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Show p SUCH A zwm m IPONDBRFUUpi i'CHRISTMH 3 RUTHERFORD GNES LOWDEN looked from her yM second-story bedroom window in (o the downtown district upon a (f'm typical Christmas eve scene. The street was aglow with its myriad lights. Snowflakes were flurrying flurry-ing past as the sharp, crisp December wind blew it fiercely into the faces of hurrying last-nilnute shoppers whose arms were laden with mysterious packages. "How lovely!" she murmured, and then added, "but what a mockery ! So much happiness mingled with dire un-happiness. un-happiness. Oh, God, help me not to lose faith ! Turning to her bed she threw herself her-self upon it face downward and burst Into violent weeping. So this was the disappointing close of the day for which she had so long waited the day Rob Roy was to come to claim her as his wife his Christmas gift. Sis months before Agnes had sent him im I r t away that both might, learn th io ugh Ion? separation if each meant to the other all that was needful to Insure their future fu-ture happiness. And she had told him to come ; that at last she knew her heart's desire; that on Christmas eve she would welcome wel-come him and go with him to the very end of the earth. In vain had she listened through the long hours of the day for a telephone call, a telegram, or his ring at the door of her boarding house. Nothing came, and all this merry-making about her but mocked her in her misery. Wlien Ap:nes awoke with the dawn of a clear Christmas morning she looked out upon a far different scene than that which the glowing lights of the night before had presented. The streets seemed deserted, and but fur smnke curMng out of chimneys, one might suppose that no one cared cnou;h tr the day's celebration to quit cr.m fortiible beds to spread the glad tidings. But hark! There broke upon the air clarion notes of cathedral chimes proclaiming to the world the birth of the Christ. The grand old hymn with Its martial strain brought to the mlud of every listener the glorious words : "Joy 10 the vrorld, the Lord Is come, Let earth receive her king.' Agnes stood with bowed head until the last note f the last stanza had I died away, struggling hard to grasp the true spirit of the day, though her torn, heart was unable to entirely cast aside the bitterness of the great disappointment dis-appointment she had suffered. A little lit-tle later, from a near-by church the crowd of early worshipers came pouring pour-ing out, and as she looked, came the thought : "All of those people are happy. With joy they can think of their Lord and King, their loved ones, little tokens tok-ens of affection and appreciation to cause their heart9 to swell with unbounded un-bounded joy. But what have I? Only emptiness and hopelessness. Ah, Christmas Christ-mas but mocks me with its revelry." Determining to fly at once to some unknown address where Rob would never find her, Agnes arrayed herself hurriedly for the street. But every minute or two, between garments slipped on, she would draw aside the curtain again for one more searching glance into the street below. At last she pulled l.er nobby, close-fitting little lit-tle hat becomingly into place, drew on her gloves, and turned for her coat when the screech of colliding cars directly di-rectly under her window called her back once more. "Oh Efinlp nnp is hurt!" she almost al-most screamed, and her nurse's instinct 'to offer first aid sent her rushing pell-mell down the stairs and out into the street where a crowd had al-already al-already gathered about a wrecked car. Agnes forged ahead to the side of the machine ma-chine just as a taxi arrived to receive the in- ini-orl rtorenn "Oh, Agnes, is it really you?" "Rob !" Without a word of explanation to anyone the frightened but happy girl climbed into the taxi by the side of Rob, forgetful now of everything except ex-cept getting him to the hospital as quickly as possible for the dressing of wounds which he declared could not be serious. "Didn't quite make it on time, dear," he said with his head on her shoulder, shoul-der, "but I was doing my level best And to think this should have happened hap-pened right in front of your house." "And to think I was about to run away from you when that truck struck you. No, I didn't know it was you, but something just made me fly to the scene and " "You were watching, Agnes?" "Yes, dear, I was watching, but had given up hope. I thought you didn't care; that I had called to you in vain. I was crushed." "So none of my messages reached you. Too bad! I had to trust them to others. But now that we are together, to-gether, dear, you will not leave me for a single moment, will you, until we are man and wife? "Never! It is going to be such a wonderful Christmas after all, Rob, and I had thought It so desolate. "Yps dear, a wonderful Christmas!" (. 1928. Woateru Newspaper Union.) |