Show 61 win came m M din a na N gp k fl ral AP 5 R g I 1 U A X N 1 A t 11 N I 1 I 1 d rr 3 axi macam VIP pj qz elf 2 am w n W W 00 4 4 pat M vleo 6 14 1 4 A z 4 4 4 A V 4 A the fireplace glowed with B RICE HARPER stepped from her train happily A whole month with christmas only ten days away that meant nearly three weeks for after christmas jollification skating visiting round with old friends and just squatted before aie the big fireplace reading and talking ir 6 aunt margaret and uncle jake be pleased and surprised for she had not written after three steady grinding monotonous years in the department store it would be heavenly she flashed a look down the platform yes there was wooden legged sam the things changed a bit in three years hoo hoo she challenged the old looked up stared then stumped forward blest if taint brice harper he cried back among your old friends agin fine come to stay or a house Is deserted just visiting uncle sam two whole weeks though out to aunt margaret holmes after three years id never have believed I 1 could stay away that long but miles too far for a poor girl to afford paying fare for a few days vacation now its a month though because I 1 taken a vacation n in so long can you take me and my trunk right out ill ride with you and aint ye cheered had no letter ner bothin no thin asked the old man whose face had been growing troubled nono no no anything the matter no except they aint there your aunt margret said christmas was so lonesome here she spend another like the last so two three days ago she an your uncle jack went into the next county to spend christmas wit with h a cousin who has a casslo 0 children I 1 was by there yes day an the house did look dismal all shot up there any one to look after it ta one 0 the dill boys was asked to I 1 alieve bl b he H A shrill hall hail came from a store front across from the Is S say brice bric ze wheedled the ol 01 old d would y ye mind wait in three four seconds that mad shouter was storekeeper tomson been spec tin a box 0 christmas stuff moren a we week ek an jest throw col off this train spose I 1 lake the box cross to him then come an carry you an the trunk out to 2 any ny friends all be 0 your girl 9 glad lad to have ye vi visit sl t em but brice had been thinking I 1 rapidly ap invites girl friends take the box over to the store and ill run uncle sam she said to the post office while youre across gone I 1 wan want t to write some pot petals po als 0 of f embarrass any and no I 1 wont girl friends you may carry me my I 1 know right out to the farmhouse hides the where aunt M margaret argaret perfectly factly sure she and keys and im pel uncle ancl jack would want me to go eo mere ana use everything as my own ill take care of the poultry enthusiastically and ill roast one of the turkeys for christmas and cook everything that goes with it pies and cakes and alla wont it be fun you can invite a lot of your girl friends to eat with you grinned the entering into the spirit afterward agreed brice all want to eat at home on christmas then well have a round of nice times but for the real christmas im going to depend on their portals there are lots of nice girls in the department store who any home and who will have to depend on the cheap boardinghouses they live at ill write a postal to aunt margaret and to five or six girls I 1 know will be glad to spend a week or ten days with me and say uncle sam ill look round and then make out a list of groceries and other things I 1 want you to bring out and any place where I 1 can buy a christmas tree aint none better than grow right down on your uncles place all right ill get the dill boy to help an well rig up a nice one need any christmas present stuff chuckled old sam debbe like to see tomson pry the cover off that box deed I 1 would promptly ill be right over from the post office the girls girla c condemned to a pros boarding boardinghouse house christmas accepted brices arices invitation on the third day old sam brought the hilarious five ou out t in his ancient express wagon then the girls piled in like a whole jolly christmas in itself and the old farmhouse seemed like to burst itself the christmas tree was cut and drawn home with all the appropriate songs and carols and buzzas they could think of and trimmed as never a christmas tree had been trimmed before dressed in all sorts of costumes the dappy girls sang hymns hour after hour quitting only when they were too tired to continue and then right in the midst of it the hea hearty arty voice of uncle jack roared through the door mellowed by the he softer happy laugh of aunt margaret im going to have that dinky post office over there indicted guf cawed uncle jack kept that postal four days before the R F D delivered it fifteen minutes after that we were on our way of course we had to come five more girls to help wake the old house up whoopee I 1 why you write so we have left the lone lonesome sorn e place need more food why di ant you write so id have kno known what to expect retorted brice lucky none of us did laughed aunt margaret for then we might not have these five extra nice girls come I 1 must get into the kitchen but weve cooked and cooked and cooked till not enough declared aunt margaret firmly no matter how much youve done there are all your old friends that must be invited to come though come anyhow and wal wa must invite a lot of extra young peo people ie in evenings to help keep things going gaine then my land I 1 theres a wap wagon oln load outside C cousin ous mary want us to leave so we brought em all along jacks going into town this evening to buy what he can find if any of your girls want to go along hed like your company but aunt margaret weve got a tree ram jammed full protested fabrice 1 not enough firmly we can on the floor under the tree now im going into the kitchen icart cant you see girls her firm voice dropping pathetically being christmas ive just got to cook something released by western 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