved a wand with her rag-stuffed
hand; and now wherever he might go j
the enchanted palaces with shining
foot-rests and magic red fluids inj
gleaming glassware would be open to
him.
He followed James to the door.
He paused there as the flunky drew
open the great mahogany portal for
him to pass into the vestibule.
Beyond the wrought-iron gates In
the dark highway Black Riley and hla
two pals casually strolled, finger in c
under their coats the inevitably fatal
weapons that were to make the re?
ward of the rag-doll theirs.
Fuzzy stopped at the Millionaire's
door and bet! ought himself. Like lit?
tle sprigs of mistletoe on a dead tree,
certain living green thoughts and
memories began to decorate his con?
fused mind. He was qaite drunk,
mind you, and the present was begin?
ning to fade. Those wreaths and fes?
toons of holly with their scarlet bei
ries making the great hall gay?
where had he seen such things be?
fore? Somewhere he had known pol?
ished floors and odors of fresh flowers
in winter, and?and some one was
singing a song in the house that he
thought he had heard before. Some
one ringing and playing a harp. Of
course it was Christmas?Fuzzy
thought he must have been pretty
drunk to have overlooked that.
And then be went out of the pres?
ent, and there came back to him out
of some Impossible, vanished and ir?
revocable past a little, pure-white,
transient, forgotten ghost?the spirit
of noblesse oblige. Upon a gentleman
certain things devolve.
James opened the outer door. A
stream of light went down the grav?
eled walk to the iron gate. .Black
Riley, McCarthy and One-ear Mike
saw, and carelessly drew their sinister
cordon closer about the gate.
With a more imperious gesture than
James' master had ever used or could
ever use, Fuzzy compelled the menial
"It Is Cust?customary When a Gen?
tleman Calls on Christmas Eve to
Pass the Compliments of the Sea?
son With the Lady of the House."
co clcse the door. Upon a gentleman
certain things devolve. Especially at
the Christinas season.
"It is cust?customary," he said to
James, the flustered, "When a gentle?
man calls on Christinas eve to pass
the compliments of the season with
the lady of the l.ouse. You und'stand?
1 thall not move shtep till I pass com
pl'menta season with lady the house.
Und'stand?"
There was an argument. James
lost. Fuzzy raised his voted and sent
It through the house unpleasantly. 1
did not say he was a gentleman. He
was simply a tramp being visited by a
ghost
\ 1 liver I 'arg .lames
; \ ng Fuzzy
from 850 to 150 pounda of cotton
10 the hall. Jamea explained some?
where to some one.
Then ne came and conducted Fuzzy
; into the library.
The lady entered a moment later.
I She was more beautiful and holy than
any picture that Fuzzy had seen. She
smiled, and said something about a
doU. Fuzzy didn't understand that;
i he remembered nothing at all about
j a doli.
I A footman brought in two small
I glasses o" sparkling wine on a
stamped sterling-silver waiter. The
lady took one. The other was handed
to Fuzzy.
As his fingers closed on the slender
glass stem his disabilities dropped
from him for one brief moment. He
straightened himself; and Time, so
disobliging to most of us, turnea back?
ward for a moment to accommodate
Fuzzy.
I Forgotten Christmas ghosts whiter
I than the false beards of the most epu
lent Kriss Kringle were rising in the
fumes of Grogan's whisky. What had
I "Comp'ments Sheason With Lady Thf
House."
the millionaire's mansion to do with a
1 long, wainscoted Virginia hall, where
the riders were grouped around a ail*
ver punch bowl, drinking the ancient
toast of the house? And why should
the patter of the cab horses' hoofs on
the frozen street be in any wise re?
lated to the sound of the saddled hunt*
ers stamping under the shelter of the
west veranda? And what had Fuzzy
to do wit'.i any-of it?
1 The lady, looking at him over her
glass, let her condescending smile
fade away like a false dawn. Her
eyes turned serious. She saw some?
thing beneath the rags and Scotch tor*
I rier whiskers that she did not under*
I stand. But it did not matter.
j Fuzzy lifted his glass and smiled
, vacantly.
"P-pardon, lady," he said, "but
i couldn't leave without exchangin'
comp'ments sheason with lady th*
house. 'Gainst principles gen'leman
do sho."
I And then he began the ancient salu*
I tation that was a tradition in the
! house when men wore lace ruffles and
powder. ?
I "The?the blessings of another
year?"
Fuzzy's memory failed him. The
lady prompted:
"?Be upon this hearth."
"?The guest?" stammered Fuz*y,
"?And upon her who?" continued
the lady, with a leading smile.
"Oh, cut it out," said Fuziy, ill
uianneredly. "I can't remember. Drink
hearty."
Fuzzy had shot his arrow. They
drank. The lady smiled again the
j smile of her caste. James enveloped
Fuzzy and re-conducted him toward
I the front door. The harp music still
I softly drifted through the house.
Outside, Black Riley breathed on
j his cold hands and hugged the gate.
I Cold though he was, he did not think
ot deserting his post while Fuzzy re*
1 n:allied inside.
j "I wonder," said the lady to herself,
musing, "who?but there were so
many who came. I wonder whether
memory is a curse or a blessing to
thom alter they have fallen so low."
Fuzzy and his escort were nearly
at the door when the lady called:
"James!"
Jam-s stalked back obsequiously,
leaving Fuzzy waiting unsteadily, with
his brU I Spark of the divine tire en?
tire ly gone. -
Outside, Black Riley stamped his
cold feel and got a tinner grip on his
section of gas ripe.
? You will conduct this gentleman."
said the lady, "down-stairs. Then tell
Louis to get out the Mercedes and
take him to whatever place he wishes
to go."
ov< ry good day that he p < ked>