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Show THIS PBOVO POST The pathos and pleading in her Toicecaptured her listeners. With eager, searching tone and later with hopeless despair, she Father, such a feast of good spiritual manna hast thou bestowed upon us, thy humble servants, that we can bear no more, and we have risen to our feet to acknowledge and thank Thee for this, Thy Christmas gift, to us. a second hesitated, but she darted an imploring glance at the curate and his face was so full of hope as he searched the faces of the old couple iWanderer. Oh, Qod our that she felt the purpose of it all and sang on. angs: CJ Where art thou, where art thou? My beloved land. In vain I seek Yet never know! Ial of mine, Let Thy messengers who have ministered unto us this day be forever blessed. Amen.' Then the audience, "subdued and tranquil, filed peacefully out into the frozen streets. In the vestry two young people were laughing and chatting. One was radiantly happy, the other proud in the possession of such a treasure You little witch! John Right cried. What have you done? Im most afraid to breathe, for fear the spell you cast over up all be broken. , Miss Jackson chuckled happily and turning caught the eye of Mrsr Cutler, and stepped to- . ward her. That .lady reached out her arms and close and kissed her uttering no word. drew The minister took her hand and said simply, God bless you, dear girl. In a few minutes the hall was vacated and Mrs. Cutler walked with her husband to the church where he wished to leave instructions for the morrow.- In the church proper, the lights burned low and the holly and mistletoe twinkled with shining red and pure white berries, like so many rubies and pearls upon rich dark velvet. . A warm glow filled their hearts as they stood together before the altar in the dim twilight. Presently the minister Bpoke so softly it seemed a part of the stillness. Pal of mine, I am being today. and brow on I feel Gods omnipotent hand my by His help all will yet be well. , He tenderly enfolded her to his heart and kissed her lips reverently. Then they emerged from the sanctuary and for the first'fime in five years she leaned on his arm on their way home. f At his study door Mr. Cutler excused t the at for sayingrr-musget ' morning. Four times had come a letter on Christmas Eve in Bobs Four times his mother had received it and silently handed it to her husband. Four times had it been consigned to the ministers study table drawer unopened. Christmas Eve had dawned for the fifth time, bringing with it, the fifth letter which lay unopened on the table before Mr, Cutler. thru storm and sunshine, Though the gold is turning gray Deep in my heart, love burns the brighter, And you grow dearer day by day. Side by side Then as she finished her song with the low calm finality of Death weve journeyed onward, Clinging closer all the time. Dear old girl, youre still my sweetheart, Ever faithful pal of min. There! Where thou are not! There is your home!, her listeners heaved breasts heavy with despair. For a moment she held them bound, then broke the tension with a tremulous little laugh and retreated frond view. The hall shook with the thunderous apAgain, again, the audience yelled. plause, She reappeared and though declining to repeat she sang a little ballad for the Wanderer, them; For,she said, ."what is Christmas without our folk songs? While she sang she compelled the eyes of the" minister and Mrs.' Cutler to meet hers and whether or not she had intended it, they knew .she was singing just to them. They felt that her voice was piercing their hearts and stuffing the holes full of her message. Every word was a prayer to them. Now, instead of sitting a little apart, as at first, Mr. and Mrs. Cutler were close together. He held her thin little hand in his own shaky palm; and they were looking at each other as though they had found a treasure that was lost. The late winter sun was streaming through the windows, bathing the singer in a wondrous rosy light, as she continued singing now as though she were a bird singing with the joy of soaring to unbidden heights or as a conqueror after the battle full-throate- d t.-- -- ; I Spring of Life has gone forever, Pal of Mine. In your hair of gold now threads of silver shine. But the lovelight In your eyes beam on brightly never dies. more I realize your love divine. and More Tho the roses from your cheeks have passed away, You still .wear . the sunny smile you wore that day, When with blushing cheeks aflame, you said yes and took my name. way. Still I love you in that good The little singer felt that she must choke as the minister lean toward his wife pleadingly! and the, tears coursed down that ladys flushed cheeks. She felt that she could not go on and for she saw Pal of mine, do you remember that bright Rousing himself at last, he fingered the envelope nervously. Why not? he muttered, what difference "'ill make? For five years have I positively refused to open them, but tonight, somehow, I want to read them. I want to know something about him. God give me strength to do my duty. It was dark now as he groped in the drawer for the tiny parcel of letters he had so often fingered as they lay, tucked away amongst r day, He pulled the chain of his reading lamp' and in the soft glow broke the seal of the first letter. His eyes opened wide as he read; . Dear Father ' j Not a word of apology. Not a sign of pleading in the little missive. Ho drew from the envelope ja clean ten dollar bill. Hm! he snorted, not exactly the tone a prodigal son might be expected to use. ' Lets see what number two says. Maybe he gets his senses here. But no! This letter was even shorter than the first and read : Dear Father t - Little Susie sends you a love token j - him-sel- my-serm- hand-writin- for the poor. ' g. 7 low 1 My soul! Sill a These two famous Utah Coals have been usefully , identified with the growth and development of the intermountain west for over a quarter of a century. ' T The standard oLeveryton jsjmitonn and ' able- - 'j Vt depend- - , and both coals are clean and free burning, Ask Your Dealer Mined Only By tahFuel 1L ' what can this mean? Why docs (Continued in Following Section) w - - piece. ipremaey . Bob. And in it together with a tiny curl of yelhair, he found a new twenty dollar gold sssra Meifly-Mv- e -- - -- - ZZl . This is as much of a sacrifice as the the widows mite, but "Grace and I could not let my birthday pan without a little gift for Charitys sako. ' ; r ' Lovingly, Z7'7l' wr 1L. t : ed Her song was ended and she stood as one transfixed with gladness. With a sigh she slowly left the platform, but this time not a handclap followed her as she disappeared. Everyone was pleased with the song, yet everyone was silent. They felt that something, they did not know what had been accomplished someone was glad perhaps, they were all glad perhaps they felt no need for more. The minister rose to his feet and still holding the dear wee hand, said in a humble way : Good people, our program is full. Our hearts are full. Let us pray. ' some old sermons. -- When we listened to the robin sing its lay, Oft I Where the trees and flowers grow? do know wonder, they Their old friends of long ago why now are gray And the little rustic bench beside the stream Does it miss us and without us lonely seem? Now were plodding down Lifes hill, Yet we love each other still, And the days have passed like one sweet dream. -- uncertainty. - and exultant. ne was happy happier than he had been, for years, still he was not content. He knew the course he ought to take, but Jiqw could he take it? Could he crush his pride and insulted parenthood and cry out into the night for his son? His eyes upon the letter on his table he lived again" that wind-swep-t terrible five day years ago and over his face crept the shades of mortification -- and -singer doubt and He waa confused. - |