| Show wi ft 1 I WV W V f ab nb X rea ft n SAMPSON had bad not noticed that silence had fail fallen in the outer office the c latter clatter 0 typewriters was stilled the hum of oc activity had ceased deferentially hla his door was opened and jones the head e a clerk cleric lot entered ered 1 I just thought bought id drop in and say merry christmas mr sampson tomorrows christmas you iou know 10 so lt it Is jones but I 1 dont see ace anything to bo be merry abolt people buy ing things they cant carat afford and eating more than they can digest digat isitt it so BO jones hesitated mr sampson was a marl dan of strong niona jw well ell speak up I 1 it im wron wrong 9 show mol mel 1 I think you ore wrong str sir it if I 1 may say so it if a little flock 0 of f biddles see it differently buti and that does fitl convince no nic I 1 you see eee the liend hend clerk went on emboldened to bo bk happy finy any day you have to think ab about out other othe r people ana and that just comes na natural tural at christmas sir mr sampson was waa I 1 8 silent tor for some moments I 1 while he be gazed through the ija N window at the dusk wj iv j settling over the city when lie he spoke the crisp riess ness of his voice was waa mellowed to be happy I 1 haye have to avoid thinking of other people lie he sold said jones jonea felt himself dismissed and silently withdrew he knew something of lifs chiefs unhappy love of af lair wh which ich had left him worse than a widower vI dower and had turned all hla his great ability toward making money a pursuit in which he had been particularly successful but front from happiness lie he seemed tobe to ba permanently divorced at the boor of the office building tin an hour later mr sampson was wag con fronted by an urchin with the challenge buy a paper sir erdl harily nailly lie he would have ignored the child but jones injunction you sou have to think of other people was insistent in ills ida e eilts m rs lie ile bought a paper and on tin nn impulse 1 questioned the lal lad had your supper wo no sir I 1 dont get supper itil I 1 gel any papers sold illow how would you yon like to command come and have supper with me the boy looked his surprise you yon mean it yes I 1 mean it como along 11 dut but the boy demurred cant go til itil I 1 sell my papers this li Is the best hour and I 1 got to keep busy lie ile made a deft sale to a passerby passer by without interrupting the conversation how many papers have you left twenty mr sampson counted out forty cents ill buy them all now we can go to supper lie ile led lea tho puzzled boy across the tho street ills ilia first thought was his club but ho he changed lils his mind and turned into a cheap but wholesome restaurant here he ordered a meal and they ate ante together once convinced that there thera was no trick about it tile the boy attacked ills hla food with gusto w bile his host looked on with more enjoyment than he had experienced for many a day by judicious questioning he be learned that the boys name like his own was george lie he lived upstairs at 18 garrett street lie he had a father wid a id mother nn an older sister arid and a younger brother lie ile ventured a more delicate question does santa claus come to your house george lie ile used to but dads been out of work for a long while ho he boy rep replied plied 1 i e d wistfully I 1 and the babaa sick ack so moth mother c r cant go out to work and it takes all jacan end and me and I 1 can earn just to keep things i going im sure it does said mr sampson well I 1 must get along now you can go home early tonight ne ile ported parted with the boy but immediately went to a ff telephone bello Iello I la Is that doctor morgan frank I 1 want you to run out at once to IS 19 garrett street upstairs theres a ick child there take him to a ho hospital S see that he has everything he ha needs need s and send the bill to rae me 11 ill 1711 run rua right out said the doctor merry christmas george aberry christmas Fr frank mr sampson replied and as he hung ur up the tha receiver he wondered at thil th new ring in his voice w i s r as i i f a |
