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Show j4 Graham Mh Bonner ; Jj gjJ ACK had not been home In seven years. They had gone quickly enough in the way that years will go, hut now that he was back, It seemed us though they had been longer., Lie hud missed so much. It was not that things had changed.- Of course, there were changes in the loo!;s of the town. There were few sleighs lined up along the main street; Instead there were automobiles. He had been thinking how the Blelgh-bells would jingle as the horses pulled the sleighs over the crisp winter win-ter snow. But instead of sleigh-hells there were the sounds of firm rubber tires creaking over the frozen, snow-covered snow-covered streets. There had been automobiles au-tomobiles used ln that winter of seven years past but they had not been predominant. pre-dominant. The sleighs had a chance. Now the sleighs were quite missing. The automobiles had charge. He wondered If he stayed away for another seven years If he would see lights from airplanes and hear them buzzing over the buildings. Yet, even If he did, he did not feel as though the place would really change. There was something about thp town that would never change. They might build more modern shops, airplane air-plane landings might take the places of so many garages as the garages had taken the places of blacksmith shops, but the essential qualities of the town would never change. Always Christmas would be Christmas Christ-mas here with its holly-filled windows, Its wreaths over doors, Its trees for Christmas lining the main street. Doubtless that was the way Christmas Christ-mas would always be in many places. But here It would seem more Important. Impor-tant. Christmas would be deep in the whole heart of the town which always expanded and became so generous and big and open at this season of the year. Probably because It. was, Christmas did seem different here from that of any other place. He remembered the Christmas before. be-fore. There had been gayly decorated shops. Ii'.irriud, happy shoppers, lighted Christmas trees in the streets, crisp snow and Christmas .greetings. But it liadu't been the same. Christmas Christ-mas seemed to belong so much more to his own home. In that other place he had fell a little lonely and .a little out of it. But here he had no feeling of loneliness. Even though he was just back ami as yet had met few of the people he knew and tiad vaguely recognized rec-ognized some who were grown up now who bad been children before he left, he did not feel out of It. They might not recognize him, but he was at home and lie was happy and loneliness had been banished from his heart ln a gloriously complete fashion. He had gone home as soon as he had arrived. And now he had come up to get the mail. It was not that he expected any mail. His Christmas cards and boxes of cigars and neckties and such 'ould be sent to his business address, for it was not until the last minute that he had been sure he could make the long trip and reach home In 1 1 fliSi! mII ff friii It Sui - t Was Wonderful to be Back Again. time for Christinas Eve. His telegram had come before him, hut his presents had already been sent out, and his mail would he waiting for hlni at his otlice. To be sure, be knew ihe family would nuiekly unl inarvelously find little gifts to pa! at his pb.ee on the Christinas gift table. But the goinj; for the mail was simply a desire P-do P-do what lie had always done, to mln-li Willi the people, to see his own towns folk. it surely was wonderful to be h:o !; again. Wonderful beyond even what he hud dreamed it would i.e. How lucky that the train had been on lime :;nd lie had been able to have a lon Christmas Eve. rhrisimus trains, he thought, shoal .ivavs !e on ti:; e. Moments at Chri.-i mas mean so imuh. lie o as :f;ivln: ti e pet o iiec. II.-had II.-had seen a numbi r of people l,e knew lust oiiishie hi' met a group of no-,, bo had 1'i'cD t:'a d'l.ited from k;l. school In his class. They were picking pick-ing up some of the now fulling snow and throwing snowballs at a group of laughing, red-checked girls. "Von remember them," he was told. And then it was explained io him that these grown-up young people were the youngsters of seven years ago. lie Joined In the snowball battle. Evidently lie was a good shot, for a loud shriek from oue of the girls proclaimed pro-claimed that fact. "Oh, oh, that's not fair! Your snowball snow-ball went right into my face. Lucky It was fresh snow or I'd have, finished you !" "I'm so sorry," he said to her and recognized her then as that nice little Adams kid he used to teach to balance on her bicycle and whose school bag he sometimes carried home for her. She bad been younger than he but she had always been such a good little lit-tle sport, ready to enter Into everything, every-thing, eager to try. "I'm Jack, you. remember me. don't; you. Connie?" Constance Adams gasped just a- little. lit-tle. "Why, of course I do!" she ex-claime-:!. . "But I didn't expect to find yon hilling me with snowballs. That'? a fine kind of greeting!" . How beautifully she had changed. All her same nice essential'qualitles seemed Just the same, hut her changes were merely additional attributes. She dressed with more tasle than she had when a youngster, she was graceful grace-ful now instead of tom-boylsh. She was like the town. In its spirit, its homeyness would always be the same, no matter with what succeeding fashions and customs It kept apace. "Look here," he said abruptly, "would, you mind if I left the mull home and then came around for a nice chat with you?" "I won't be home until ever so late," she said, "or only for a moment at any rate. I should be there now to It Was Late When They Got Back to Her House. get the baskets with the presents. I haven't delivered any of my gifts yet." "Couldn't I come, too?" "Indeed yes, you'd be a great help in carrying the baskets. I always did like school-bags and baskets carried for me." She looked up at him and laughed. The geueral snowballing had stopped. Groups were going off together, to-gether, all hent on their Christmas Eve activities. "I'll be obliging," Constance said. "You take the mall down and I'll be ready as soon -as you come. I won't Keep you waiting, lliey do that, don t they, In stories?" She stopped, a little embarrassed. "Besides I want to get through," she added firmly. "I've so many places where I must go." It sounded In his ears like a beautiful beauti-ful refrain, almost like a melody. "I won't keep you waiting. I won't keep you waiting." He said it over and over again to himself. Nor did he keep her waiting. He was there in scarcely any time at all. His family bad understood. They had seemed happy that he had found himself so quickly at home in the town. It was what they had dimly feared he would not be. What a gay thing that was taking around Christmas presents In baskets, in wishing people Christmas cheer and holiday greetings, in having doors opened to one where a whiff of balsam and shadows of firelight sent a glow over one's whole heart and mind and soul. It wns late, very late, when they got back to her house. lle supposed lie should wait. He supposed he should keep quiet for a little longer than this. Hut he couldn't. Besides, it was Christmas and at Christmas, feei-ings feei-ings weren't supposed to be hidden. One wasn't ashamed of seniluicnt, one didn't barricade one's affections. "(Vmnie, you may say I don't know, but I do." he began. "I knew ai once. I think I've always known. It has been there, unrealized perhaps, hut you know even as a kid you p-e unusual. un-usual. You weren't like any ' the others all nice enough but you ! "1 wish I'd made a hit with something some-thing other than a snowball!" be ended. "I'm rather glad it was w lib u snow-liall." snow-liall." Constance answered slowly, 'it was like getting back at once to the days when I was a child and you were so nice to ine and let me be included in so many of the oldei hoys' uu I girls' games." "I'd like lo include you. lo exelu sively include you. in my whole life," Ite ai'l gell'h. "1'ollldnt ion lei! me that ou wouldn't k,i-p me waiting?" wait-ing?" "Well, nuiyl.e I , -r.u'd." sl- said. , ery seriously, "nnd nuiyl-e I'd eti-an ' t. loo; Mcriw nil-Mum, old r :" ! " nly six ear-s older, young s, aar'y, '.id Merry ( "hi'l-l mas just i;t. -aine:" And the 'Id It'.m lust s.e ai-l to ' sparkle and twinkle that ' 'lo-;.-i ma- I t-'.ve us It never had Pefere. j |