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Show like menace throbbed In the air. There was ' bhoutlng down the street-hoarse street-hoarse cries that chilled. It was coming com-ing nearer. . . , Herger went to the window and peered out from behind the curtains. There was a mob! A bulf-block awny, In the thick shadows! Something bright glinted In the light from the street lamps. Tar! Iltickets of tar!, Borger shrank back from the window, win-dow, white with his fright. lie glanced at the telephone; he must sunmion help. Hut, Ood ! Fie had ordered the Instrument disconnected after a row j wtth the operator. He waa always I having rows wtth somebody I Isolated!. He was cut off from the world! A mob howled before hi faQhristmas i, Dream 01J WALTER ev- hwsv- J A THAN BERQEB knew that Jf the people of Hempstead de-tplsed de-tplsed him, and be returned tbelr feelings with Interest It was v' v "not altruism, he reasoned, that made . them frown when he seized the prop- , , erty of some improvident Individual to liquidate, an honest debt j It was nothing noth-ing more than their envy of his wealth. If the Idiots were so careless as to be-, be-, come Insolvent, thejr must be pre pared to take the consequences, ; r Berger never smiled. Ills appear- v - ance bore out the general estimate of hie character; everybody aald he was door, a mob with tar and feathers and he was elone alone with his wealth! He laughed Insanely, then shrieked alond. A band burst Into tune before the house ... He felt himself falling. Nathan Berger slowly came back to consciousness. lie was lying on his r ciose-nsted miser. V Ilia long, sour face was sharper and i. more cunning than usual as he fuced attorney across the desk. The law- V er shook his head, and ventured a ::' v bit of advice. V: ',,. "ft wouldn't be a wise thing to do -r ' Juw at this time, Mr. Berger," he ar-"0d. ar-"0d. "Mrs. Trotter Is not well, and " , . to be turned out of her home would !,, r be a hard blow . , , And tomor-4 tomor-4 " row la Christmas." . , you don't mind," Berger snapped, , . , - 'Y"J'" ""i my own business!" -1 ' , "Oh, of course," Oie attorney re- ' turned with a shrug; "only the people . of this 'town have been In an ugly mood since you evicted the Babbitt family. You haven't forgotten that ,,;';" "there was some hot-headed talk of u tar and feathers " , V - "J,r Rtoe," Berger marled, "I pay . . . you to obey orders, not to tell me how f , to conduct my affairs. This Trotter v woman has not paid her rent, and I . -1 do not Intend to be swindled out of It. bed, and at first he recalled nothing of the night's terror. It all swept back. He held his hands away from him, afraid that they would feel feathers, feath-ers, sticky with tar. Those shouts I They had sounded like a band playing. ... He opened his eyes cautiously and looked about. His guze fixed Itself upon the face of a man beside the bed, obviously prosperous, strangely familiar. Berger's gaze became a start. Horace?" he whispered; then cried, Incredulous, yet glad: "Horuce! My son I" Horace Berger reached down and gripped his father's hand, hard. The feutures of the miser softened and he smiled. Then terror leaped at him again. Ills eyes grew wide. "Horace!" he gasped. "The mob! You came In time to save me from the mob?" The younger man -smiled and pressed Ids father's hand once more "It wasn't a mob, father," be said. Berger was unbelieving. "No mob?" he echoed. "No mob? No tar; no feathers?" Horace shook his head. The old man covered his face, trembling. "Conscience!" he whUpered. "Guilty conscience I It has hounded me all day . . . and tomorrow la Christmas Christ-mas !" He was weeping openly, while his son sat beside him. Presently: "But what?" "Pve been taking liberties with yonr name, father," Horace explained. "1 turned over some money oh, quite a bit of money to. the mayor, and told him to arrange a merry Christmas for the poor a real merry Christmas. I heard about the Babbitt family you turned out ; and I bought the Carson cottage and told the mayor to give It to them Christmas present. I told v ' t )ut Me an,l " yn won t attend y to It, I'll find another attorney who p, . .... "But " tomorrow Christmas Day " .'''Out she goes, air! Not another ; rV 'bour will I give her. I must have a Clu-? Wtwn on my Investments!" ' ,"' "All right." said the lawyer with a fc;-V frelgb, and Berger stalked out. ..i !, .V -j" As lie trudged through the streets, ,i-x: paying back scowl for scowl as he e. : passed his enemies the citizens of ' Hempstead the words of the" attor-'i.J'ff attor-'i.J'ff recurred and goaded him to new t fi-:, .bitterness. Christmas! What was ' " K", ; Christmas to him? He turned In I 3D 4Kk , : v. at his great, barn-like house, raut- terlnjr. and dropped Into a chair In ; :'. .villi cold living room. '! '.' rtatmai ! A day of torturing mem-'jLrMiWi, mem-'jLrMiWi, . H was Just twenty years ago i or was It twenty-one? that yonng , V Horace Berger had stamped out of his 1 , kfutlier' house In a temper, vowing ; L never to return. -He had driven the ,,' ' ajojr"ort.' larger reflected; his tyran-?':,', tyran-?':,', iHeal Interference with the young wianV IIf had resulted In this dlsas-v!". dlsas-v!". W, which, had left him alone. Vj V Twenty years of lonely h I ! How tx-V nar'tl,e him I Then he had been respected, a model citizen In v.' moderate circumstances. In those r'i i Wienty years was It twenty-one? he v- . Vliad grown rich . . . rich I Gouging V ? tho poor, the rabble called his meth- . 'X ;: s Berger Jerked and forced hte i ' . thought from their unpleasant trend. '.- They were welcome to call It what '" they .would. Tie rabble Was nothing V -.to him. His son had fled from him; ,V-v tor dfverslon he hnd turned to mak- 'n money. Why blame him? . v.- Twenty year of money-mnking . . . lidvw1it old man of seventy, he 3 left alone alone with his wenlth. ijino with the hatred of the rabble. n the rabble! What did he care i'-lmt they thought? There hnd been ttr'rtm tulk of tnr and feathers, tiad fl'.ere? Cowards! Nothing to worry about In that direction,. It was all - a wtnllc ... all bluff. . . . . , 7 He must have dozed for a time. He was aroused In a sort of cloud of eery : JlFild liulf-consclou Uiu oiucthliig the mayor I had come home to spend the holidays, and yon were celebrating-" "I? Me?" "Yes. I did It all In your name." "And thfr the mob?" "The mayor called out the band, nnd a crowd followed to serenade you They left when I told them you hud become 111. Folks said they never understood un-derstood " "God!" Berger cried; and again he was weeping, doing penance now for twenty barren years. Presently he got np and started across the room. But he paused ; the telephone hnd been ordered disconnected. discon-nected. Unless frail chance the operntor had neglected to turn In that churlish order. He lifted the receiver. "Number please?" Berger almost shouted the number, he was so pleased. In a moment : "Balne? Listen, Balnc, this Is Berg er. Make out a .deed, transferring that coitag". In toto, to Mrs. Trotter Til sign it In the morning!" Horace Berger laid his hand upon his futher's arm. Their eyes met and filled with mist. Neither of them could speak. & nil. WMUra Nwpp Vnloa |