Show a A christmas snowstorm by sarah jane dark clark hours late the snowbound train reached chicago mary lou gathered her baggage together and took the bus across to the other station to find her connecting train had left on schedule the folks would drive in to town to meet the train unless she could head them oft off her message put th through dougl mary lou sank down on one of the benches to collect her thoughts and make her plans until train time five and no train until the next morning going out soon a cheery voice near her asked she looked up to find the chief usher standing beside her A middle aged friendly looking fellow mary lou told him of her missed connections here eddie look at this a red cap interrupted her story he was leading a three year old child a dear little girl with big blue eyes and yellow curls what are you doing with the kid Is she lost eddie asked sharply turning away from mary lou might as well be she came in from denver in charge of the stewardess they missed the train north and the stewardess is celebrating christmas by having her appendix out emergency case they told me to turn the kid over to you the boy grinned as lie he handed her over to the chief usher ushe eddie took her clumsily see here what can a bachelor like me do with a kid like this he looked appealingly at mary lou mary lous eyes filled with tears then she held out her arms toward the younk youngster ster what is your name dear she asked annette pollard 1 I am three years old and I 1 am going from cheyenne to rio wisconsin to my grand ma pollard my daddy is there mere it n was a lesson she had been taught mary lou held her close 1 I had a little girl almost as old as annette when she died she said brokenly ito to eddie let lct me kepp keep the child 0 1 kon G ai mary lou heard the voice of an In net ettes tes father tonight and take her to her home 1 I missed the same train she did eddie studied her face what he saw satisfied him still he hesitated lor for a moment that sounds good to me but id better get the conductor to authorize it TT T WAS soon decided that mary lou should keep her but she must not leave the station it wont tie be very comfortable for you maam but the kid can curl up on a bench here and be ae dead to the world in no time there are some rocking chairs in the tar far room there why ot of course there are some cots there and baby beds we ought to telephone the childs relatives mary lou suggested of 01 course we should here Is the address and telephone number you do it for me will you please maam ive got my last minute shopping to do im mighty glad you came in on this train Ed Eddie diell 11 take the kid while you telephone to rio and the conductor was off after turning over the childs money to mary lou but not until mary lou had made him promise to send a big doll back tor for the childs christmas wem well let annette say hello to her daddy herself it II she wants to mary lou exclaimed and so it was done mary lou heard the voice of 0 annettee Ann ettes father tense with concern and then joyful as he realized where his baby wasand aasand heard her childish treble over the phone her mothers p parents arents sent her back here to have christmas with me her mother died two years ago he added the sun was shining dazzlingly bright the next morning ahen the train stopped at rio the red haired man who was waiting expectantly on the platform had only time to thank mary lou an and d get her address before the ike train pulled out leaving him holding annette as she waved a goodby good by tl to mary lou e but the trip home was much aas ler ier mary lou Lod forgot the burning pain at the loss of 0 her own little daughter the aching loneliness since her own husbands death as she remembered the soft kiss of the baby lips ot of the motherless child nho mho had been in her charge the night before and the look in the face ot of annettee Ann ettes daddy made her I 1 sure she would see annette soon |