Judge — December 2, 1916 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

needed an alarm clock when mm he had anything on his mind, qf bobbed out of bed and began q arraying himself as Santa Claus. ‘ He did this groping in the semi oe darkness, so as not to waken . Mrs. Marvin. Occasionally he paused to peer out of the win . dow. Snow was descending in clouds. “Ah,” he murmured with satisfaction, “a white Christ- F mas! } His preparations completed, ee PD he gathered up the rope and the bag and tiptoed out of the door. At. which his wife, arising from a feigned sleep, began quietly to put on her wrapper and stockings. A CHRISTMAS TRANSFORMATION forgot her instructions and lit a fire, as she had been in the habit of doing every morning. The wood happened to be almost as green as she was, and a trifle damp. But she kept stuffing paper under it until it was really going. Meanwhile Mr. Marvin, who had decided that the knots in his rope were too far apart, was down in the basement busily untying them and then tying them again. It was his wife who discovered the fire. “Goodness me, Katie!” she gasped. Then, collecting herself she said: ‘Jack, you and Betty go play in the library for a while.” The moment the children had gone she and the tearful Katie hastily extinguished the blaze, gathered the remains into scuttles vashed out the th. ied, and before she had really » Mr. Marvin arrived on the scene, radiant with enthusiasm. Producing the coil of rope from under his coat, he said proudly: “Look at that! You have no idea how hard I’ve been working. But now everything is O. K.” She knew of at least one that was not. But she was afraid to tell him of it. Promptly at six the next morning Mr. Marvin, who never a THE EVOLUTION OF A The view from the roof at that early hour was very beautiful and mysterious. Everything was The gray of morn was fused with feathery ce, transformed by the magi Christm Mr. Marvin, emerging gopher-wise from the t door, felt a sudden warmth at his heart that was much in contrast to the sudden cold at his extremities “How w-wonderful!” he shivered. With chilled hands he attached the end of the rope to the last rung of the iron ladder. Then, dropping to all fours for . and feeding out the rope according to the pay-as-you wled along the roof-ridge, his long red robe flapping hither and thither in the blizzard wind. The chimney was double. It had two parallel flues, one coming up from the nursery and the other from the kitchen Evidently the cook had already lighted the range, for that flue was smoking energetically, almost blindingly. Mr. Marvin lowered his rope into the inactive one. he paused, confronted with the problem of how he should manage the bag. He had imagined himself, like the Santa Claus one sces in pictures, carrying it genially on his back; but now he realized that there was barely room enough for his 4 second pace following.) Then (Comtinned os SPRIG OF MISTLETOE