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Show 1 The Actor's Christmas Party J " ' (6 UK, Wttltri Nmputr Diht) LL of the actors of taa Zoroaster Zo-roaster Stock company were good, but perhaps BUly Kelly waa the best liked by the townspeople. Billy bad been there six weeks, now, and -was living at Mrs. Per-kins' Per-kins' on Outer street Hence ' Center street waa partlco- S larly thrilled at this time, beeause It had never before harbored a real Mr . actor, and it' could not quite get need io the Idea., . .. Mr Perkins waa '' respectable "-ilUdle-aged widow who had to take a ? few roomers to help eat on expense. VShe was not quite sure that It was t. right to have Billy roomhig there, aa I. she had an Inherited prejudice against ' actors, but he paid twice as much as she bad ever bad before for the rooms, did not cause any extra bother, and so far as she could determine, was a human being much like the rest of us. - It did seem strange to her, however, that a young unmarried man ahould , receive one hundred and Cfty dollars 'a week when Mr. Perkins with bit family had earned only that much a month. She wondered won-dered If It was honest. And then, too, sle did not always know just what to make of Billy's attentions to her. Why, one time when she had fallen asleep on the sofa without a covering, he had gone to bis own room and got his genuine Japanese silk klmona and MmH hp with . It. She bad found it over ber when he woke up. Mrs. Perklna had lust finished telling tell-ing this and aeveral other Incidents to the Ladles' Aid society, when one of the progressive ladles asked : "Well, what are we to do with him for Christmas? It doesn't seem right not to do anything, when he la away from hla people and all." v Everyone else had been thinking the -eame thing, but had not dared mention men-tion It, and none . of - them had any auggeatlona to make. No one dared , ask him to dinner (they were se shy), ' and Mrs. Perkins herself, who really ' should have asked htm, had decided -. to go to the hotel so as not to have to do no. They certainly could not give him ties or socks, as Mrs. Per-' Per-' kins assured them that he had hundreds hun-dreds of socks and thousands of ties, which everyone readily believed, as tbey had never seen btra dressed twice the same. . - It certainly looked like a cold Christ-mas Christ-mas for Billy. But nest door to Mrs. 'Perkins lived a dear old maid who " . bad been housekeeper for the Wellers for many years. Every Christmas she ' made mittens for alt the children In ,' the neighborhood, and when they grew . too big for mittens, aha gave candy to the girls and neckties te the boys. She was a community Institution, but ' nobody ever thought of ber In connec-' connec-' flon with Billy. -, - But when Christina morning ar-. ar-. rived, and Center street was busy with ' "'"We veye! BHIrtiad not been forgotten. The Perklna children were Just opening open-ing their packages from the house-' house-' keeper nest door when one of there ! discovered an envelope for Billy. He darted upstairs, and timidly knocked on the actor's door and slipped the envelope tinder. 1 ' "What could It bef wondered Mrs. ; Perkins, for sh knew It was no She had not long to wonder, however, how-ever, for Billy soon came runnlni down flourishing a crisp new dollar bill which he had found In the enve-" enve-" tope, and called to one of the children Mmtnff he told . Mrs. Perkins of the welcome present, pres-ent, 7 and how- It had suggested to him to give a party next door , In honor of the - housekeeper. He V told her to take . . the children over , there quickly, as he would be back in twenty minutes. True to his j word, he wss there la twenty ' ; minutes,, and with '.' him - the whole Ladles' Aid so ' dety, and, to the ' delight of everyone, a whole gallon oi 'Ice cream which be and the ktndlj . housekeeper aerted te all assembled ' with many jokes and much merriment Then Billy sang some rousing Christ-' Christ-' mas songs, kissed the housekeeper on the brow end taxied all the ladle : home. , ; He had so many Invitations to dinner din-ner he bad to refuse them all, but he waa not sorry for this as he Joined jjrg. Perkins at the hotel, and he really "T'liked her best of all. j |