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Show v.' !( The Littlest Boy ; j and Santa Claus j 1 Edwin L Sabin' gj (Copyright) W trr7H13 QUliAT linll clock, sta ir . tloned opposite tho foot of E A the stairs, struck two. J From his bed the Littlest ff Hoy listened with n sense R ofawo. Never before had I 1,0 "cnrd It strlko so late an hour. f 4t 0nco ,nlGod, ho had hoard It strlko Vhfcv tcn- b"t "anally It had struck eight f nnd when next ho was awakojt was I Btriklng six ond morning had come, a Tho Littlest Hoy lay and listened. 8 Tho house was Impressively still. The only sounds audlblo wore the Btatoly ticking of tho monitor clock bolow, nnd tho regular breathing of tho Biggest Big-gest Doy and tho lllggest Girl In tho room adjoining. Tho Littlest Boy's eyes were wide open and gazing Into tho velvet blackness black-ness close abovo his face. When ho had gone to bed It had been Christmas Christ-mas evo. Ho was not fully certain as to the lino of demarkutlon, but It occurred oc-curred to him that noV It was Christ- I mas day! Then he began to blink and think. Ho wondered If Santa Claua had come yet. Before the grnte-flro, down in the library, were ranged three chairs; n rocklng-chnlr for the Biggest Girl, a straight-backed, ordinary chair for tho Biggest Boy, and a huge, roomy arm-chair for himself. In addition, ho had hung up his stockings to the mantel. Ho tried to picture to himself hew, if Santa Claus had been nnd gono, that chair and those stockings must "Hello!" Said Santa Claus. look. At Intervals, ns somo particularly particu-larly alluring fancy stood out before him, ho gave an ecstatic wrlgglo and a few blinks extra. Oh, the red wagon! And tho silver napkin-ring! Supposing ho got them both! It did not seem to htm possible pos-sible that ho could exist without either, eith-er, and yet and yet ho mustn't ex act too inucli. If ho might tnko ono poop into tho library Just ono tiny peep to And out whether or not Santa Claus had been. Ho felt that ho ought not to yield to this temptation; and ho sighed hard and twisted. But oven In tho midst of his struggle he did yield, for first his dlsobedlont right foot stole from ' beneath the bluo coverlet, and noxt J his disobedient left foot; and In n ' ;i moment all of him, enveloped In his long, plnk-llannel night-gown, was moving resolutely towards tho door- way. fv Down sped tho Littlest, Boy, .boldly , ignoring tho astonished cl'ocir, 'ciown ' the remaining flight, nnd across tho A square hall, whoso rugs wore soft and .J comforting. On. tho threshold of tho 'A library ho stopped short, frightened at what ho had dono. f A Ho had caught Santa Claus! A Ayo, there was Santa Claus, bond-' bond-' K wj ing over tho big chair, which, tho 'a LltUesjt Boy .glimpsed, was overflow- a ing with packages' and things. I - 'i do not know but that tho Littlest -q Boy would havo bent courteous ro- Jl treat (although, of course, his farthor H 3 1 curiosity wa'a simply tremendous) had m $1 not Santa ClaUsr 'suddenly glanced up I 5 and descried him n small, pink fig- V, uro, niado still pinker by tho glowing H coals, framed, wido-oyed, In tho library jB . door-caso. JT tJ "Hollo.!!' 81. Santa Claus, not mov-S mov-S T lng. H "Hello!" rospondod the Littlest Boy. H " "I didn't know you wore here." "Didn't you?" remarkod UantaClauss M straightening up :nhd' Slowly stUpplhg W i baokward. . J - -"' - '1 1 "... ' , "No," assured the Littlest Boy. "Did you get In through tho chlmley?" During his whole life that Is, over since ho could talk the Littlest Boy had been trying to say "chimney;" but, somehow, that "1," bolng so slim and hatchet-faced, always nimbly slipped In nnd elbowed out tho "n." "Did I got in througn tho chlm-bley!" chlm-bley!" repeated Santa Claus; nnd then ho opened his mouth in a silent laiigh. "Yes, I dumb down tho chlm-bley," chlm-bley," ho said. "You say 'chlmbley' and I sny 'chlmley;' 'chlm-ley;' but my father says says ch ch chlmneley is right," informed tho Littlest Boy. "You don't mean it!" returned Santa Clans, who, having backed to tho window win-dow looking upon tlfo side porch, now, with his hnnd behind him, was deftly sliding It up. "Plenso don't go, Snnta Clnus," bo-sought bo-sought tho Littlest Boy. "We'll tnlk real low, so nobody'll hoar. That Is, If you're not In too big a hurry to stay," he added, politely. "Sure," responded Santa Clnus. "It's almost empty, Isn't It!" asserted assert-ed tho Littlest Boy. "But 1 's'poso you've lots moro up In tho balloon. Had you got all through with mo? My chair is tho middle ono thoro. and these aro my stockings In front ol it." "Well, 1 whs kinder foolln' around when you como In," confessed Snntn Claus; "but I reckon I'm through. Them other chairs are your ma's an pa's, I take it?" "Yed; mamma's is tho rockor and pipa's Is tho other," Informed the Lit tlest Boy, hurriedly. "Did you bring mo a red wagon and a silver napkin ring?" "Aren't they there?" queried Santo Clnus. "May I look?" asked tho Littlest Boy, eagerly. "Sure," grunted Santa Claus, with his favorite word. The Littlest Boy was not Blow In taking ndvantngo of that permission. Ho did not havo to burrow to And the red wagon. Its two front wheols were sticking straight up against the chair's back! "Oooo-ce!" jubilated tho Littlest Boy, turning with Bparkllng eyes. "Will Its sides fold over?" "You bet!" assured Santa Claus. "Just bushels nnd bushels of thanks, Santa Claus," purled tho Littlest Boy, rapturously. "I hope It's bigger than my Cousin James' Is! Is It?" "Sure!" said Santa Claus. "Now, about tho ring? Ain't it-there?" "1 don't sco it?" replied tho Littlest Boy, rummaging. "Mobbe It's in tho stockin's," suggested sug-gested Santa Claus. And it was! a beautiful, shiny, silver sil-ver napkin ring, "Oooooo-eee!" gurgled tho Littlest Boy, unwrapping It. "I hot It's tho very solldos' kind!" "Lemmo see," demanded Santa Claus. "That's what I intended It to be, anyhow, an' 1 hope I ain't mado no mistake." "Yes, It's solid, all right enough," ho said, weighing it in IiIb hand, while tho Littlest Boy wntched him, anxiously. anx-iously. "But don't you think that that there wagon an' this hero ring, both together, a're too much for a kid llko you?" "I don't know," responded tho Littlest Lit-tlest Boy, abashed. "I've tried to bo awful good. I've plckod up klndlln' nnd went on errands and brushed my teeth and and gono down cellar after dark, and and and I've hardly over cried when I got hurt!" "Still, seems to mo," persisted Santa Claus, gazing at tho nhlny ring In his lingers, "that a wagon nlono Is good enough for ono kid, besides all them othor things you've got In yon chair and socks. I dun no but what ' I'll tako this an' glvo it som'ers elso." "Well," agreed tho Littlest,; Boy, gravely, "If if you can find some little lit-tle boy who ought t,o ha'Vo it moro'n mo, thdh you 'can can take it; and p'raps noxt Christmas1--" "God!" roared tho Biggest Bp'y, Hko an angry Hon, leaping through jtho library li-brary doorway... . :f-iVith :f-iVith a slamup sped :lho window', with an oath, out whirledy'Santa Claus, "You've scared Santa Claus! "You've" scared Santa Claus!" walled ttie Littlest Lit-tlest Boy, in despair. Vj "I havo, havo I!" exclaimed mp ftl: gest Boy, gathering tho wnllor wto.hls. arms. r ' "And ho took my ring," farther lamented la-mented tho Littlest Boy. , Hero tho Biggest Boy slM thi" treacherous window; and wlthwo BU gest Girl, who by this time Ifi&l ,a& rived and was hugging and ljlBslng tho Littlest Boy's two rosy klSot. iij ; they hung down insldo tho i;lggerif Boy's arms, close accompanying, car- ' ried him upstairs to bed. &:f.l What do you think! Evidently Santa Claus repented, or olso ho hall qnly been Joking, or olso ho could 4jnd no othor little boy who was moro prthy; for, aftor all, at daylight thlb was discovered, lying on tho majjjSbeforji tho Bido-door, that very sannjSrlng-r wrapped, It Is true, not In Unfc; tissue paper, but in coarso brown piCper. , However, upon tho papdj was j scrawled, in ragged but unmlfkakabft i lines: , t . , S'i "f05i!h.? :" 1 ill j'SAN.T JQWS.- . ! |