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Show 0)A5 eve m iACK HARLAN stood before be-fore his desk dressed for the street when a boyish voice broke the silence of the office with "What you got in all them bundles, bun-dles, Mr. Gridley?" ) It was the office boy, ilv Jim, talking to Gridley, Harlan's manager. "These bundles? Why, here's a drum; and this is an electric railroad, and here's a game of parchesi. Did you ever play parchesi, Jim? It's a great game, all right. My boy Al gets so excited when he can put one over on me and win a game he can hardly keep from whooping!" "They're all boys, ain't they?" inquire in-quire the office boy. "Yes, and glad of it, too," answered Gridley. "Here, Jim, is something for your Christmas, and hope you'll have a nice day!" "Oh, thanks. Good-by, Mr. Gridley. Merry Christmas!" called the boy as the door slammed after the overladen Gridley. Harlan slid down the top of his desk with a bang and left the office. What a happy little hustling fellow Gridley was; a little shrimp of a man, and yet he always seemed to radiate pleased self-importance and good cheer! Jim caught sight of Harlan as he was going go-ing out the front door. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Harlan," he called. "Thanks for the check and Merry Christmas to you!" "Merry Christmas, bah! What does Christmas mean to me now, anyway? Christmas is a time for fools' and babies," ba-bies," muttered Harlan to himself as he walked to the street car, first telling tell-ing the waiting chauffeur to drive home without him. And when he got to the car he walked up on Market street; he felt he could not bear the He hung his hat and overcoat on the hall rack and striding into the living room, he flung himself into a large leather armchair and tried to read the evening paper. But the news failed to interest him somehow tonight: and as twilight came on and the room darkened, he found himself staring into the grate fire. How many things one can imagine in the flame of a grate fire! And, as the man sat there all huddled in the big armchair, all the dear days of the dead past came trooping out of the coals. An office room he saw first, with himself sitting at a desk and a fair-haired girl at a typewriter in the corner. The girl was poorly dressed but the sweetness of her smile captivated capti-vated the man at the desk. And in the next picture he heard the man asking the girl to become his wife. A hillside flooded with moonlight he beheld be-held next the picture of an evening from out their honeymoon, with them sitting on that hillside in the shadow of the tall, dark, sweet-smelling pines that loomed up as a back-grouna. back-grouna. Here there were no more visions for a time, while the man sat staring dry-eyed into the fire. The scene of the next- picture was laid in the sitting room. She was in a low rocker by the window, sewing on something soft and white. Every once in a while she looked out of the window. Through the window he saw an auto stop in front of the house, and the man who got out and entered the house was himself. She heard his step and sat with her hands loosely crossed on the sewing as he entered the room and stepping behind the rocker, put his two hands over ' her eyes. Then she drew down his face to hers and kissed him on both cheeks and then on the forehead and eyes and - mouth. At this, Harlan buried his head on his arm, while a dry sob shook his throat. "Oh, Nadine, Nadine, why did you leave me!" he sobbed. He turned from the flaming coals and his eye fell upon a Christmas tree all decked with shining ornaments. It was a real tree. He knew it was there for the child; and was annoyed at the thought of ,the cause of her death. He lit his pipe and leaned back for a smoke. But through the blue smoke haze the tree became an airy phantom dream-tree. A ladder leaned up against it and at the top of the ladder, high up, anc half hidden by the pungent green boughs, stood a golden-haired woman. And he was standing beneath the tree, steadying the ladder with both hands. She was putting the last touches to the tree. She held a shining bright tinsel in her hand; and God, what was this she was saying! "Look, sweetheart, how bright the star is! Ah, dear, next Christmas the baby will be six months old, just old enough to notice things; and I'm sure he will notice this star; now won't he? Don't you think so, dear?" "Come down, Nadine, come down; I am afraid you will fall," he heard himself cry, and then as she laughingly laughing-ly descended the ladder, he clasped her in his arms before she reached the bottom and kissed her again and again. "You big story teller," she laughingly laughing-ly reproved him, "you weren't a bit afraid I'd fall; you just wanted to hug me!" "What if I did? Now what are you going to do about it?" he was demandingwhen demand-ingwhen the girl faded, and that dream picture of himself in other days vanished and nothing was left but the Christmas tree. Harlan pulled his chair away frorfl the fire and over to the window, and, sinking back into its depths, he watched the glimmer of the windows in the houses across the street and their soft shine on the pavement. He must have dozed a long time, for when ho awoke the arc lights in the street were lit and a bright shaft of light fell across the room, and pre ently into this shaft of light caine stumbling a little white-robed figure. It was a little boy in his nightgown. He walked over to the Christmas tree and toyed playfully with the ornaments orna-ments dangling from the lower branches. "Pretty, pretty things," he kept saying say-ing over and over in a soft little voice. Awakened from a dreamless slumber, slum-ber, the first thing Jack Harlan's mind reverted to was the dream picture ot his wife in the Christmas tree. And this was the child, his child and hers. He heard her voice again. "Next Christmas he will be sis months old, Just old enough to notice things, and he will notice the star; it is so bright. " Had he noticed it tnat first lone Christmas when everything was so desolate in that household? Ah. there had been no tree! And the next Christmas, when the baby was a year and six months old, tbe nurse had asked if she might get a tree and Harlan Har-lan had said "No. ' This year she had bought one without asking, and Harlan Har-lan felt thankful to her and strangely glad. Wnat was the baby saying to him self'.' "'I wanted to sre the star th star, but nurse wouldn't let me wait cavise my papa was com in . An now tne stars all gone; its all dark an' gone out an' 1 don t see it no more no more. ' The child broke into a little huddlea heap, sobbing in the shadows at tne foot of the trre. and a stray ray ot light coming through the hall door fell upon his fair hrad. With a stiftrrt cry of rorr.orse ana pity Harlan gatlu-rcd th trembling little form tenderly in nis arms anc pointed out the tinsel star at the toj ot tne tree, while the tears ot thf child mingled with his. And a grca' peace filled nls sciL The News Failed to Interest Him. inside of a stuffy car. The street at least held a variety of things to divert one's thoughts. Christmas decorations were on all the buildings; wreaths dangling broad red ribbons hung in most windows and every corner was a jumble of green and red where the flower venders were selling holly, while "Merry Christmas'" he heard on every side. Great bunches of cherry laurel and eucalyptus boughs made a veritable canopy over the flower venders' stands, where flashed red and white and yellow carnations, red and green Christmas wreaths and holly. "Holly here, mister; only 15 cents a bunch, two for two bits. Take a bunch home to your wife, " and a flower vender ven-der poked a bunch of holly into Harlan's Har-lan's lace. "No, no!" he cried, brushing the vender aside; and walked on. At last, unable to stand it longer he jumped into a waiting taxi and called out his home address. At first he peered from out the taxi; but every window seemed to hold a Christmas wreath and he soon gave up glancing out the window to stare straight before him into the dimness dim-ness ot the cab. When tne taxi stopped, he spraiig out: paid tne tare, and let himself into tae house w.in his latch-key. A woman in the white apron of a nurse-maid was iust ascending the broad staircase as he came into the hall. She had a child with her put Harlan did not see the child; the nurse was too quick in running up the ttairs. "I m sick of scoing thst woman slink away like a thiol every tine 1 enter a room whore she's had the child. Why under the sun don't she stay-away stay-away from this part of tne neuse altogether al-together like I've ordered bor to'.'' grojabled the man. |