Barney Flynris
Partner
HE boy stretched
the long black
stocking and re
garded It with
satisfaction.
'Til take it," he
said. "How
much?"
"Twenty- five
cents a pair,"
Dorothy Winslow
answered.
The customer
fished out a dime
and three pennies
and laid them on
the counter.
"I'll take this
one. he said.
"But we never break a pair!" Dor
othy exclaimed, with some amuse
ment. "Oh," she added, sympathet
ically, as the boy's face fell, "was it
was It for some one with only one
IeK?"
"It's for my partner. He's got two
legs, but he's crippled just been let
out of the hospital. And I'm going to
give him a Christmas."
"Oh!" said Dorothy, comprehend
ingly. "And you wanted the stock
ing to hang up? I'm Borry, . but
wait!" she cried suddenly, as the .boy
was gathering up his money In disap
pointment. "I can let you have it, I
think. Cash! Cash!"
The little girl who came In re
sponse to the summons nodded to the
boy, and then sped away to the desk
with the quarter that Dorothy substi
tuted for the dime and three pen
nies.
When the customer had departed,
carrying his package, Dorothy contem
plated the odd stocking which bad
come into her possession.
"Well, what an idiot I am!" she
murmured. "Why didn't ,1 give him
both of them? But of 'course he
wouldn't have taken them as long as
he was paying for one."
She called the little cash girl again.
"Do you know the boy that was here
a little while ago?" she asked. "I
thought I saw you nod to him."
"Barney Flynn. He lives on the
floor above us," "Cash" answered,
"with Billy; and Billy got run down
by a 'lectrlc. Barney sees to him."
Customers claimed Dorothy's atten
tion, and for awhile she was all hurry
and bustle. During the afternoon,
however, when the neighboring sales
woman volunteered to watch over her
counter for her, she slipped down the
aisle to the shirt waists, says Youth's
Companion. She was quite excited
for fear that the particular shirt
waist should be gone. There was that
woman with the bargain counter hab
it. Dorothy had tfeen her dallying at
the counter.
She rummaged a moment in a pile
of shirt waists; then she looked trag
ically at her friend behind the coun
ter. "O Peggy, it's gone! I knew it! I
knew it! I saw it in that bargain wom
an's eye!"
She had watted so patiently for that
waist to be marked down! It would
have suited her complexion It had
Just the. right warm, rosy tints.
"Peggy, why did you let It go?" she
cried, reproachfully.
"Had to, my dear. I did my best
put It at the very bottom of the pile,
but she fished It out."
Dorothy went back slowly to her
counter.
"Dick would have liked it, too," she
thought, disconsolately. "And now
he'll have to see me In just my shab
by old one."
It occurred to her that other peo
ple probably had Christmas disappoint
ments; and then Bhe thought of Bar
ney Flynn and his partner.
"He's going to hang up the stocking
for Billy and I don't believe he ever
had a Christmas for himself in his
life," Dorothy meditated. "I know
what I bought the odd stocking for
so long as I can't buy myself that
lovely waist."
And she felt a glow of enthusiasm
as plans legan to take shape in her
mind. It was almost closing-time
when the little cash-girl came darting
up with a message from Peggy.
"She's brought It back the shirt
walt sleeves too short. If yon want
It, better hurry.
Dorothy hesitated. "No, I've changed
my mind," Bhe said resolutely. "Tell
Peggy J'm much obliged." And Bhe
added to herself: "Now if Dick doesn't
like me In my old plaid waist, I
guess we'll have to quarrel.
When Dorothy returned to the store
the morning after Christmas, the lit
tle cash girl came running up to her,
and cried:
"I got it in for you all right. Miss
Winslow! I worked it fine. I crep'
In in the dark, when Billy and Bar
ney were asleep; you couldn't have
heard me with an ear trumpet. And
I felt for Billy's stocking, and hung
yours alongside. And then I filled
em both with all 'the things you'd
given me." , f
"Well," said Dorothy, eagerly; "and
what happened?"
"O my. sakes: said the child. "All
of us on the floor below was waked
up that early Christmas mornin'
Such a yellln' and stompln'! You'd
like to have thought they'd never had
a Christmas!"
jjorotny turned away to hide a
smile.
"And Dick was glad to see me just
as I was," she thought, contentedly.
X. -rv. J aX 'rx-Y
SANTA'S
LIGHT
LOAD
9 I I y DEAinA Km DVin " I It
i ; t
By BERTHA E. BUSH.
i
laiiai.MimmiiimiiMi'
(Copyright, IMi. bj right A. MMm.)
UT, mamma, Santa Claus can
mgo anywnere wnere tnere rs
enow. He has his sleigh,
you know.' And there Is snow here,
plenty of snow."
The sick woman, lying on the bed in
the little pioneer cabin, looked' at the
white whirl of flakes that shut out all
but the gray daylight from the little
windows and shuddered. Yes, there
was plenty of snow. You could not
see even the dimmest outline of any
thing that was ten' feet away. And
But Even Mark's Ghost was Welcome.
somewhere out in the snow she knew
not where her husband was journey
ing. Three weeks ago he had start
ed to the nearest town 60 miles away
for supplies. He had been sure that
he would return in a week. Was be
lying now under one of those huge
white drifts? Was he out in this
dreadful blizzard, perhaps freezing to
death at this very minute. She
turned away from the window and
moaned. She could not bear to an
swer the child. But Hattie, the hired
girl, who never seemed to lose heart,
answered cheerily:
"Land sakes, yes, there Is plenty of
snow, Lillie. But you know Santa
Claus is getting old. He can drive
in the snow of course, but a howling
blizzard like this might freeze him
stiff. You'd better make up your
mind not to get any Christmas .pres
ents this year, Lillie. You wouldn't
want dear old Santa Claus frozen to
death."
"No, of course not. But papa goes
out on the prairie. Why shouldn't
Santa Claus? Don't you think he could
get here with a light load? You
know, when we came, we'got stuck in
the sloughs lots of times and papa
unloaded the wagon and got it across
empty. Don't you think Santa Claus
could do that?"
"Yes, he shall," said Hattie, with
determination.
She was only the hired girl who had
come in friendly pioneer fashion to
help the settler's wife through her
sickness; but to the inmates of the
little cabin she was a ministering
angel. Strong and faithful and effi
cient, an angel could hardly have
done more in that prairie home. Yet
she did not look in tb least like an
angel as she put on the pioneer's old
cap and coat, tied a red woolen scarf
around her neck, drew old stockings
over her shoes and floundered out
through the drifts, stout and rosy in
the wind, to do the chores for the
night Not a glimpse of the near by
barn could be obtained from the cabin
door. Hattie tied a long rope to the
door knob and carefully held the other
end as she walked toward it.
She pulled down hay and fed the
stock and milked. She brought out
pails full of the snow water she had
melted in the big wash , boiler for
them to drink. She brought in a
great supply of fuel and made every
thing outdoors and In as snug and
cheery as possible. Then she cooked
the supper that did not take long
for there was little to cook and
washed up the dishes and cared for
the sick woman and the little babe.
She put' Lillie to bed in the queer
little trundle-bed the child chattering
about Santa Claus every minute and I
tucked her in as happy as if there
were no fear or anxiety In the world;
oh, what would the pioneer families
have done without the "girls" of that
time?
The mercury ranged 4 and 5 de
grees below zero. The storm outside
howled with the fury of a legion of
demons. In some drift out there in
the whiteness John Carver might bt
slnking to death now.
The baby cried and the sick woman
moaned. - There was no lack of occu
pation for the young helper. Hattie's
strong arms held the child till it wa3
quieted and at the same time heated
flannels, brought water, smoothed pil
lows, and did everything that could
be done for the anxious young
mother.
"Hattie, you haven't anything to
worry you," cried the sick woman, en
viously, i '
"Not a thing except what worries
other people,' answered Hattie. But
she knew that all the time she car
ried beneath her songs and cheery
words a heartache that was as hard
to bear as the young wife's own. '
It was Mark for whom her heart
ached. A year ago she had thoosht
that by this time she and Mark would
be settled iu a pioneer cabin of their
own. Her quilts were all quilted, her
store of household -goods was ready.
Hut a coldness had come between
them, and Mark , had gone away
"back east where girls were plenty."
Since then she had been learningito
live without him,, and it was a bitter
lesson. True she did not speak of
it, not even to her best friends, but
the ache was always there.
Her work, was done at last. She
had time to look at little Lillie slum
bering in her low trundle-bed with
her stocking spread out trustingly on
the pillow beside her. Now, was the
time for Santa Claus to come. But
the sick mother was too ill and broken
with anxiety to be bothered. There
was nobody to fill that stocking but
Hattie, and nothing to fill it with ex
cept what her girl's wit might devise.
She was vefy tired. All day she
had been battling against storm and
sickness, doing a woman's work and
a man's too. Now she must do Santa
Claus work. Was ever a Santa
Claus so sleepy? Oh, what would she
not give to throw herself on the bed,
dressed as she was, and sleep? But
there was no time for that. Santa
Claus must come to the waiting chilS.
She knew that in a little while the
sick woman would rouse again and
need her. Softly and wearily she lift
ed the one little drop-leaf table over
to the window farthest from the sick
mother and placed the lamp upon It.
Then she sot out her precious, dimin
ishing store of letter paper that had to
be brought to her from 6 miles awa$
like the rest' of the supplies, and the
clumsy shears, and began to make
paper dolls. , - '
Clip, clip, went the big shears. That
and the rustle of the paper, were, the
only sounds to be heard. Gradually she
realized that the howling of the wind
had ceased and the blizzard had gone
down.
Lillie's words kept repeating them
selves sleepily in her tired brain. "A
light . load." Surely , this Christmas
gift would be light enough for Santa
Claus to take anywhere. Clip, clip,
went the shears, and wonderful crea
tions fell from Hattie's hands. There
was a father with a miniature news
paper spread out before him. There
was a mother with a baby In her arms
and another in a tiny paper cradle at
her feet. There were brothers and
sisters. ' ,
, Snip snip Her hands went slower
and slower until the last of the paper
family ' "trailed off into aimless cut
ting. Then Hattie's weary head sank
down on the table and Hattie was
asleep. Asleep and dreaming of Mark.
In the daytime she could keep the
thought of him away from her with
fierce determination. , In the night it
would come. Bhe was dreaming and
she knew it. She had dreamed of
him too often not to know. And in
her dream the door burst ' open and
Mark stood before her. Of course It
could not be real. Or, rather, it was
a dream of . Mark's ghost all deathly
white. But even Mark's ghost was
welcome. There could not be any
harm . in embracing a ghost in a
dream. She threw her arms around his
neck - 4 : ; ,
But this was no dream. It was too
solid and it was too cold. It was a
real man who stood before her, be
numbed with cold, and covered with
snow from head to foot.
- In a flash she eame ' out of her
dream. It was well for Mark that
she was just what she was, and that
she knew what to do. She brougkt
the great tub of melting snow-water,
cut off the frozen footwear and mit
tens and plunged his feet and hands
in it. She rubbed his face with snow.
She made hot coffee blessing the
forethought that had kept the kettle
filled with boiling water for the sick
woman's use and forced him to drink
it.' Little by little life and ilrengtn
came back to him and incoherent
words.
"Started with Craver. ". fie wanted
to see his wife. I wanted to see
you. Blizzard came up.- Lost our
way. Dug a hole in the snow and
stayed two night. Went a long while
and came to Smith's farm. Craver
too badly frozen to go on. Will dp
all right after awhile, but couldn't gv
on then. , Wanted to like fury. Smith
had to hold hiji back. Good thing.
He couldn't have come on his frozen
feet. I came on alone. Got lost
again. Been lost all day. Pretty near
gave out. Thought I'd - have to
give up. So dark and cold. Saw
your light when wind went down.
Came to you."
The words might be jerky and dis
jointed, but Hattie understood it and
never words sounded sweeter.
"Santa Claus did come In the night,"
chirruped' Lillie. "'. saw him. He was
all white. And he brought me this."
She held up the precious paper doll
family. . , . :
"Aren't they lubbly. I fought he
could get froo with a , light .load.'
Then another thought came to her.
. "But he didn't bring anyfing to
you. Hattie. - That's too bad."
"No, no, it's as good as it could be."-
Hattie laughed out in pure joy. - "He
brought me the one thing I wanted
most in the world. And I shall be
thankful to him every day I live; for
if I had not kept my lamp burning In
the window while I was working
I mean waiting for him Mark would
not have found the way."
. V His Ear to the Ground.
f'Dp yon expect people to believe i
that-you tell them?" "That Is not
Idea," answered the sagacious cam
paigner. "The way to win the hearts
of-'the people is to tell ' them what
they already believe."
, Working Him.
- "They certainly are working that
boy too hard at college," mused the
fond papa, as he thoughtfully signed
up another check for his industrious
son. '
v Knives, Spoons and Forks. .
Knives and spoons are of great
antiquity; but the use of forks is com
paratively modern. Indispensable as
these adjuncts of the table may now
appear, they had not become at all
general at -the beginning of the eigh.
teenth century. , "
Cosmopolitan City.
The city of Eperjes in Hungary is "
one of the most cosmopolitan places ,
in the world. Nearly every one who
lives there speaks six distinct lan
guages and several dialects, and has
to use them all in order to do any. -thing.
" '
Manila Is Thriving.
According to the census of the
board of health, Manila has 11,022,
houses of strong material, 15,142 of
light material, and 3,311 of mixed
material, a total of 29,745 houses. The
population is 223,542, says the Manila'
Dally Bulletin.
Both Worlds.
. The grand difficulty is to feel the.
reality of both worlds, so as to give
each its due place in our thoughts and
feelings, to keep our mind's eye and
our heart's eye fixed on the land of"
promise, without looking away from
the road we are to travel toward it. '
Augustus Hare. j, '
"Chicken -May Die of Grief.
. Twin chickens were hatched fronv
one egg last spring on the farm of.
John Paulus in Bethlehem, Pa. Both"
developed fully and became great pets'
of the family. One of the twin chick
ens was crushed to death. Since then -the
other twin has refused to eat an
Paulus fears it will die of grief.
Couldn't Take the Job.
A middle west graduate came to
New' York to seek' employment, says'
Success.. . Through" a friend he re
ceived an offer of a place as shipping."
clerk to a certain firm. : In reply he
wrote as follows: "I regret , that , I
cannot accept your kind offer of - the ,
position of shipping clerk, but the
fact is that I am always sick when on
the water."
Advised to See Real France.
C. A. i Le Neren, in Modern Lan
guage Teaching, says: ."If tourists
would go farther on into old France,
into the old provincial life, instead of
remaining quartered itt Paris or some
other big. fashionable town, they
would really learn to know what
French is like. ' They would feel they .
have wrongly judged us, and they,
would acknowledge that French- -women
are good wives,' good mothers
and good friends." ' ,
Lincoln Directory
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Skins. No commission or dravage. I carry a
full line of HARNESS, SADDLES, FUR COATS .
and ROBES, and allow one cent above market
price on all bides sent in exchange for above
merchandise. ' .
H. C. WITT MANN
THE A. D, BEI1VAY CO.
Exclusive Agents for
Hoosler Kitchen Cabinet, Ostermoor Mattras
ses, Macey Sectloaal Bookcase a, Saattarlre Iron
Beds. Write for catalogue of above-goods and .
prices, freight prepaid, to your to wn.
1112-1114- O ST., LINCOLN. NEB.
NO PAY UNTIL CURED!
naiTBJ suffering' from youthful errors or ,
tVIEn vices of laser yoars, I have a positive
and certain method of cure. No oare, no fee.
Write for plan. Proofs and references. ,
DH. tEARLBI, Box it, Lincoln, Hod.
CHICAGO-DIXIE it
6 known ledges of ore, gold, silver and copper,
work progressing day and night, shares 7 cents,
lc par mo., news and marketletter FUEL tslisss
! traktragi Co., (Brass stHcs) 1014 Ikksris
sHdlsc, Usun. Iwsraslu. -
"ffiVt FUR COATS
Lap Robes, Rugs and all kinds of Hides. Furs
received for tanning. Highest prioos paid for.
hides. 313 and 31S O St., Lincoln, Men.,
Shipping tags and circulars mailed free.
El UER'S FPFn Ull I nn.
Manuaaotnrers of Power and Sweep Peed Mills. '
Capaaitr unequalled, lightest draft.. Save
from SO to SO per cent on cost of feed. Orinds
ar corn, shelled, corn, oats, wheat, etc Write
for prices. - -
SAVOY HOTEL .atWft
lar-priced Cafe in connection.
11th and P Sis.; Lincoln, l. i. UHESET, Prosrirlor
EDUCATIONAL 'f
TBEUliTVa OrHlUsic.
Affiliated with the University of Nebraska at
Lincoln. Greatest College of Music in the'
West. Send for beantifal catalog to t.
WILLARD KIMBALL, Director, Lincoln, Neb.l .
