OCR Text |
Show "OnU Jones" A Day-Beforc- , IIcnrgKltcliclltJtcr . Christmas Storg lu) Samuel E.Ktser and In Three Farts" Wilbur D. Ncsbit ner of the great ball, gioomlly. hu would huve suld, watching the festivities festivi-ties In the drawing room. There was a complex tissue of emotions emo-tions to ba read In his fucu, but a smile of pure good humor dominated ll. He had not asked Vrnulu which of them was the. successful one. At thu 1 1 111 u ho hudu't cared 1 tut now ha wus puzlcd to, as II were, pick the w-ftmer. Whichever be u, be looked exactly as the other must feel. "Well," said Jube. with what cheerfulness cheer-fulness ho could muster, "which oue of ytni fellows do I congratulate?" "What?" shouted Reverend Arthur. "What?" echoed lH laucey "Whose ring is It she's wearing?" demanded Jubez. "One of you ought to know." "Not I." said Reverend Arthur. Again echo answered: ' "Not I." And then a clckenlng silence cnveV o'd th m, Jubei wus merely puzzled, but the hearts of 1U veicnd Arthur and Ilaneey were like lead In their bosoms, bos-oms, the limits were blurred In their eyes and the ktiowh else of defeat look for the time all the. Joy out of life. Not one of the trio spoke, for there wus nothing more to be suld. In tint drawing room the tldo of fun was rlhlng steadily Kxpectatloii stood at tiptoe, It was nearly time for the Christinas tree. For tlm nionit lit the lenders of the, merriment had disappeared. disap-peared. I'rmila mid Jones were nowhere no-where to bo seen Weren't they, though? Suddenly Judex laid compelling bandu on the other two. They turned and followed his look. There were two injures In the dark the almost dark recess at the far end or the hall. This n. a children's party, but these weren' 'hlldren. And then, In a moment, Reverend Arthur and Mr. P. Wllnierlng Delan-cey Delan-cey knew where Jones had hung tha mistletoe. "I'm going to get out of this." said Wllnierlng. "I think I must be going myself," said Reverend Arthur. "I can't go," sal.i Jabet. "My enr Is hora, ' said Delaneey. "We could make a LSsh " "I never could get out to It." said Jabez. "They're watMng for me on the sidewalk." "I'OKslbly," hesitate. Reverend Arthur, Ar-thur, "If I were to v flrst-er dressed In such a manner as to create cre-ate a diversion" "Reverend!" exclaimed Jabez, "you're a brick." He opened a door that happened to be at hand. "I guess we con change clothes In here." he suld. Five minutes later Jones and I'r-sula I'r-sula came upon the product of the metamorphosis. First they gasped srltb astonishment and then howled with delight while the reverend gentle-man wriggled In sheepish embarrassment. embar-rassment. Hut a few words sufficed to make clear to them the situation and then they jumped Into the game with a will, adding touches here and there to Reverend Arthur'a picturesque pic-turesque If not handsome costume. "Hut you need the wig to make you complete," said Jones. "Here it Is." Reverend Arthur had put bis hand to the plow. He put on the wig. Delaneey returned frotn a momentary momen-tary sortie to the carriage drive. "My man has the motor going," he report aWfc & r 'A Aw m mm if w? M MM f A KTrnO r.i?t I ed, "and Uiere Isn't snow enough to bother us. We can be off In a mla ute." Herermd Arthur shook hands with L'rsula, walked Into the vestibule and James let him out Into the night. From a window they watched bin. aa he vaulted the low fence and sped Sown the street pursued by a volcanic figure ta a tan overcoat "Now!" cried l'rsula. "Now Is yout time! Oh, don't stop. Good luck! Merry Christmas to all of you!" They were gone. Jones aloe re-Bialned re-Bialned at Ler rid only Jones! TIIS KND. "I'm her Santa Claus. Thnt'a why I'm dressed this way," shouted the applicant, ap-plicant, furiously, but not forgetting caution so far as to come out into the light. "You're drunk," snld Jeamea, advancing ad-vancing Into the dark, courageously intent on flinging the Intruder off the porch. It was a fulso move. Disreputable ho looked, drunk be might bo, but the unknown was certainly quick. He-fore He-fore Jeames had fairly got clear of the door hn bud shot past him Into the vestibule. The light revealed the full horror of him, a tunic of grensy red cotton flannel with clrnRgled tufts of white along the edges. Red worsted tights, of which the less said the belter. A pair of yellow oilcloth boots, broken and muddy, and over his head and shoulders a torn tangle of frowsy white hair. And this hideous travesty prellgured Panta Claus' Here was the saint of Christmas, the Jovial old gentleman who brought gifts to all and about whose knees the sweet little children were to cling while he strok- mm smJi m d r ti Hi tnt llf.HT T TVIAI.ED TTit Ifr wLt w ed their hair and patted their Innocent checks. Upon this blasphemous parody Jeames sprang with a cry of horror. Hut the parody was more than he bargained bar-gained for, that was evident In leas than five seconds. However, reinforcements rein-forcements were at haud. Rev. Arthur rushed to the rescue, and a little behind be-hind came Delaneey. The door stood wide open. The scuOle was plainly to be seen from the street, and two men, one In a tan overcoat, were rushing across the lawn. Intent on taking a hand of their own In the affair. Altogether It was lively while It lasted. Hut It was short. As the two men from outside dashed up the steps the big door swung to with a click, and Jones, who bad closed It, -said. In hla quiet way: "(Jet up. Get up. Don't you know bis voice? It's McAdam." They scrambled to their feet. It Is safe to say that unless they knew bis voice they could hardly have recognized recog-nized him. The disguise by now, at least, was effective. They looked at blm aghast. Then, as they heard Ursula's step on tbo stairs, Jeames, with, as Shakespeare says, "one auspicious and one dropping eye," helped him to his feet. Jabez pulled off his wig and dropped It on the floor. He tugged Impotently at his beard. "The damned thing won't come off." be said, wltA something some-thing like a sob. "It's glued on!" Ursula stood before blm. Pretty much everyone else in the house wss there, too, for the sound of the scuffle had been audible all over It, but bis experience of the last two hours had reduced him to bis element. There wss an epic simplicity about blm. He saw only Ursula. "I've come back," he said. "I wanted want-ed to speak to you, so I came back" "Come In here," said Ursula. She led blm through the crowd Into a little lit-tle reception room and closed the door after her. Jonea herded the mob back Into the drawing rooms. Jeames went back and opened the door again, looking, except as to his eyes, as though nothing had happened. Hut Rev. Arthur and P. Wllmerlng remain ed frozen where they stood and gazed st each other. This is what waa happening behind that closed door. "Before you say anything to me, Mr. McAdam, I want to sst for your rood wishes," said Ursula. "My good wishes!" he echoed. She held out her hands and he aaw ( that she wore no rings but one soli- 1 Lair brilliant upon a third finger. 1 It was a moment before he comprehended. compre-hended. 1 "80 my account Is closed out," he , laid. "I wsso't In tlm to cover my margins after all." ( "It wasn't a matter of time." said l'rsula. blushing a little, "but you do 1 lve no your good wishes, don't you?" "All of 'em." he aald. shaking t lands. "Can 1 have a rep of coffee?" j After he bad hsd It he felt enourh etter to look np bis two rlvsls. lit found them at last, la an obscure cos PART THREE Continued. Jabez turned to look, then thought he wouldn't. "And now," continued Ursula, "they're coming back Into the car." "Good bye," yelled Jabez. The door stuck, as car doors will. When the man In the tan overcoat got It open, Jabez was gone. looking eanerly out of the window Ursula thought she saw a man scuttling like a scared cat up a dark little cross street; she thought she saw him take a header over an ash barrel half submerged In an old snow bank, but she could not be sure. Then she turned back and began gathering up what she could find of Mrs. Illggs" Christmas dinner. Fhe was so busy at this and so Intent on Ignoring tho thirty two pairs of eyes which were trying to bore holes In her, that sho was unaware that the conductor had come In and was standing stand-ing over her. "Fare, please," he said, coldly. "And." he added, "if that gent that Just skipped out was wid you, you kin pay f-r him, too." Ursula began tumbling over the things In her lap. "I'm" in a sort of gasp "I'm afraid." she said, "that I must have left my purse In tho automobile." auto-mobile." The conductor waa not an amiable man. "It makes no odds to the company com-pany whero you left it," ho began. "Ten cents, please, now." Hut at I his moment a man who had been riding on the front platform with a turkey came back Into the car. "Here's jour ten cents." he said, and sat In the vacant va-cant place beside Miss Allen. "I was taking this bird out to Mrs. Callahan's," be observed In his prosaic way as he tucked It between his feet. "I'm glad I happened to be on the same car." It was Jones. "I'm glad, too." said Ursula. We now return to the man who fell over the ash barrel. McAdam, for It was Indeed he. was not hurt, for the barrel was covered with a heap of last week's snow, shoveled up there from the street lie quickly decided that, for the moment, he was safest where he was. He crouched down In the now behind the barrel "with listening ear," as 8hakespear says, waiting for the chase to go by. Two, three, five minutes passed and nothing of the sort happened. Only the snow, In which he nestled, slowly melted around him, became, In fact uncomfortably uncom-fortably slushy. Perhaps the pursuit pur-suit was abandoned, or perhaps there was some trick about this apparent Inactivity. In-activity. He would try to find out. Cautiously he lifted his head and looked down the street. Nothing to I I'M J- mJM AS :9!t tot, narrr. ""Vj b seen at first but the crowd hurrying hurry-ing along the well lighted avenu where the cars ran. Hut when b looked again be had the doubtful satisfaction sat-isfaction of seeing two dim figures one unmistakably In a tan overcoat-lounging overcoat-lounging In an entry near the corner. McAdam sagaciously reflected that if they remained so cheerfully at this end of the street It must be because they knew ther was no way for him to get out th other. Perhaps tbey would give blm up eventually, but In the meantime How warm and dry Delaneey and Rev. Arthur must be In the vomfortable police station! Suddenly he straightened ap. 6hecks!" h murmured. "It's Christ-maa Christ-maa eve. They'll b glad of a little peace and good will on their own account ac-count 111 put It strong Say two hundred apiece." H reached back to his hip pocket, wbsr bis Joy-dis penser, still obese, unimpaired by the stray leaves which bad fluttered from It that evening, should have rcpotsed. You know what had become of It. McAdam. Mc-Adam. happily for blm, did not. He puddled 'around in the snow In search of It, then gave it up and collected from bis various pockets his total cttHh resources. They came to two dol-lars dol-lars and fifty five cents. Would tho constables accept bis promise to pay? He was Inclined to think not He uttered a sigh of despair, for without that friendly bulge In his hip-pocket hip-pocket he felt forsaken indeed, when his eye chanced on a llfihted window across tho street. "J. Sehoenhoeven," was printed on It, "wigs and costumes." cos-tumes." And then his eye lighted with hope. "Saved!" he murmured. Snatching bis chance when a fire engine en-gine went tearing down the avenuo on its way, no doubt, to soma premature prema-ture Santa Claus afire In a Christmas tree he datdicd across tho street, np the stairs, Into the shop. "I'm going to a party tonight," he said to the young man in charge. "I want to wear something neat and handsome that that'll keep my friends from knowing me." Ordinarily, McAdam had only to appear to command respect, but falling fall-ing over an ash barret, staving in bis hat, and lying for half an hour in the street had made him a good deal less Impressive. At least It did not overpower over-power tha clerk. "About what price?" he asked, coldly. Jabez looked a bit sick at that "Something about two fifty," he said. With a haughty wave of the band, the young man pointed to a dingy heap upon the counter, tho last of Its race. "That's all wo have at two-fifty," two-fifty," he said, and turned away with his nose In the air, leaving poor Jabez to paw over the disreputable, worn and dirty garments and wigs which looked as If they had done duty at scores of masquerade balls in the cheapest quarters of tbe city. Reverend Arthur and Delaneey reached the Allen's bouse at exactly eight o'clock, simultaneously with six little girls from across the street In tbe hall they encountered Ursula. She bundled the little girls off upstairs. "And I must be off, too," she said. "We're Just this minute up from dinner. din-ner. We were dreadfully late getting home, and I have to dress. I wish I had time to bear bow you two got out of Jail." "We didn't find it necessary to accompany ac-company the officers to tho station " began Reverend Arthur, coolly. "We" "I'll hear all about it later," she interrupted. in-terrupted. "Now run along and help Mr. Jones with the Christmas tree la the music room; you know" "Ah. Mr. Jones is here," said Delaneey. De-laneey. "Has Mr. Me" "Mr. Jones dined here," said Ursula, turning toward the stairway. "You must help him get through with the tree, because he has to dress. He la going to be my Santa Claus, you know." My Santa Claus! If they had known she regarded It In Just that light they would have fought for the part themselves. them-selves. Well, it was too late now. So they went to the music room to the menial occupation of "helping Jones." Hut Jones said tbey could do nothing for him; Indeed his expression expres-sion of fact was so vivacious when they all but set fire to the tree with a cigarette that they retired in good order or-der to the great hall, where tbey gloomily discussed Jones and the good luck that seemed to attend blm. He certainly bad scored on them more than once already In the course of this eventful evening and their love for him was not Increasing with notlca-able notlca-able rapidity. "Think of him dining here In his morning coat" observed Delaneey. "He makes himself useful," said Reverend Rev-erend Arthur. So tbey stood where they commanded a view of the great front door, lazily looked over the new arrivals and waited for Ursula's reappearance re-appearance on the scene to make It worth wbll taking part Jesmes stood by tbe big door grandly grand-ly admitting th guests. Tbe bell rang downstairs where he could not hear it, but a footfall on the porch or tbe crunching of a carriage In the drive told him when anyone waa coming. So b waa a good deal surprised not to say startled, at hearing without any preliminary sound whatever, a faint rat-tat on the door. He opened It a little way and wss still more surprised at seeing no on there. Then, as he wss about to close It again, he waa electrified by a hoarse whisper: "Open tbe door. Let me in." 1 Opening wider, he made out a dark 1 figure with a venerable beard la the shadow of th doorway. This was j scandalous. "II off, cow," be aald severtly. "No 1 beggars allowed." 1 "Peg gar." ssld th hoars voice, as though something war choking It 1 "I'm a friend of Miss Allen's. Bund 1 side, you fool, and let me In. Quick! They'll see tn In a minute." I "Ton look like a filnd or hen! Ton do Indeed! Com, b off now, or I 111 turn you ar er to Ut pollca." 1 |