The Syracuse Journal, Volume 20, Number 35, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 29 December 1927 — Page 7

King’s Mate By Rosita Forbes Copyright by Roon* Forbo* WNU B*rvlc*

CHAPTER Xl—Continued Westwyn pumped Ma arm up and down. -You're a d —n good chap. Lord, what a ride! That ford'a rotten even in daylight." "It was the thought of the dam that worried me." confessed the German. naively. “I had a picture of h coming down on top of us. Rut you must get on. I don't know what time It la" ‘•We've a bit to spare." said Westwyn. "This fellow knows a continuation of his short cut. You'd better ride my horse back. I'n» going on foot." he maided upward, with a smile, "over the top. What a sell for Mnrtengo! We'll be able to look down on him and have a pot shot for tuck." A murmur cnme from the Riff*. They proposed to look after the Span- * *ard themselves. “Right." agreed __ Westwyn. "hut don't let him escape." The Telehdl men assured him that there would bo no chance of that, and a* they met each other’s eye* they knew their plan was settled. It would be a great game! The guide plucked at Westwyn’s sleeve “We must go high up. Sldl. to get round that dog!” "I’m coming." He turned again to Heinz. “I don't know what to say. man It was a Jolly fine show. I on e you my chance to be in at the ’kmth !*' “No." you owe It to your wife." "What?" "She got the story from Zarlfa. ■*he pulled me out. roused the village, ind Insisted on coming with us." He stopped, caught In the blase of light, crim eye*. "She came across the river**' asked Wes:wyn in a hart! repressed hut it sounded uu interested. "The whole way! She's waiting it the house back then’." The Englishman stood still. He wanted to shout, to race back along the path. >ut all he said was. “I must get on. T:tier back tomorrow by the top *oad above the dam —-you'll look after ler tonight, won't you’ Tell her"— tie hesitated—-“tell her TH jk»ln her it Telehdl in three days. It's a promise. man; we're going to , t this through." He. strode up the rock as f it were a ladder to Olympus. “Queer cuss." reflected Heinz, proml J )f hl* Ihiglish! -The shuffling of the tribesmen's feet recalled him.. He mounted heavily, tnd a Riff padded up to hl* stirrup. The others turned down the path, walking slowly and talking tn lowered voice*. "What are they after?” asked Heil.*. “The Spaniard.” replied Ms companion. I hope they bring him In tomorrow l*d like to see his meeting with Menebbhe.* Rut tlie tribesmen had no intention of gratifying his wWi. They knew a gj.me twit eas good I When the moon <•. they* scattered on the hillside, stalking their prey with the cunning ‘ of the mountain lion. Martengo was well hidden from any one on the path below, but he had not troubled to shield his rear. The Riffs gathered tike hawks above him and bls first intimation of their presence was the . smack of a bullet on a stone alongside. Hastily he wriggled Into cover. He'd cut It too fine, he reflected—the enemy had pushed their snipers Into, the hills. Another bullet spat up the sand unpleasantly near bls eltmw. He was at a disadvantage, for he could see nothing above him but the low-hanging disk of the moon. With a curse, he rolled Into what he prayed would prove coyer, but rhe Riffs were spread over a wide triangle. and they were enjoying thetnoelves very much. There was no one to tell them not to waste ammunition and they had no intention of killing ■ their enemy, as yet! From rock to rock they drove him. their bullets purposefully wide. ' It was great sport. Picked marksmen, as they -were, with the light behind them, they harried their quarry over the path and down to the barren slope below, laughing when his bullets went wild. "His courage falls him!" they said. He would not shoot like that on a range!" They crept forward, peering down at their prey. Martengo was outlined, a dark splash on the tawny atones, and It was an easy matter to ring him with bullets. “The dog wriggles! See—his nerve is gone!" The Spaniard found small purchase on the elope and, as he strove to dig In toes and elbow, a sudden roar came down the ravine. At firs it was deadened by distance. A bullet flattened a foot from his head and. as he Jerked away from It. he saw the valley. A white ni«** was hurtling down it. "Dloe!" he shrieked. leaped to his feet. Like wild animals, maddened by caging, the Hood raged between the cliffs, swirling trees and rocks Into its maw. raging a.smlnst Its barriers. fonm whirling far above the . path. The Riffs had ceased their rune. They scampered back up the hill, but one turned to finish off the Spaniard. He pulled the trigger rareIf ■ !j. Ms eyes on the torrent, and the bullet struck Martengo la the leg. Deafened by the tumult of waters. Wi’fdcd by the first spray, he lost hl* 4" . .ne The next Instant he was a straw thing from ware to wave In the flood dashed senseless against a rock ar.-l -ucked under as the river bore -down. i' rcmary heard the thunder of the j. as she lay on a soiled mattress

tn the guide's house. The w..tf.t-n ha given her coffee and pulled off be damp boots and breeches. She bac submitted, spent beyond power ot movement, almost beyond power ot feeling When Heinz returned she was rolled Into a none too-elean bar racan. her hair pushed back from he« forehead, her eyes like cinders tn a bloodless face. She might have been a statue of anxiety, so still was she so fixed the dreadful »-xpe«-tation tn her gaze. Heinz was shocked. H» felt he was looking at something raw and it made him uncomfortable. “It's ail right." he said, “the Kald's safe." “You saw him yourself?*' asked Rosemary, her Ups scarcely moving “Yes. I spoke to him and I told him it was all your doing. He sent you a message." The German era belllsbed Westwyn's words and he had to repeat them continuously be . fore the girl was satisfied. “You're sure he's safe?" Patiently Heinz developed bls story All was going miraculously well What was left of the enemy tomorrow—no, today—would have to be picked up on blotting paper! All the time he was listening sot the explosion of the dam. When It came, he was sitting in the doorway, rolling native tobacco, a djellaba clumsily coOring his lack of clothes, j which were drying by the fire. “There Is our ally!” he exclaimed, and. with unwonted swiftness, stumbled to his , feet. “Gott! It Is tremendous! Come | here am! look." , Rosemary dragged herself across to him and. together, they watched the j white legions charging down to the plain. The moonlight made It fantastic. an Irresistible boat splitting the earth In Its passage. “I think the last trick Is to Abd el Krlm." said the German, with a return to his normal placidity. CHAPTER XII. Telehdl welcomed Rosemary, as It might have done a chief returned from battle. Menel>bhe actually rode out to meet her. consoling himself for such an unprecedented act by the reflection that, from Heinz, he would get first news of their adventures. It. was unnecessary to ask for any I other news. Triumphant runners, W Jaw' The Riffe Gathered Like Hawks Abova and Hie First Intimation of Their Presence Was the Smack on a Stone Alongside, r sometimes mere boys with a wisp of' sheepskin round their shoulder*, brought tales of un overwhelming vic- • lory. The whole of the Spanish stores had been swept away in the flood. A platoon, a battalion had gone down in it. Soon It would be exaggerated into a regiment. The main army had been taken by surprise. The four of the flood was in their enrs, wholesale destruction before their eyes. The mountains, which had always been hostile, were bursting open for their destruction Superstitious fear deprivet! them of a chance to rally. The guns were forgotten until it was too late. Westwyn’s riflemen, having killed to their heart's content, char*d through the hills to cut off the enemy's retreat. The tale of entpured rifles, of unnumbered prisoners, grew with every message! Mohatntnadl was obliterating what remained of the S|«ani*h advance post*. ' "We shall drive them into Ceuta. That, too. we could take if we wished." gasped the last excited news, bearer. (TO HZ CONTINUBD.) Precept Often Heard It of Ancient Origin The author of tfie phrase, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” quoted by John Wesley, in bis sermon on “Dress," and again in Ms Journal (February 12. 1772). is not known. Long before Wesley. Bacon had put the same idea into the words. "Cleanliness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God and Aristotle, still further back, into, "Cleanliness is half a virtue." But even long before Aristotle this wellknown English phrase had been taught by the Rabbis of the Talmud, both as a religious principle and a sanitary law in the form: doctrines of a religion are resolved into carefulness: carefulness into vigorousness: vigorousness into guiltlessness; guiltlessness into cleanliness: cleanliness into godliness." ’ Hit Little AU "When 1 came to town. 20 years ago," said a prosperous man of ample waistcoat, "all niy earthly possessions were wrapped up in a bandanna hand kedebief." “And now you own 300 acres of land and that factory on .he edge of townr “Yes." “May I ask "hat you carried in the bandanna bankereblef?” "Six thousand dollars In cash and bonds.” One man's greatness is due to the aid of many smaller men.

What’s the f Answer ♦ Quettiont No. 27 1 — what is the spoliation of tha four largest Islands of the West Indies? 2 — What Is the record for length of time under water? S—How many spitball pitchers ar* there in the big leagues? 4— What famous cavalry leader wat killed by the Sioux Indians in 1S7«? 5— What American comedian of th» latter half of the Nineteenth century Is remembered affectionately forth» humor and delicacy of his portrayals of homely characters In plays of heart interest? fl—Which is the loftiest peak of th* Andes? 7— Who originated the editorial paragraph in newspapers? 8— How many amendments have there been to the Constitution of the United States? 9— How does Mars rank with the sun and earth? 10— Who founded the Kansas City Star? 11— How many eclipses in 1927? 12— What is the meaning of the word "creed"? IS— What Is a morning star? 14- famous poet was once an editor of the New York Evening I'ost) 15— What newspaper first published Washington's farewell address? Mb—How far do the Andes mountains extend? 17— Which Is the largest city In South America? 18— How old Is the American Asso elation Baseball league? 19— When and by whom was hockey Introduced In the United States? 20— What distinguished Confederate cavalry leader held the rank iff gen •ral in the Spanish-American war?

Answers No. 26 1 — Mount McKinley, in Alas* a. 2 — Olympia. B—Hippocrate*. 4—5500 I s—Seventy years. 6 Leoncavallo; his opera, “1 Tar Uaccl." 7— Luzon and Mindanao. 8— James Gordon Bennett 9— Ninety-six. 10— miles. 11— Vera Cruz. 12— Richard Mansfield. 13 — Johnny Hayes won it last in 191 W. 14— There are 1.730 clubs and 175.000 members. 15— Abraham Lincoln. 1C A Flemish scientist of the Sixteenth century, famed for his projection on w;hich all marine charts ar* drawn *" * - 17—Hamburg. I?—John Veter Zen ger. 19— One member to each 211.877 population. 20— One of the planets of the solar system, conspicuous for its redness of light. Time's Passage Not Reckoned in Hours An English astronomer has advanced the thought that “time does not. in fact, exist." It is rather difficult for the human mind to comprehend such a theory, says Thrift Magazine. Longfellow. tn '“The Hyperion.” asked the question: “What is timer* and answered It in this mantier: “The shadow bn the dial, the running of the sand—day and night, summer and winter. months, years, centuries: these are but arbitrary and outward signs, the measure of time, not time itself. Time is the life of the soul." The theory that tyne "doe* not pass," or, as men say. “fly." is not a new one. There Is in an ancient graveyard In New York a tombstone containing these lines: Time flle». 'Ha said. X«y gossip, say not so*. Time stays, we goe Nathaniel Hawthorne, tn the "Mae ble Faun.” wrote: “Time flies over us but leave* Its shadow behind.” Fashion and Good Breeding A circle of men perfectly well breo would be a company of sensible per sons tn which every map's native man ners and character appeared. If the fashlottlst have not this quality he Is nothing. We are such lovers of selfreliance that we excuse tn a man many sins If he will show us a complete satisfaction tn his position, which asks no leave to be of mine or any man's good opinion.—Emerson. ..*■ , Revised Version The seven ages of man have been well tabulated by somebody or other on an acquisitive basis, thus: First age—Sees the earth. Second age—Wants 1L Third age—Hustles to get It Fourth age—l decides to be satisfied with only about half of it Fifth age—Becomes still more mod- • erate. Sixth age—Now content to possess a six by two strip of it. Seventh age—Gets this strips Airdrome Mast Be Square • An airdrome must be square in shape, points out Capt Elliott White Springs, aviator, in Liberty, because | a plane in taking off from the ground | must be faced into the wind, to prevent side pressure turning It over. Chinese “Venice” Soocbow. one of the oldest and most famous cities in China, is known as the “Venice of the Far East." because of the large number of canala with which it is Intersected.

THE SYKACrSF JOTRNAL

KxifeY. GET RID OF ALL BOARDER COWS Get rid of the boarder cows and make the good ones produce more j milk Is the advice of Prof. H. A. Hop- | per at the State College of Agriculture to New York state dairymen. The milk situation is* largely in the hands of Empire state producers, he says, and If they take a few steps to insure plenty of milk during the next few weeks, the usual shortage period, they can do much to meet the demands of the New York market. To increase milk production, dairymen should feed their cows more, especially more protein.: they should dispose of boarders and give their feed to the good cows; stable the cows when the weatlier Is cold or rainy: he sure the cows get plenty of water, am! take good care of cows that will ' freshen soon. Cows that are on short pasture should have green fwlder. Good aec 'I ond growth in meadows may be pas’ lured if the cow* are managed care fully. They should have a feeding ot 1 dry hay before they are turned into the meadow, and the grass, of course, should be dry. for they may bloat it they eat wet green grass. To Increase the protein cows get. they may be fed a mixture of 2W pounds corn or hominy. 109 barley, !kM» wheat bran. 200 cottonseed meal. ltx> linseed oil meal, and 100 pounds gluten feed. Dairymen who have peas, oats and barley may mix |*>und* of the ground mixture with 400 cottonseed meal. 200 gluten feed, ami 21*’ oil meal. Cows that will freshen soon should be in gi»od condition; grain fed to them Is well Invested. Professor Hop per says. Nothing helps more nor is a better investment than a good supptr-X drinking water for cows. Milk is mostly water, but cows ean t make milk without it. Buckets in the barn quickly pay for themselves. Progress Being Made in Dairy Industry Is Good Not so many years ago the milk production of the average cow was uroutid 3.IMM» pounds a year. Now it Is over 4.tMM> pounds a year and it will go higher! Last year T 2.200 cows owned by 700 Illinois dairymen averaged T. 506 pounds of milk. The aver age feed cost of these cows was 577.53 and the average value of the product $187.65. These cows were “owned and operated” by men who were inter ested In their business, for they were members of dairy herd improveniem associations. How would it do fo r some of our orators to go and tell them that we know enough about pro duction. and that prosperity lies in something else?—Ohio Farmer. Feed Green Soy Beans to Improye Milk Flavor Experiments Juri reported by the United States Department of Agriculture show that feeding green soy beaus to dairy cows Just before milking them lends to improve the flavor of the milk. The soy beans were fed In quantities up to 30 pounds per cow. The soy beans were firs’ fed when the plants began to form ihmls and were continued until the beans had reached tull size, but were not hard. While soy beans improve the milk flavor, rape fed green just before milking had the opimslte effect, im parting an objectionable flavor to the milk.

t Dairy Facts ? XO*o*o*o*osCO-*o*o*o*OJ» Always feed grain according to the amount of milk produced. • • • When calves are fed grain in stanchions, each gets its share. • • • Alfalfa has a high feeding value in that It If palatable and nutritious. •• • K Three-leaf clover is as lucky as four-leaf. If the dairymen have enough of It. • • • Dairymen should feed all the legume hay and silage that a cow will eat up clean. • • • A good dairy cow probably consumes more water than any other domestic animal. The more feed con suined. the more water the cow requires. • • • Provide silage for the herd. N« dairyman can reach real permanent prosperity without a silo, or at lea«» the silo will materially Increase his stability and prosperity. • • • One form of garget is ebronle ami “catching." and If you get that Into your herd, the only cure is to cell off the affected cows. , * • • • /' The Important thing for the dairy man Is to provide a convenient ptace and an abundance of hot water for washing and rinsing all utensils • • • Herd uniformity and beauty may seem to nave an Intangible value only But when It comes to selling the offspring that view is quickly changed. Beanty is an asset. • • • Too thin cream is not satisfactory because It leaves but a small amount <of skim milk for the use of the dairy farmer. • • • . Good shelter and the kind of feed spell comfort for the dairy herd and prevent the cream checks from dwindling. • • • Temperature of barns will remain more uniform, stock will be healthier, and the frost nuisanc*- will he prae tically eliminated by good ventila I don.

FiAJR-M FEEDING WORK TEAM IN WINTER Moderate feeding of work horses tn winter, always accompanied by moderate daily exercise, will bring a team through the idle season in shape to tackle good spring work providing they are grained well when put to their tasks. Azoturia. which Is a strange disease that Is largely caused by periods of idleness mixed with periods of work, is something moderate exetyse and reasonable winter care will overcome or prevent. Heavy work teams kept ,■ stables when they should have open-air exercise daily are sometimes' subject to this trouble. When alfalfa meadows are availthe »ate fall growth may be utilized by horses without damaging the seeding ami greatly reducing the cost wintering them. Work horses in recent tests have been fed a ration of alfalfa hay and shredded corn fodder tn early winter, later getting some six to eight |M*unds, of ear rorn «laily so as ♦"> prevent tl.em going off too greatly in flesh before spring. It w;i* rockoned that with alfalfa hay at sl6 a ton and .>hre<Med corn fodder at $7 a ton. the dally rations l.i tlie early winter did not cost nmre than about 9 ronts a day per head They ate about 8 pound* of alfalfa and probably about 6 pounds of corn fodtier as a daily average. Then when the shelled corn was added to improve the'i condtlion the ration all the way from IS to 2*» cents per head dally. From the middle of December until February 15 or so. the horses lost about a pound or more daily on this client ration. Edmond* ,u d ('rawford, at the Illinois experiment station, have had f »od results in feeding growing draft fillies by using in the jfir*l winter shea* oats and alfalfa hay with half an ordinary ration of oats and bran The roughage was fed in proportion of one part sheaf oats to two part* alfalfa. Three pounds o. oats to one p.>und of bran was the grain ration. Profitable Hog Needs Good, Suitable Ration The profitable hog is the one that eats the most. It takes about one eighth of a full ration (by this is meant giving thn hofl all it will ent) tc maintain the Itog's body. Then if you fed only enough to maintain the hog’s body you could feed a IMpottnd bog a whole year and It would stilt weigh 1M imunds and yon would he out your feed for nothing To Illustrate, (his. suppose that on account of fee<i being high you feed only two pounds of feet! per.tlay. A full ratiw is four |»er cent of (he live weight The average weight front 109 to 2»>o pounds is I*o pounds. Four per cent o Iflo is six pounds -one-eighth of six Is three-quarters pound—the amount required for maintaining the hog Then, if you feed only two pound* per day yon only have I*4 pounds t > make gain If you are feed’ng a balanced ration every three pound* of feed above that (Required *»r maintenance wil* make a pound of gain. Divide the I 1 * pounds by tbret and you see that you can get only five-twelfths pounds of gain per day when feeding two pounds of feed per tiny Then 240 days will be required to make the hog gain ioo pounds. Ton are feeding two pounds per day—two time* *MO equal* 48tl pounds Hence it took pounds of feed to make 100 pounds of gain.

7* 0 A I Live Stock Squibs X Cholera killed a million and a half hogs' last yea-. • • • Live stock thrives on good pastures, not oh vivid imaginations. • * * While bluegrass pasture d<»es not rank as high as rape or alfalfa as i forage crop for hogs. It <h»es have considerable value for fattening pigs. • • • Whe;. skim milk is fed with grain, six pounds are worth, on an average. «m»pound of grain. Whey has about, half the value of skim milk. • • • The Nebraska station got good results 'from wintering br»<od sows on a ration of three parts. »y weight, chopped alfalfa hay and one parr corn. • • • Animals can live longer without solid r«*als than without water. During hot summer days rhe pigs should be given <xm»l. fresh water at least three times daily. • • • . C'orn silage usually produces over twice as much gain on cattle as doe* sorghum silage. • • • Potatoes are pretty fair for fattening pig*. They should be cooked in kettle* or In a special commercial feed ro<»ker • • • Hog mange causes a great loss every year. Not only do many hogs bring a lower price on the market, but thev also fall Input on economicul gain. Dipping or sprinkling with crude petroleum is advised. • • • The only safe way to give a hog medicine I* by pill or capsule. Tilting the pig upright and pouring medicine into the mouth is often fatal. Horses should not he allowed across to straw for any great length of time during the year, especially ■when they are idle. • • • Close observations of sows and pigs have many times Indicated that animals on self-feeders look better and are more thrifty than those that are hand fed

| Cg Odour73B ML .1 I n * cr

people." said | Helen, wasting a glare ou | the crowd milling about a tmrgain table. “Each one in search of the very ob-

Ject l am trying to get.” “Impossible.” returned good old Cyrus from over bis lading of bundles. “Some are men and cannot be in pursuit ot the articles on your llst.“ Helen wanted to retort. “Stupid!" but laughed Instead. “I don't mean«, they are looking for step-ins and ted dies." she returned. “But we all want a $5 gift for 49 cents. »'m sc tired! 1 guess I'll go home.” And went. Just like that. She was that kind ot a sudden person, which was why Cyrus loved her, but had never found' time and place right for telling her so. . Helen fell into a waiting jhney. Oh. but she was a-weary. And bow long since the nightmare started? it began in the summer, when conscience said she mustn't crochet what she wanted t® crochet, but what would b* useful come Christmas. Then came the slogan. “Shop Kariy." Helen had shopped early, but that did not mean she was able to avoid shopping late. The spirit of Christmas —love. go»»d---will, peaces Where was it? The Woo! worth building stood on It. she believed. It couldn’t be right, energy, cash, time, six months for a day. Should she get the mistletoe at a florist's, or from a .street vendor? Florists delivered and her arms ached from carrying bundles. Still, twas 59 cents less in the street, and that half dollar added to Harriet Lane's present . . . not that she liked Harriet Lane, but she had sent a great dreadful vase last year; pricetl s(k half erased—Christmas spirit—like to go where Christmas wasn't kept. Her eyes closed. “Detour!" exclaimed the driver, as he turned on a side road. He was an "extra" earning for college. During Christmas season he, like the rest of the world, overworketl. and underslept. After driving 18 hours, he had taken this “trick’’ t so the regular man could go and buy things. Not that the regular hankered to buy things, but his wife made him. All the wives made ail the husbands do the same. Therefore Clay Hamilton, who had no wife, drove the Jitney. Drove it ou and on. I'erJiaps dozed off. It was an ley night. A chain broke. A wheel skidded:' Something careened and something else smashed. “Where can we be?” asked Helen, gazing at a black highway. The man laughed grimly. “1 don't even know where we are.” he responded. Both turned to meet the old man who hobbled from the nearest house. "Well," he cackled, “this Is Middleton. the town folks forgot. Years ago trains stopped running. We got no garage, no phone, pretty nigh no inhabitants. Me'n my sister live here ’cause we ain't able to live nowhere else. Mrs. Gould is bedridden and her daughter stays to take care of her. Come in. You can’t move on tonight, wheel all crumpled up. And you can't walk if you’ve hurt your fool as I suspect.” Inside the quaint house, with his shoe cut off. Clay made apology to Helen. , “I could kick myself." he said, “for getting you Into such a scrape. I must have dreamed that sign 'Detour.! The truth Is. I shouldn't have been driving. It’s tlie—” “Holiday rush." interrupted Helen. ”1 understand. I won't complain.

“You May Say It," Returned Helen. “I’m Reconciled." . ( though » roll of red tissue paper and bolt of green ribbon aren't very etfi clent provisions for an overnight stay. But—doesn't that coffee smell good?” “Rather. If it wasn't that » know you are anxious to gel home and finish your Christmas preparations. I’d say. ‘What larks”" “You may say it." returned Helen “I’m recon riled. Glory be. there are no signs of holly In this bouse." “Perhaps,” said the young man. following her mood, though rather a tun zed. “we've reached a land where Christmas ends. A test! Miss Eliot." addressing their hostess as she en-> tered with a iray. "Can you tell us the date of day after tomorrow?" “Day after tomorrow is the twen ty-fifth,” she said calmly. Then she went out for more food, and Helen grinned at Clay, as If they were obi friends. The twenty-fifth of December was just a date! They had actually got away from Christmas. It proved a delightful evening, pro-

longed as the two young folks discussed everything but Christmas. The next day came, bringing a blizzard. For a little they spoke of a search being made for the Jitney, but It became evident “detour" had indeed been a dream. Never mind. Clay's ankle was getting better, and Helen felt like a child out of scliool. In the afternoon the two nobbled and tripped, respectively, into the kitchen entry. Clay was going to squint at the ear, Helen thought she might help about supper. Through the door they saw their hostess and the daughter of the bedridden woman. What was it they bent over? Helen’s parcel, with its bunch at scarlet tissue. Its bolt of green ribbon, its sprigs <ff artificial holly. But with what wistful eyes were the women regarding gewgaws. “They say." whispered Miss Gould, barely touching the pretties with finger tips discolored by lodine, “that in lots of places one never has a Christmas gift not tied up nice. I read it somewhere—the wrapping Is half the gift!" “Maybe so," said Miss Eliot. “I never had a Christmas present of any sort.'* “1 did have some good times." returned Miss Gould, “before ma took sick. Hung up my stocking and always got some little tricks. Wasn't contented, though. Used to hanker for a Helen turned quickly, not to be caught eavesdropping. In the parlor she confronted Clay HanUKvu with the air o|t one about to reply to a toud-st>oke|n objection. "For goodness gracious sake," she exclaimed 'Xlon't say whatever you were about to. Stop right where you are. and help me. I have to contrive a Christmas present for at least a IW fMI LVr. J For H« Pulled Birchbark From Sticks in the Woodbox. dozen people, and deck a tree for two. And nothing to do It with—not a tiling. And it's already late and dosing in." Right I here was where Clay scored above ally possibilities of Cyrus, who would surely have observed the Inconsistency. “Let It close.” said he. “The local shops aren't closed. They never open! How would a branch off that hemlock we ran Into do for a baby tree?" “Splendiferous.” said Helen. Then she wanted to know wHnt became of the wishhone she had seen oh rtia plate at dinner? He had saved It. for .<>o,l lin k \nd what was it one to do with a wishhone? Why. make a l>en wii>cr. to be sure. So Helen made one. and dressed It In red lelt cut from her overshoe lining. Clay printed the rhyme: Once I was a little part Qf a little hen, Now I'll be a little slave And help you clean yotir pen. "it has all the earmarks of the perfect gift." quoth Helen, “fnr I doubt if any one here ever use*, much less has occasion to wipe a pen.” Then she sent ('lay to gather; the alder berries reachable from the porch. Later she strung the*e for a necklace oki a bit of colored string from her parcel. After the Eliots had retired she went as eagerly to work as if she hud never forsworn Christmas. Twisting the strands of hay site made dalntJ baskets, some with handles of braided straw, others adorned with tufts of redtop. She also constructed candlesticks of cornstalks, trimmed prettily with fringed husks. In the meantime ('lay was not Idle, for he pulled birchbark from sticks In the woodbox and borrowing needle and thread from tlie Eli«»t workbasket, sewed tiny hemlock sprigs Into “Merry Christmases.” making objects that Helen ass* rted would he considered “Just wonderful” if discovered in • gift shop. AU was at length completed, but the two had little time for admiration of their handiwork, since the parcels must be wrappetl with all the wealth of the tissue, the ribbon, the holly, and the seals which Clay's pocket disAnd was Helen "tired to death" when all was complete? Nay. standing tUside Clay on the little porch, listening to the cracking ice as trees swayed In tire rising wind, she felt as if swaddled In the comfort of a great joy. Vainly had she thought herself "sick of Christmas.” At her first chance to forget, she had worked her qtmost to bring holiday to the forgotten town. With dawn, she knew the Extent of ber success. Clay, who had been limping about, told her that in every bouse some old body with trenifbling hands was unwrapping a gift |Stire to be troasureil* for years. "And nothing for either of us." laughed Helem Yet' a few moments after, when Miss Eliot entered the room it was to sky. “My dear. 1 never before noticed the pretty ring on your finger!" Two golden hands clasped, an oldfashioned betrothal token, which ('lay Hamilton had from his mother, and, bectluse it was always with him. had quite providentially taken on detourl t®. 15JT Newonaper (Inion. > * S--Christinas Superstition There Is an old superstition that ' nini holly leaves tied in a handkerchief with nine knots and placed under the pillow on Christinas night will cause the sleeper to dreanr or, her future wife or busband.