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Show THE CITIZEN as you go through. Your face has been a blot on my landscape long enough. I She gave him a detailed synopsis of tu r recent meditations. Uncle Joseph nodded agreement with her. The idea appealed strongly to him. He was the kind of man that likes giving younger He promised his full assistance to Mrs. Madison in the matter of subjecting Peter to a curative shock. So that when Peter came home just before ten his wife met him in the passage or hall aforesaid. She was sniffling delicately behind a handkerc- Do I speak plainly enough? Then go before I employ the force to hief. No, Im crying, he asked. she told him, in- - dignantly. Hasnt Uncle Joseph turned up? Or crying because he has turned are you body-snatchin- debt-grabbin- lap? No, Uncle Joseph hasnt arrived yet, thank goodness! Come round to my way of thinking, else sh Im crying because has arrived. sh sh. . some Oh, Peter, one theres a together and drive clear the bunkers. Whats the trouble? in the Theres a Pull yourself LS of )e iff ire house!. ig what? he bellowed in surprise. A Its that $85 you owe Trueman. The mans in the drawing room now and he says hes going to sell our things if we dont pay him. Theres a cheerful visitor for Christinas for you! Mr. Madison strode into the room to g and there a small, whiskered man, in his shirt sleeves and smoking a For a few seconds the stranger pipe. md Peter stared at each other in mu-uA ff. :e, ve I a sit-:in- ;ps m. ig! al bit hostility. ind The tension was broken by the sound i a door shutting upstairs. Mrs. Mad- aps ron, fearful of inability to retain control of her. emotions, had fled to the sanctuary of ut. her bedroom. The sheriff on Christmas eve, eh? growled Peter in the most menacing you ones. next "Trueman, grocer, goods supplied, id Uncle Joseph, consulting a slip pf paper most .professionally. e of said Peter, casual-T- . Im just trying to make up my ind. I dont know whether to hit you ;nder the jaw or on the end of your ly little nose. "Lit me warn yfni that assaulting a pmy is a very serious matter. Im wondering, Mrs. e his bit Mine a very serious matter 3leed, agreed Peter. For you. "You cant pay me, of course? Yes, ris a if i ,r itll be Peered Jo-- i I gth. Uncle Joseph. r think youd better open the advised quite pleasantly. Then . g, g win-Pete- you wont get cut by the glass And Im not coming back again, either! Tell your wife that, will you? Shell understand. Ah, shes been talking to you, too, has she? Well, Ill take back some of the things Ive said about you. Youre not quite so bad as you look. And heres half a dollar for you. Instinctively the other man took the coin and dropped it into his pocket. Then, donning his coat in silence, he departed. Wheres he going? breathlessly You do not dont get jazzy, he begged, Now a choking voice. away! have you? No, boot-lickin- g ant eater. remove you. I stay here till Im paid. Oh, surely not! You see Im just going to throw you out. I shall probably employ excessive violence in great quantities. Your relatives will know where to find you next Sunday afternoon, though I doubt whether the nurse will allow them to stay long. Get out of my house! Take your little carcass its Christmas time for another. But thats as far as I go. Im not taking any job in the department. And now would you mind departing, please, or do I have to crumple my collar? Im going, replied Uncle Joseph in think youre an ugly, despicable little worm and I hate you. You have the appearance of a debased rat, and I feel sure you have the morals of a starved men lessons. Hullo, got a cold? and because 9 intimidate . me, said Uncle Joseph, as he moved to the further side of the table. And I must request you to refrain from personali- demanded Mrs. Madison, running down stairs as the front door closed. ties. that. Request till youre black in the face, you seedy little bounder! But if you want to save trouble youll clear out this minute. Im expecting a visitor him! for Christmas, and I dont-wansee you here when he comes. t him to It would expose your financial con- dition, wouldnt it? My financial condition is my own af- fair, and Ive never asked any one else to make it theirs, and Im certainly not going to discuss it with you, you clammy little horror! My wifes uncle is coming to stop wtih us for Christmas, and I want him to enjoy himself, and the sight of your may I say exceedingly repugnant visage would disturb his slumbers for a week, and take all his appetite for turkey. I see! I see! cried Uncle Joseph. You dont want him to know youre in debt. No, I dont want him to know. Hes one of these rich old skinflints, and hed probably jump to the conclusion that Id planned the thing just to try to cadge a little generosity out of him. He might pay this $85, though. Not the least likely. Hes the clos- est old miser that ever was, and hes never done anybody a good turn in all his life. He thinks everybodys after his money and that makes him a suspicious, domineering old blighter. Oh, indeed? Then why invite him here for Christmas? "Bless you, I didnt want him. Its the wifes idea. She thinks that good may come out of the evil, you know, when the old chap dies. But Im not playing in that game. Im not going to pander to the old boys notions. Ill treat him decently because lie's my wifes nearest relative for one reason Hes gone and hes never coming He told me to tell you Your tears must have moved back again! have got a cheerful visitor for Christ mas. ff Well, it certainly has ended all right, conceded Mrs. Madison. Really it was quite lucky that you made that mistake. Oh, I wasnt making such a big mistake, said Peter. You see, when I went out this afternoon I passed the old chap about ten blocks away lugging his grip along. It was that grip made me look at him. I wondered then whether he might not be Uncle Joseph, and But Trueman might have sent the sheriff, argued Mrs. Madison, I think not, old girl. I dont think he could, in law, to start with. In any case, hed have mentioned it to me when I saw him this afternoon. You see, there was a little Christmas bonus at the office today, and I settled up with Trueman out of it this afternoon. Thats what I went out for, really. "Then you knew that Uncle Joseph Uncle gone? "Uncle? No, the sheriffs deputy. But but that was Uncle Joseph!" But you told me It was a a sort of game I and Uncle Joseph arranged. And now youve been and upset him and hes gone gone forever! It was all meant as a lesson for you, and now was only pretending? "Of course, I did! My, but it was a lovely feeling, explaining Uncle Joseph to Uncle Joseph himself! And your face when you thought it was all over it beat any movie I ever saw! Oh, a happy Yuletide indeed for Peter! Good night, old girl! Merry Christmas! Its turned out a lesson for you, said Peter, not one whit dismyaed. "Moral dont start an infants class for husbands. There came a solitary knock at the door. responding, was confronted by the figure of Uncle Joseph. Mr. Madison, Forgot my grip, he said in a strangely constrained manner. There was a little pause. Look here, I like you, said Uncle Joseph brusquely. Youve told me the truth about myself. Youve let me see that Im not a little tin god to everybody, and if a mans got the sense to understand that it does him good. Youve given me a chance to see how I look to other people. Yes, I like you. Salt Lake Tbaatre Week (oiiiiiienfInR Mondaif, December 27 Mat'neeM Wedeieadny and Xew Vear'N Heturn of the Favorite THE THE-5UCCE-55 MOST gr rALKED OF) pwr THE SUCCESSES OF CHtfTUR Youre independent. Youre my sort Ive got no use for cringing and toady- ing. Oh, never mind about all that, said Peter awkwardly. Come on in and lets start Christmas! ""And Uncle Joseph came in. Late that Christmas Eve Peter sat on the edge of the bed and chuckel aloud. Turning out quite a decent old sport, isnt he? said Peter. "Hes quite a joliy old chap when he creeps out between the cracks of his side. I believe you were right, after all. We A brilliant cawt with Florence Ilockwell and the 'FnninaiM Sing- ing IlnwaliaiiN. KveiilngN, TOc to $2 Wednesday Matinee, nilo to $1 .New Year' Matinee, 50c tie $1.70. SKATS NOW SKI.MXG 1 |