williamson a m - angel unawares - a story of christmas eve

8/12/2019 Williamson a M - Angel Unawares - A Story of Christmas Eve

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Produced by Elaine Laizure from images

generously made

available by The Internet Archive/America

Libraries.


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ANGEL UNAWA

A Story of Christmas Eve

BY

C. N. and A. M. WILLIA


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governess hadn't suddenly recognized he

ost lover in a wounded French sergean

on the sea-front, the Valois story would

have been a Christmas tragedy instead owhat it turned out to be. This wa

strange, because neither the littl

American girl nor her governess nor he

governess's lover had ever heard of thValois family, nor had the Valois family

heard of them. But most things that happe

are strange, if seen from every point o

view.

At first, when Mademoiselle Rose gave

ittle scream and rushed away from he

charge to a good-looking soldier with hiarm in a sling, Angel stood still, extremel

nterested. Her mother did not know abou

he lost lover. One need not tell all one'


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heart secrets to one's employer on bein

engaged at a Paris agency! Bu

Mademoiselle cried in the nigh

sometimes and gazed at a photograph, sAngel (whose bed was in the same room

had asked questions safer to answer tha

eave unanswered. When she saw th

meeting she quickly put two and twogether in her intelligent, seven-year-ol

brain.

"That's Claude," said the child to herself"So he's alive, after all. My goodness me

what a nice Christmas present fo

Mademoiselle! I'm glad it's after lunc

nstead of before, though, for I washungryand I expect she'll want to talk to him

ong time. I suppose she'll introduce hi

o me and we'll all three walk up an


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down."

nstead of walking, however

Mademoiselle and her Christmas presen

sat down on one of the seats placed a

regular intervals along the Mentone se

front. Apparently Mademoiselle forgo

Angel's existence, and "Claude" had noobserved it. The child stood neglecte

until she was tired and very bored. Then

oo polite to interrupt (a succession o

nursery governesses of several nationhad instructed her never to interrupt), sh

decided to go home.

"Home" was a hotel; and Mrs. Odel

Angel, and Mademoiselle had arrive

only the day before from Paris

Mademoiselle had been in Menton

before (that was one reason for engagin


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her), but Angel and her mother never had

Angel's father was one of several brillian

young men in the American Embassy

where he was well content for himself, bufound the idea of bombs on heads he love

bad for his nerves; accordingly, wife and

child had been sent to safety in the sout

of France, somewhat against the former'will. At the moment, Elinor Odell wa

getting off letters, meaning to go out late

and buy Christmas toys. So it happene

hat, just as Angel was wondering whic

urn to take, Angel's mother was writing

"Mademoiselle is young and pretty, but a

rustworthy as if she were a hundred. Shnever loses sight of the Angel-Imp for a

nstant."

The Angel-Imp in question wished tha


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bands of soldiers black as jet, wearin

queer red caps on their woolly heads. I

was all so interesting and exciting tha

when Angel remembered herself she wanot quite sure she knew where she was.

This would have been rather frightening i

he realization hadn't come just outside thhalf-open gates of a garden lovely a

fairy-land. It had been winter in Paris

Here it was summer; yet to-morrow wa

going to be Christmas. Angel could nounderstand. The thing was like a dream

and held her fascinated. She was a

maginative child, and it thrilled her to sa

o herself, "Maybe this garden ifairyland!" Although, of course, th

common-sense side of her answered

"Pooh! You know very well, you silly


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here's no such place."

Anyhow, the garden lookedlike fairyland

t was exactly what fairyland ought to be

and even mother (who was a grown-up

hough father often called her "child") sai

hat no really nice person would swea

here weren't any fairies in the world.Hundreds and maybe thousands of orang

and lemon trees made a sparkling gree

roof for a carpet of purply-blue violets

white carnations, and roses of every shadfrom palest coral pink to deepest crimson

The flowers grew in the midst of youn

grass which the sun, shining through tree

branches, lit with the vivid green o

emeralds. It shone also on the countles

globes of the oranges and lemons, makin

hem glow like lighted lamps of pale topa


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and transparent red-gold among the dark

green leaves.

"Fairy Christmas trees!" thought Ange

Odell. And it seemed to her that th

nvisible hand of an equally invisible fair

clutched her dress and began to pull he

hrough the open gateway. After all, whyshould the gates be open if people wer

not expected to walk into the garden?

"I don't care. I will go in, whether it'

fairyland or not," Angel decided.

othing else seemed important except th

garden and what might happen to her ther

when she had once got past the gates. NoMademoiselle Rose, not her Claude, no

going home to the hotel, and not eve

seeing mother.


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Angel let the unseen hand guide he

hrough the gates, and on the other side th

mysterious beauty of the garden was mor

hrilling than ever, because it was alaround her and under her feet and over he

head. The road looked as if no wagon

ever went over it, though it was wid

enough for them to pass. It was goldenbrown in patches, but was overgrow

with a film of green, almost like lace. Th

orange-trees were planted so that the

made long, straight aisles shut in at the fa

end with a misty curtain of blue. Dow

each aisle a narrow, gold-brown path ra

between the flowers; and, fascinated, thchild from another land began slowly t

follow one of the ways. A vague fancy

stole through her mind that the silence an

heavy perfume of lemon blossoms were


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somehow, parts of each other. It was as i

she were about to find out a wonderfu

secret; and, looking up through the gree

net to a sky of blue, shot with rose, shwandered on with a sense of waiting.

ot only did little paths run the length o

hose long, straight aisles, but crossefrom one aisle into another, until Ange

ost count, as from violets she visite

roses, and from roses passed to carnation

and stocks. Beyond the arbor of orangeand lemon-trees showered a golden rai

of mimosas, and close by clustered

grove of palms, with tall-trunked, date

aden giants rearing their crests in thmiddle of the group, and in an outer ring

ow-plumed dwarfs whose feathere

branches drooped to earth.


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Angel Odell associated palms with larg

pots in halls and conservatories. She ha

not known until to-day that they coul

grow out of doors. Staring at the grove iwonder, she caught sight of something red

which showed between the trailing frond

of a palm like a green-domed tent. And

mixed in with the something red wasomething white that moved. Almos

before she knew what she was doing

Angel had stooped down and crep

beneath the drapery of rustling plumes.

The "red thing" was an old knitted shaw

spread over a wooden seat of the righ

height for a child; and the "white thingwas a half-Persian kitten. It was sitting o

he shawl, too earnestly ironing its silve

ruff with a pink tongue to feel the slightes


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concern in the intrusion of a stranger.

"Oh, you lovely catkin!" exclaimed Angel

Cautiously she subsided on to the end o

he wooden seat, and, slipping off her gra

mittens, began to smooth the fluffy back

On her thumb glittered a large diamond i

a ring of her mother's she had picked uon the dressing-table and forgotten to tak

off. Seeing that the object of her attention

did not openly object to them, and, indeed

appeared hypnotized by the flashing stoneshe transferred the white ball of fur fro

he red shawl to her gray-corduroy lap. I

was velvet corduroy, and even mor

delightful to sit on than knitted wool. Thkitten submitted in a dignified, aloo

manner to the child's caresses, and Ange

sat rigidly still, hardly daring to breath


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est the haughty creature should tak

offense.

t was just then that a woman suddenl

appeared from, it seemed, nowhere i

particular. Angel's heart gave a jump

What if the womanjust a mere woman

not a fairy at allowned the garden, anshould scold the little stranger girl fo

coming in, sitting down, and playing wit

her kitten?

"Maybe if I don't move or make any noisshe'll go away and won't see me," th

child thought.

To her no grown-up person could bereally young, butfor a grown-up thi

woman looked youngish, about as youn

as mother. Mother had been twenty-eigh

on her last birthday, and looked almos


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ike a little girl before she was dressed i

he morning, with clouds of dark hai

falling around her small, white face an

shading her big, blue eyes.

This woman had dark hair, too, but Ange

could not see what color her eyes were

She was looking down. Her eyelashewere long and black, like mother's, yet sh

was not like mother in any other way

Mother's face was rather round, an

nearly always smiling and happy. Thiwoman's face, though prettyyes, Ange

hought it pretty, and, like a picture of th

Madonna Mademoiselle hadwas ver

grave and sad. That was strange, in thibeautiful garden full of flowers an

sunshine; like a wrong note in music, i

Angel mischievously struck a key whil


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mother was playing something gay an

sweet. Besides, the woman had on a dres

hat wasn't pretty at all, or like the dresse

mother wore. It was brown, and plainwithout any trimming, almost like

servant's dress. Angel wished she would

go away, but she didn't; she stooped dow

and began to do two very queer thingsBoth were queer for a woman to do, an

one was dreadful.

The first thingthe thing that was onlqueerwas to cover up a bed of ver

delicate flowers, whose name Angel had

never heard, with gray stuff such a

kitchen towels are made of, only muchicker and rougher. The woman had bee

carrying a large bundle of this in her arms

and in covering the bed she supported th


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hate it even more if she were a grown-up.

The child hidden under the palm-tree an

he woman outside were so near to eac

other that the child could hear the woma

give choking sobs which it seemed as i

she tried to swallow. Perhaps she didn

ry hard enough at first, for the sobsnstead of stopping, came faster an

harder, and Angel's large, horrified eye

saw tears run down the woman's face an

splash on to the flowers. Suddenlyhowever, the gasping ceased. The woma

et fall an end of the bagging not ye

draped over the sticks, and sprang to he

feet with the quick grace of a frightenefawn. Not that Angel definitely thought o

any such simile, but away in the back o

her mind dimly materialized the picture o


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a deer she had once seen rise up amon

he tall grasses in a public park.

The young woman fumbled in the pocke

of her shabby brown dress and found

handkerchief. She hurriedly dabbed he

eyes, and rubbed her cheeks hard, as if t

make them so red that the redness of heeyelids might not be noticed.

"She must have heard some noise," though

Angel; and as the thought formed she, too

heard what the woman had heardthpat-pat of footsteps coming lightly an

quickly across grass. Then from under th

green-and-gold mimosas a man appeare

a tall, youngish man, very thin and pale

carrying a thing which seemed

mysterious object for a man to carry in hi

arms; but then, everything about this fair


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garden was mysterious and puzzling.

Heavily leaning against the man's shoulde

and hanging down over his back was

pine-tree, small for a pine-tree, but larg

for a person to carry. He came on with hi

head bent, and at first did not see th

woman, soapparentlyhe was not isearch of her. But he limped as he walked

and the woman cried out sharply:

"Oh, Paul, you've hurt yourself! You've

had a fall!"

He looked up, surprised. "Why, dear one

didn't know you were here," he said. "

did slip on a stone coming down thmountain. But it's nothing. I've wrenche

my ankle a little, that's all."

"And you had that long, hard wal


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afterward!" the woman exclaimed. "M

poor Paul! You out of bed only three day

ago. It's too cruel. Everything goes agains

us."

"Everything?" He caught her up and a loo

of alarm or anxiety chased away the smil

he had put on to reassure her. "Has badnews come, then? But yesyou needn

answer. I know it has. I wish I hadn't said

you might open the avocat's letter! You've

been crying, Suze."The woman spoke English as if it wer

her own language, but the man had a

accent which showed that he was not bor

o it. Even Angellistening half agains

her willnoticed that, almos

unconsciously. But she had been forced to

hink a great deal about "accent" in the las


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few months since she had come to live i

Paris and talk with a French governess

She had picked up French quickly, a

children do, but was always having thword "accent, accent!" drummed into he

head.

"I couldn't help crying a little," said Suze"I didn't mean to let you know. I though

you'd be longer away."

"You mustn't try to hide your feelings from

me, dear," the man said. "Troubles will beighter if you let me bear them with you."

"But youyou're always trying to chee

me up, no matter what's happened," thwoman reminded him, almos

reproachfully. Angel realized that they

must be husband and wife. They wer

about the right age for each other, sh


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hought; and even a child could see by th

ook in their eyes that they loved on

another dearly. "You pretend now tha

you're not hurt, but you are; you'rsuffering your face shows it. Ah! th

dear face, so white, so patient! I hoped

should have good news for you when yo

came back. I hoped that in spite oeverything we might have a little peace,

ittle happiness, just enough to last us ove

Christmas, if no more. But what's the us

of our hoping? Always comes anothe

blow!" Her sobs broke out again. Tear

poured over her cheeks.

The man stooped and laid the little pineree on the grass, letting it down carefully

not to break the branches. Then he took hi

wife in his arms and pressed her hea


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against his shoulder. They looked two

pathetic figures in their plain, rathe

shabby clothes, clinging together in th

garden where everything save themselvewas singing with joy of life and beauty.

"You mustn't give way like this, Suze,

said the man, gently. "Think of thchildren."

"I know," she sobbed, "I hate myself fo

breaking down. I ought to think ofyoua

well as the children, though you'd neveell me to do that. You never think o

yourself, except of what you can do for m

and them. This Christmas tree you'v

brought! Even if you'd been well, it woul

have been a big adventure, toiling up int

he mountains, tired after a day's work i

he garden; looking for the right tree, sur


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o grow in the worst place to get at; cuttin

t down with an ax that's no more than

oy, and then bringing the thing home o

your back! Why, it would be hard labofor a strong man"

"Love gives strength," he soothed her

stroking her ruffled dark hair; and Angehought that she had never seen a man'

hand so thin. "I've done myself no harm

ruly, dear one. I may not be very stron

yet, but I'm getting on. Last week you saiyou were thankful, whatever happened, t

have me out of bed"

"You oughtn't to have been out!" Suze

broke in, rebelliously. "If we weren't so

poor"

"Never mind. It did me no real harm. I'v

had no relapse. And we've got each othe


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and the children. There are rich peopl

who'd change with us. Let's forget the ba

news and the other troubles till afte

Christmas"

"How canwe forget being hungry?"

"By eating an orange!" The man tried t

augh. "We've got plenty of those."

"Just now we have. But if we're turne

out?"

"We must do as Adam and Eve did whenhey were turned out of Eden. They foun

work, I suppose. So shall we. Though Go

knows it almost kills me to think of wha

've brought on you and the babies."

"Don't say 'you'! You've never brough

anything but happiness to us or anybody."


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"I'm afraidI've thought, sometimes

had no right to marry you."

"Why, life wouldn't have been life for m

without you, Paul!"

"Or for me without you, Suze."

"And all we've gone through has onl

drawn us closer together. But this las

blow is different. It's too cruel! . . . Tha

Judas of a man, Siegel, making us believ

he was our good friend and he doing you great kindness selling you this garden an

he business so cheap! Think, Paul, how

he described it, only last August, just afte

found you in Antwerp when you wergetting well after your wound. Would one

believea man could make up his mind t

ruin another who'd nearly given his lif

for his country? Plan and plan to rob hi


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of his savings, pretending all the time t

open the gates of Paradise"

"Well, in one way this is Paradise," sai

Paul, lifting his eyes to the sky whic

showered sunset roses through silve

branches of olives, gold branches o

mimosas."Paradise with the serpent of deceit in it!

cried Suze. "The Nice lawyer says in hi

etterI'mnot sorry you let me open it

hat Siegel drew up the deeds so cleverlt's almost impossible to convict him o

swindling. Monsieur Vignal thinks no

business man would lend money on th

chance of what you might get back fro

your deposit with Siegel if you sued hi

for false pretenses. And yet, in the nex

sentence, Vignal advises you to stand up


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against Siegel trying to turn you ou

because you can't and won't and oughtn't t

pay the rest. He says, 'hold on to the plac

f you possibly can, and make Siegeattack you in the courts, so you can have

chance of bringing out the real facts an

perhaps proving that you're an injure

man.' He thinks if you could stop hernstead of submitting to be turned out, th

courts would very likely decide that you'

paid Siegel already as much as th

business is worth, and the place would b

accounted ours. Isn't that a mockery, whe

Monsieur Vignal knows as well as we do

we haven't a penny to live onthat thRiviera's empty these war days, tha

nobody buys our plants, and you can't fil

orders from over the Swiss or Italia

frontiers, even if you could get half a


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many as Siegel's lying books showed?"

"Vignal means well," said the man. "It'

good of him to advise me without askin

for pay."

"No more than a Frenchman ought to d

for a Belgian!" the woman retorted. "Th

refugees who ask for charity get all thsympathy. We, who ask only for work"

"We have received kindness, too. Don

et's doubt God's goodness on the eve oChristmasthe day when He gave Hi

only Son for us all, my Suze! . .

Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof

Well, there's no evil in this dayor tomorrow. There sha'n't be. Let's trust; let'

not stop hoping, for not to hope is death

You go to the children, dearest, now, and

'll slip around the back way with thi


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ree, so they sha'n't see it till it's lighte

and decorated to-night"

"Lighted and decorated!" Suze echoed

with a laugh that came trembling out o

ears.

"Yes," insisted Paul, "trust me. Your

husband isn't an artist for nothing! Comalong. No more time for repining if th

ree's to be ready before the children'

bedtime. I tell you, it will be a grea

work!"

"You're the most wonderful man in the

world!" breathed Suze senior. "And w

adore youour soldier who fights for ualways. Oh, but listen! There's Paulett

calling me. I told the two I'd be bac

before they finished their Christma

present for father. Guess what it isbu


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no, it wouldn't be fair to the poor littl

hings. They're coming to look for me. I

you go by the mimosa path you can ge

away before they see you."

Without a word, the man picked up th

miniature pine-tree and, shouldering it

imped off almost at a run. At the samnstant the woman went down on her knee

and began once more to drape the gra

bagging over the flower-bed, as if nothin

had happened to interrupt her task."Here I am, by the palm-grove. Come an

help me cover the flowers!" she cried

almost cheerily, in answer to a child

shouting "Maman! Maman!"

At the silver sound of the little voice, th

kitten in Angel Odel's lap stiffened itsel

for a spring. Mechanically her hand


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ightened on the ball of fluff, but i

wriggled free, and, with a jump, lande

clear of the palm, on the grass beyond

Small as it was, the little animal left thfronds rustling in its wake, and the woma

on her knees, looking up with a start

caught a glimpse of something gray unde

he tree. Two pinafored childrenemerging from a side-path, caught th

same glimpse, and as the younger snatche

up the kitten the elder took a step forwar

and parted the long green plumes of th

agitated palm.

"Why, mother!" she exclaimed in French

"there's a strange child under our treesitting seat! Oh, but a beautiful child in o

our splendid clothes. Can she be real, o

oh, mother! Is she the Christmas fair


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father says God sends to bless those wh

ove one another?"

Without answering, the woman got up

from her knees. Flushed wit

embarrassment, she peeped over he

daughter's golden head. The younger gir

peeped, also, hanging shyly to hemother's dress. It was a horrid moment fo

Angel Odell.

The children were smaller than sheno

more than six and four years old at mostand they were, Angel saw at a glance

pretty as life-size dolls, with their yellow

curls, rose-red cheeks, and pink pinafores

Their great blue eyes stared at her, no

with anger, but bewildered admiration

Even their mother did not look as if sh

meant to scold or sweep the intrude


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angrily out of her hiding-place. But, chil

as she was, Angel realized that she had

been doing a forbidden thing, a shamefu

hing. She had been eavesdropping. Shhad seen the woman crying; she had hear

her talking over family secrets with he

husband; she had come to know what sh

had no right to know, and what those twohad meant for each other's hearts alone

Ever since she was old enough to lear

anything, she had been taught tha

"eavesdropping" was one of thos

disgusting sins no honorable girl or bo

could possibly commit. Her father himsel

had said those very words; unforgettablwords, because father was Angel's hero

What would he think if he could see he

now? Somehow, she mustatone!


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"II didn't meanto hide," she stammered

"I looked inthe gate was open. I though

maybe it was a fairy garden"

"Oh, mother, you see she is a fairy,

gasped Suze junior, the elder of th

children.

"Perhaps," agreed Suze senior, doubtfullyAnd her eyes challenged the stranger

"Who are you, really? Where do you com

from?"

"II often play I'm a fairy." The culpri

seized the straw held out to her. "I

expect I am one. I know the me in th

ooking-glass is, and sometimes I can't telwhich is which Mademoiselle playssh

can't, either. She says when I come in

Which is this, today, the angel or th

fairy?' My name's Angela."


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"Oh mother!" breathed both childre

ogether, their eyes round with awe. "A

angel and a fairy."

"And I'm lost," the wonderful visito

hurried on, heading off an answer fro

mother. "I don't know where I live."

"She doesn't know where she lives,murmured Suze and Paulette, in chorus

"Then she can stay always and live wit

us, can't she?"

"Perhaps she wouldn't want to do that,

said Suze senior. "Perhapsshe has

mother waiting for her somewhere."

"But do fairies have mothers?" Paulett

wanted to know.

"Or angels?" added Suze. "I alway

hought they hadn't."


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"I have," the visitor announced, hastily

"Some kinds of angels dothe kind lik

me. My name's Angel Odell."

"Well, I never supposed angels had las

names," Paulette reflected, aloud. "

hought they were just called Gabriel o

something like that, and that they wergenerally boys."

"Oh no!" Angel Odell announced, wit

decision. "Boys are neverangels, anyhow

not in America where I live when I'home."

"She lives in America," the two childre

repeated to their mother. "That's nofairyland or heaven, is it?"

"Fairyland can be anywhere, your fathe

says," Suze senior answered. "But see, it'


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going to be twilight soon! I think we mus

ry to find out where Angel Odell lives

and take her home. She says she's losts

her mother will be anxious."

"She thinks I'm with my governess," sai

Angel.

"Oh, fairy angels havegovernesses," thelder sister mourned, another illusio

gone. "That's as bad as being a real chil

and going to school." The two spok

English or French indiscriminatelyseeming hardly to know which languag

hey used, but luckily Angel understood

French very well, thanks to Paris an

Mademoiselle Rose.

"I like my governess," she explained

"She's very pretty and she's engaged to

soldier. That's why I'm lost. Because sh


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met him by the sea, instead of his bein

dead as she thought, so she forgot to watc

me. I was going home alone when I saw

your garden gate open, and it looked jusike fairyland. If you please, I wish yo

would find where I live. It's ahotel, an

t has a garden, too, but not like this."

Suze senior set her wits to work. Sh

knew that, in those days of war, not many

hotels were open in Mentone. Sh

questioned Angel, and, learning that thhotel garden was high above the sea, wit

glass screens to keep off the wind and

view where you saw the town all pile

ogether on the side of a hill with dark, talrees on top, she guessed the Bellevue.

"We'll all three put on our hats and cloaks

and take you back to your mother," sh


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said, with the thought in her mind

perhaps, that Paul would be glad of th

children's absence while he did his part o

he tree-dressing. "Suze and Paulette wileave you the kitten to play with, and yo

won't mind being alone here again for

few minutes, while we get ready?"

Even if Angel had minded, now that a blu

veil of twilight was dropping over th

garden, she would have said "No,

bravely, to wipe off ever so little, if shcould, of the stain of eavesdropping. Bu

suddenly, when the children's mothe

asked that question, and she realized tha

she would have the place to herself, thmost wonderful idea came into her head

straight and direct as a bee flies into a

open flower. She happened at the momen


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o be putting on her mittens preparatory t

a start, when a glint of her mother'

diamond flashed up from her plump littl

humb to her eyes. The flash was anspiration. When the children and thei

mother were out of the way she woul

pull off her hair-ribbon and tie the ring t

he kitten's neck. Then, when they haaken her home and come back, Suze an

Paulette would find the ring and think i

he magic gift of a fairy, because (the

would say to each other) no ordinary littl

girl could have a gorgeous diamond lik

hat to give away.

Oh, it was a splendid idea! Angel wasure her mother would approve when sh

had thoroughly explained, for mother wa

rich. Angel had often heard servants a


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home and in hotels, away over across th

sea in America, telling one another tha

Mrs. Odell's father was Cyrus P. Holroyd

one of the big millionaires. Mother herselhad heaps and heaps of money, too much

o please father; and grandpa that ver

Cyrus P. Holroydwas always sending

presents of jewelry and things. He senbeautiful presents to Angel, as well

Probably she would find some from hi

when she went home, for when you visite

at grandpa's house in New York, it wa

he rule to begin Christmas on Christma

Eve, and have still more things o

Christmas morning, too, when you thoughyou had got all there were.

o sooner had Suze senior and her tw

children turned their backs than Ange


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proceeded hurriedly to carry out her idea

The kitten, unused to being personall

decorated at Christmas or any other time

resisted the ribbon with somdetermination. But Angel was even mor

determined, and, as in war, size counted

Before the trio returned, ready for thei

walk, the bow had been tied and thvictim had dashed angrily away. Thi

vanishing act suited Angel precisely, fo

he bright blue of the ribbon wa

conspicuous on the white fur, even i

wilight, and to have the fairy's legac

discovered in the fairy's presence woul

have been premature. In fact, it woulhave spoiled everything, and Ange

encouraged the animal's exit with

suppressed "Scat!"


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The first hotel they tried was the right one

Angel knew it by the gate. But it wa

rather a long walk to get there, and Suz

senior who told Angel that she wa"Madame Valois"shyly refused the little

girl's insistent plea to "come in and mee

mother."

"I must take the children back to thei

supper," she explained. "Already it'

getting dark, andit's Christmas Eve, yo

know. I hope your mother won't have hadime to worry. Tell her we brought you

home as soon asas you were found."

A faint fear that some gentle hint o

reproach lurked in the kind words (as sh

had hidden under the palm) stirred i

Angel's mind, making her wish all th

more to benefit the Valois family, and so


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ustify her eavesdropping. She pictured

with joy, the sensational discovery of th

diamond ring, perhaps while the childre

were receiving their presents from thChristmas tree. She did hope it migh

happen then! So anxious was she to tel

her mother the story of the fairy garde

hat, after the good-bys, she bounded inthe hotel like a bomb. Her mother's suit

was on the first floor, and in her haste to

get to it Angel would have dashed past

group in the hall, had not the concierg

headed her off.

"Here she is, Mademoiselle! Now

everything is all right!" he exclaimed, aoyously as though great news had com

from the front. And out from the group

ottered Mademoiselle Rose, t


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precipitate herself upon the child an

drench her velvet hood with a waterspou

of tears.

Angel had not been left in ignorance b

her relatives that she was a young perso

of some charm and importance, but neve

n her life had she been so overwhelmewith adjectives, in any language

Mademoiselle Rose, shedding tears whic

ooked to Angel's astonished gaze the siz

of pebbles, called her a lamb, a saint, aadored cherub, and many other thing

which Angel determined to bring up i

future if ever she were scolded. I

appeared that the distracted governess, owaking from her dream of love wit

Claude, had nearly fainted on findin

Angel gone. She had left her soldier on hi


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crutches, to rush here and there, searchin

wildly for her charge. She had describe

he child to every one she met, and aske

n vain for news of her. She had dashednto shops and houses, she had been led t

hegendarmerie and had sobbed out he

story of loss, reluctantly pausing to se

details industriously written down; and aast she had run all the way to the hote

hoping against hope that the lost one ha

returned.

Her state of mind, as described by herself

was tragic when she had ransacked th

rooms and asked questions of servants an

visitors, only to be assured that her charghad not come home. She blamed hersel

entirely, not Angel in the least; therefore

Angel felt kindly toward Mademoiselle


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and attempted to comfort her by sayin

how glad she ought to be, anyhow, tha

Claude was alive. The youn

Frenchwoman hysterically admitted thisand was in the act of expressing also he

hankfulness that Madame had not ye

returned, to suffer, when Madame hersel

walked in, followed by a commissionairbearing many bundles. She looked ros

and girlish, but at sight of Mademoisell

on her knees in the hall, bathing Ange

with tears, her bright color ebbed.

"What hashappened?" she stammered, he

big, dark eyes appealing to concierge

governess, and all Angel's other satellites

t was the child who answered, before an

one else could speak. "Oh, mother!" sh

gasped, drawing in a long breath, "


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haven't been runned over by a moting-car

or bited by a mad dog, or drownded in th

sea, or anything bad, but only just lost fo

a verylittle while; and it was lovely, in fairy garden. And I want to tell you abou

t quick, because I gave them your rin

what has one big di'mond and little one

all the way 'round, tied to their whitkitten's neck."

"Good gracious!" ejaculated Elinor Odel

as Angel paused at the end of that longdrawn breath. "What does she mean

Mademoiselle?"

"I do not know yet, Madame," th

governess apologized, getting to her fee

and wiping her eyes with the drier of tw

damp handkerchiefs. "The blessed one ha

but just come in, when I was about to g


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out once more and search. There has bee

no time to hear, but, praise, le bon Dieu

she is at least safe and unhurt."

"I will telephone the good news to th

endarmerie," murmured the concierge.

Elinor Odell adored her child, no

knowing for certain which she lovebetter than the other, if eitherDick, he

husband, or his daughter and hers. Sh

was warm-hearted, and deep-hearted, too

but circumstances had very early in heife of twenty-eight years developed th

practical side of her nature. She ha

earned how to control herself and t

control others. Also she was quick

perhaps too quickin formin

conclusions. Had she not grown up as th

only child of a widowed millionaire, sh


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might have been just the beautifu

ntelligent, emotional girl she looked, an

nothing more; but to her father she owe

much besides money and position; showed many qualities. One of them was

slight surface hardness, like a coolin

crust over boiling lava. She realize

nstantly that, no matter what the "Angelmp's" adventure had been, there was n

onger any need to worry about the child

She took in that fact, and even as sh

mentally gave thanks for it she took i

something else also. Persons in a garde

whither Angel had strayed or been invited

had apparently persuaded the innocent anmpulsive little girl to give away

valuable diamond ring. Prejudice instantl

built up within Elinor a barrier agains

some one unknown. She didn't mean t


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reproach Angel, but she did mean to

catechize her, and she intended to get bac

her father's last year's Christmas present.

"All's well that ends well," she quoted

with the radiant smile which had helped t

give Elinor Holroyd the reputation of

beauty. "Come, Angel, comeMademoiselle, let's go up to our ow

rooms and tell one another everything.

Then, when the governess and child ha

been started off in advance, she paused fowhispered instructions concerning th

bundles. They contained the Christma

presents which she had gone out to buy fo

Angel, but, luckily, the little girl was tooexcited to notice and wonde

nconveniently. She wasn't even thinkin

of the gifts from her grandfather i


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America, which she confidently expected

"Now, my Angel-Imp, tell me all about it,

began Elinor, when the lights wer

switched on in the sitting-room. "Or wil

you wait until we've taken off your hat an

coat?"

But the child was not in the mood to waifor an earthquake. She began pouring fort

her story, aided and supplemented, at first

by Mademoiselle, who found it necessar

o explain Claude. After alternatelblaming and defending her absent

mindedness, however, the word passed

from Rose to Angel, who was quick to

seize the advantage. She alone knew th

whole story, so she alone could tell how

she had wanted to go home; how sh

hadn't liked to bother Mademoiselle; how


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she had got lost, and how, just then, sh

had found herself at the gate of the "fair

garden."

"I truly almost b'lieved it was," sh

announced, earnestly, "because you said

who knows if there aren't fairies?' So the

must have gardens. Anyhow, the childrenare as pretty as fairies, but I don't thin

hey can be as happy, because their mothe

cried, and their father's been wounded

and cheated, too, by a horrid man who'going to take everything away from them

even the garden, and the orangesthe las

hings they've got to eat. And they'r

dreadfully pooroh, as poor as poorThat's what their mother was crying abou

when she left the children in the house s

hey wouldn't know. And when their fathe


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came home and found her putting flower

o bed and crying on them, she cried mor

because he was carrying such a heav

Christmas tree and had hurt his foot gettint, and he was so pale and thin, sh

couldn'tstop when he asked her. Besides

she'd hadsuchbad news in a letter whil

he was gone! It was about the nasty mawho took all their money and was going t

ake back the garden, too. That was why

was sure you'd want me to give them you

di'mond ring that you hardly ever wear

t's always lying around somewhere

mother, so when I found it on my thumb

you see, I forgot to put it back on youableI thought it would bejustthe thing

and a lovely surprise for the childre

when they found it tied to the cat's nec

with my hair-ribbon. I 'spect they must b


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finding it now, because they brought m

herethey and their mother, while thei

father was putting the dec'rations on th

Christmas treeand by this time maybhey're home. Their name's Valois

Suzanne and Paulette Valois, and thei

mother's Suzanne, too, or Susan, becaus

she's English and they're Belgian. Anddon't you think if grandpa sent me an

presents I can give some to them? There'

a whole pile of letters on the table. Mayb

here's one from grandpa to say"

"Stopstop!" cried Elinor, catching th

child before she could spring on the lates

arrivals from the post. "It seems to me thayou've been in rather too much of a hurr

already, with your Christmas presents to

he Valois family, though I know you


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meant for the best, darling. Now, the nex

hing to do is to explain how Father an

Mother Valois happened to talk so much

about their troubles before a strangehey'd never seen before"

"Oh, they didn't see me then. I thought

elled you that!" broke in the child. "eavesdropped, under a tree with branche

most to the ground. I went in to play wit

hefluffiestwhite kitten, and it was whil

was there they talked.""How do you know they didn't see you?

nquired Elinor, judicially.

"Because if they had they wouldn't havalked, with me listening," Angel carefull

made clear to the slow comprehension o

a grown-up.


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"I'm not so sure," murmured the grownup

She did not speak the words aloud

because she wished her Angel-Imp to go

on believing, as long as she might, thahuman nature was all good. It occurred t

her that a tree must have abnormally thic

branches, if a child in a pearl-gray velve

hood and coat trimmed with glisteninchinchilla were to remain invisibl

hroughout a long and intimat

conversation. It occurred to her, also, tha

he velvet and chinchilla simply shoute

"Money!" People were extraordinaril

subtle, sometimes, when they had a

object to gain, as she had learned in hegirlhood through sad experience. She, too

had had faith in everybody when she wa

Angel's age, and even years older, but he

father had thought it best that for self


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protection she should be enlightene

early. She did not quite believe in Angel'

fairies of the fairy garden. The story, eve

as the child told it, had discrepancies.

"I fancy, darling," Elinor suggested, "tha

your new friends can't be so dreadfull

poor as they made you think. You see, ihey were, they'd have no money to spen

on a Christmas tree"

"It was growing on a mountain," Ange

defended her friends.

"Perhaps, but it wasn't growing all read

decorated. You said that the father

what's his nameValois?stayed ahome to decorate the tree while the rest o

he family brought you homeand tol

you all about themselves, their name an

everything, I suppose, so you might know


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where to find them again and take me t

see them, perhaps. It was good of them t

bring you, of course, and I'm grateful.

should have cried, like Madame Valois, i'd come back while you were lost. But

all the same, dear"

She stopped short, because she did nowish the childso young, so sweet, s

warmheartedto be disillusioned. Th

hought in her mind, however, was tha

Monsieur Valois and his English wifemight not have been so eager to tell thei

name had they learned in time about th

diamond ring. They might not have made i

so easy to find them in their fairy gardeas it was now! But even though their nam

was known, it would be difficult to ge

back the ring, unless sheElinor Odell


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sitting-room for a moment. Meanwhile

until he should come, she glanced at th

etters. There were many, and among the

was one addressed to "Miss AngelOdell. To be opened by herself," in Cyru

Holroyd's handwriting. But before it coul

be passed to its owner a knock announce

he manager of the hotel.

He was delighted to hear that the missin

ittle one was safe, and listened politely t

Mrs. Odell's questions concerning thValois family. At first the name suggested

nothing, but when he learned that the ma

was "a gardener, or horticulturist, o

something," he remembered. Ah yes, to bsure! There was such a person, a Belgia

refugee, but with money, it would appear

for he had bought property from a Swis


69/120

who had lived for some years in Mentone

ot a property of great value, no. And i

was said that the Swiss Siegel his nam

washad let his business decline. Afteselling it he had gone away at once. N

one knew much about Valois except tha

he had an English Wife, a good-lookin

young woman, who had visited all thhotels earlier in the season, trying to ge

work as a teacher of her own language, o

as a seamstress. That would look as i

Valois had found the business profi

disappointing. But then, there was nothin

for any one in these days. The only thing t

do was to hold on.Yes, the only thing to do was to hold on

But it took money to hold on. Mrs. Odel

was ready to admit that the Valois family


70/120

might be unfortunate, yet she was all th

more sure she would never see he

diamond ring again. Neither would sh

see the Valoises, husband or wife, unlesshe went, or sent

"A young man who wishes to speak for

moment with Madame," announced waiter at the door, and presented a bit o

pasteboard. It was a business card, o

which was printednot engravedi

arge, plain letters, "Paul ValoisHorticulturist."

So, after all, he had come! But, no doubt

only to try and get money.

"Mademoiselle, will you go with Angel to

her room and take off her hat and coat?

Elinor hastily cleared the field for action.


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"Good evening," she greeted hi

pleasantly, in French. "It was you, I think

who kindly sent your wife here with m

ittle lost girl this evening. I'm glad to bable to thank you both for what you did.

Designedly she let the man have a "lead,

and waited curiously to see what use h

would make of it.

He did not keep her long in suspense. "Oh

Madame, we did nothing at all," h

replied, giving his case awaunexpectedly. "My children thought you

ittle girl must be a fairy. You see, my

wife tells them wonderful stories. Sh

comes from a county in England wherhey still believe in the 'wee folk'

Devonshire. Perhaps you've been there? I

was a great joy to them to have the visi


74/120

and the walk was a pleasure. We are al

glad if you have been spared anxiety; but

fear you must have been anxious abou

another loss. It is for that reason I havhurried here, on a bicycle borrowed fro

our nearest neighbor. The little lad

amused herself tying a ribbon and

beautiful ring to the neck of my children'pet, a white kitten given by that sam

neighbor who lent the bicycle. Then sh

must have forgotten to take it off. It wa

only a few minutes ago that my Paulett

found the ring, when she came home.

have brought it to you."

"How good of you to take so mucrouble!" exclaimed Elinor. But somethin

nside her whispered, "He thought i

would be safer to claim the regard than t


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keep the diamond."

The Belgian took from his pocket a clea

handkerchief with a knot tied in th

corner, and from the knot produced th

ring.

"La voil, Madame," he said, simply, a

he laid the shining thing on the letterstrewn table. "And now I will not distur

you longer. Permit me to wish for you an

he little fairy who visited us a happ

Christmas."

So he was leaving the reward to he

generosity! Wasn't that rather clever o

him?

"Thank you for the wishes as well as fo

bringing back my ring," said Elinor. "And

you must, of course, allow me t


76/120

recompense your kindness. A souvenir o

t, and of my daughter, for your children'

Christmas"

As she spoke, she took from her gold

chain bag a fat bundle of notes and quickl

selected one for five hundred francs. Th

ring was worth this sum many times overbut it seemed to her that a hundred dollar

was not an ungenerous present. If the ma

were really poorand honesthe ough

o be well satisfied. She watched his facas, with a smile, she held out the Frenc

note.

He flushed so deeply that the scar on hi

forehead turned purple.

"It isn't as much as he expected!" though

Elinor. She waited, however, for him to

speak.


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"Oh, Madame, I thank you!" he stammered

"But I could not possibly accept a reward

am only too glad to have found the ring."

He seemed actually to be going, to b

hurrying away in order to escap

persuasion; yet Elinor, in her experience

realized that the move might be meant onlo draw her on. She was almost sure tha

he man would pause at the door, bu

rather than see him thus humiliate

because she couldn't help liking his faceshe persisted. "You surely must take the

money, or I shall be hurt."

The face, which she liked, grew a shad

redder, and then became suddenly pale

han before. "Please do not say tha

Madame," he pleaded, "because it woul

beit would be a thing I couldnot do, t


78/120

ake money for returning to a lady her los

property. It would make me worse than

beggar."

A little, tingling thrill shot through Elinor'

veins. She felt ashamed, for this outburs

was genuine. Not even a cynic coul

mistake it, and she hated herself becausshe was a cynic. Still, she would not giv

up her pointless than ever would sh

give it up; for now she began earnestly t

want the man to have her money."You shouldn't feel like that," she argued

"You didn't ask me for anything. I give o

my own free will. You see, I wish to be

even with you. You've done me a

kindness. Let me repay it."

t seemed to her that Paul Valois looked a

her almost pityingly. "Madame," he said


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"will you not grant a man the happiness o

giving, not of selling, the one thing in hi

power, on the eve of Christmas? It ha

made me happy that through us, in a wayyou have been saved from pain at this tim

when the world should be glad. To pay m

for that joy would kill it."

Elinor blushed. "Butbutmy little gir

ells me" She stumbled on, awkwardly

and abashed by her awkwardness. "I thin

by accident she overheard thatthatyohad some trouble. Do you think you'r

right to refuse? Wouldn't your wife fee

"

"She would feel as I do. I can always b

sure of her." Paul Valois lifted his head

with a radiant look; and Elinor Odell

gazing at him, fascinated, suddenl


80/120

realized something Christ-like in his type

With that light in his eyes he might hav

stood as a model to an artist for a portrai

of Christ. Elinor wondered how she hadared to offer such a man money. She fel

humble before him, and asked hersel

how, since he would accept no payment

she could atone for the mean way in whicshe had misjudged him.

"We didn't know that the fairy heard wha

we said to each other," he went on. "Mchildren call the palm under which she sa

heir 'summer-house,' because the lon

fronds fall down and touch the ground. I

s like a green tent. But I am sorry if shfelt sad for us. Tell her she must not be

sad. We have each other, and that i

everything. Some way will open


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Meanwhile, it is Christmas! Now

Madame, you understand, I have left m

children's tree unfinished. I must mak

haste. Adieu. Bonne Nol."

Before she could speak again, he wa

gone.

Five hundred francs! How mean the noteooked, how paltry seemed the spirit i

which she had offered it, grudging an

udging, and thinking herself generous!

Springing up on the impulse, she flun

open the door between the sitting-roo

and Angela's bedroom. "Your man from

he fairy garden has been here," she sain a strained, nervous way. "He ha

brought back the ring you tied to th

kitten's neck."


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"Oh, isn't that too bad!" exclaimed Angel

ooking up from her grandfather's letter

which she had held in her own hands fo

Mademoiselle to read aloud. "Didn't yobeg him please to keep it for th

children?"

"No, I didn't do that, but" she hesitate"I tried to make him take some mone

nstead."

Angel opened her eyes very wide. "

s'pose he wouldn't take it, Mummy."

"Why do you 's'pose' that?" Elinor wante

o know.

"O-ohjust because. He isn'the isnhat kind of a man. Don't you remember

Mummy, you say that often to me, when

ask you in the street to give money to som


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one who looks poor?"

Elinor hung her head like a child. Ange

knew more about character by instinct, i

seemed, than she had learned through he

years of experience! But then, it occurre

o her, perhaps, after all, she had not gon

about learning her lessons in the righway. Maybe it was just as wise, if no

wiser, to believe people might be goo

until you found out that they were bad

nstead of beginning the other way around"What would you have done in my place?

she asked Angel.

The child was silent for a moment. "If hwouldn't keep the ring, why, I s'pose

should have thought and thought of som

other way to make him and big Suze an

ittle Suze and Pauletteand the kitten


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all happy for Christmas!" she exclaimed

on an inspiration. "Oh, mother, we mus

do something. I shall have a horri

Christmas if we can't. And that would be shame because grandpa's sent me a

whatdid you call it, Mademoiselle?"

"A check," said Rose, starting out of brown study about her Christmas, an

how she was to spend a part of it wit

Claude.

"Yes, a big check. Mummy, how muchmoney did you want to give the children'

father?"

"A hundred dollars," Elinor replied.

"Is that much?"

"It must have seemed so to him."


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"Well, it doesn't to me. Grandpa's sent me

five hundred to buy myself just what I like

o make my Christmas happy."

"And what would you like?" asked Elinor

hinking that the child's mind had sli

away from the Valois family.

"I'd like to make the people in the fairgarden happy."

"But, a check's the same as money," he

mother explained. "You just said yourselhe isn't the kind of man"

"Oh, but I wouldn't give him the check,

Angel cut in, importantly. "II'd lend it to

him. No, I mean I'd lend him all he'd pai

he nasty man who really owned th

garden. And then I'd buy the garden fro

he nasty man myself if I had enough lef


86/120

or if I hadn't I'd ask you to. And when th

garden was ours, the children's fathe

could have it rented to him, couldn't he

Wouldn't that be a good idea?"

"A splendid idea," said Elinor, "But wha

do you know about rents and such things?

"I heard grown-up Suze talk about them tPaul," explained Angel, calmly.

"What a head she has! Is it not so

Madame!" cried Rose, working up to thfavor she meant to beg for to-morrow.

"Grandpa is always saying I have a grea

business head," Angel remarked, wit

extreme self-satisfaction. "And, Mummy

f you think it's a splendid idea, can't w

go out now and 'range it all with Paul an

Suze? I should love to. It's the only thin


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'd like to make my Christmas happy wit

grandpa's money. If we went in a carriag

and made the horses run fast maybe w

could see the Christmas tree."

Again the small, hard voice whispered i

Elinor's ear. "Yes, you could see the

Christmas tree, which Paul Valois is richenough to decorate. Then you will know

for certainif he rings true."

She did already know "for certain"; th

best side of her reminded the other sideBut Angel was clamoring, spoiled-child

fashion, for her to say "yes," so she said it

Conscience and inclination and the child'

pleading forced it from her, and the res

followed like a whirlwind. Angel seized

her lately discarded hat and coat

Mademoiselle rang for a servant to call


88/120

cab. Elinor hurried off to get ready. And

n less than ten minutes they were on thei

way to the fairy garden, without having s

much as opened father's present froParis.

Many months, perhaps even years, ha

passed since carriage-wheels rolled ovehe grass-grown road that led in from th

big, rusty iron gates. Horses' hoofs unde

heir windows made so strange a sound i

he ears of the Valois family that theystopped singing the beautiful hymn of Noe

hey had begun round the Christmas tree

They stood still, listening in grea

surprise; and though the room was lit onlby one kitchen lamp and a tallow candl

not counting the lights on the tree) Elino

Odell in the act of descending from he


89/120

cab could see through an uncurtaine

window the man, the woman, and thei

wo children, hand in hand, making a rin

round the dark-green pyramid of pinebranches.

She and Angel had come alone

Mademoiselle Rose was staying at homo write Claude that Madame Odell ha

given her Christmas freethe charming

kind lady! Now "the charming, kind lady

and her little girl knocked almost timidlat the front door of the red-roofed whit

cottagea queer, low-browed cottag

built for peasants, in the old days whe

Mentone belonged to the Prince oMonaco. In a minute the door opened

Paul had answered the knock, carrying th

amp, and, lighted in that theatrical wa


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from below, his face looked more tha

ever like the face in a picture. Happines

had been washed from it by the pallor o

dismay for an instant, Suze havinsuggested the advent of Siegel; but even i

he midst of his amazement he smiled

welcome for Elinor and Angel.

"This is an unexpected pleasure

Madame," he said, with the graciousnes

of a banished prince. "Yet it is a rea

pleasure. Have you brought the fairy tsee our Christmas tree?"

"Yes," answered Elinor. "She wanted to

come. Andto propose a plan. It's al

hers. May we really see the Christma

ree?"

"Indeed we shall be glad," said Paul, and

making no excuses for the poorness of hi


91/120

show, he ushered the beautifully dressed

woman and her child into the room.

t was a small, plain room, with white

washed walls and little furniture; but he o

his wife had made it charming with trail

of ivy and wreaths of mistletoe and holly

The kitchen lamp had a shade of rechiffon fashioned from some old ha

rimming of Susan's. The tree (center o

he picture for which all else was a frame

stood bravely up in a green-painted tupacked with earth. Over the brown sand

surface Paul had laid velvety bits of mos

and ferns from the mountainside. Odds an

ends of tallow candle saved from time time had their ugliness hidden in orange

red globes of mandarins, cleverly emptie

of their pulp, and hung from the branche


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by handles of thin wire. Through the semi

ransparent skins the light filtered with

soft, warm glow. Susan had threaded red

berries and scarlet geraniums from thgarden into long chains, which Paul ha

ooped intricately over the tree. He ha

collected silver paper from tobacco

smoking friends, and cut out stars ancrescents to sprinkle here and there. Tuft

of cotton stolen from an old quilt gave a

effect of scattered snowflakes, and

quantity of powdered isinglass which ha

once formed a stove window glittered o

he green pine-needles like diamonds. A

for presents, Santa Claus seemed to havhought that with so beautiful a tree the

would scarcely be needed. He ha

provided two dolls, brightly painted an

cut out of cardboard. They were dresse


93/120

n accordion-pleated, pink tissue-pape

and had hats to match. One hung on th

right side of the tree, and one on the left

and midway between each a gingerbreaelephant was suspended.

There were the "decorations" whic

Elinor had sagely told herself no poor macould afford.

"Oh, mother!" gasped Angel, "did yo

ever, ever see such a lov-elly Christma

ree in all your life?"

Elinor's eyes saw the mandarin lantern

shine through tears. "Never one so sweet,

she said. And sensitive Susan Valoisknew that she was not "making fun."

The woman of experience found hersel

stammering like a school-girl as she trie


94/120


95/120

night of their lives also.

"Then it's settled, isn't it, mother?

breathed Angel. "Is that all, or have

forgotten anything?"

Elinor bent over her, on a sudden impulse

"Father has sent you a wonderful dol

from Paris, dear," she whispered. "haven't opened the box, but I know what'

n it, for a letter came in the post: a dol

hat talks and walks and has real hair an

eyelashes. So, would you like to spare family of dolls I bought for you before

had the letter? Would you like to spare

hem to these little girls?"

"I know what I forgot!" exclaimed Angel

"I forgot to tell Paulette and Suze tha

Santa Clause left something with me fo

hem. I 'spect he hadn't time to come bac


96/120

himself. He has so much to do for all th

children 'most everywhere in the world

whose fathers are in the war. I shouldn

wonder if what he left is dollslots odolls. Maybe quite big dolls."

Paulette rushed to her mother an

whispered, as Angel's mother hadwhispered.

"She says, now she knows your little gir

s a fairy," Susan explained aloud.

"I think," said Elinor, "this house is full o

fairies to-night. And they've brought me

better Christmas present than was eve

brought by Santa Clausa present osomething I lost a long time ago: a war

spot that had fallen out of my heart."

THE END


97/120

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Angel Unawares, by

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