isa-normaladvance-1913-00061

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCE61Cijrtetmas €toeHELEN LOUISE GILLUMnpHE glow of crackling embers in the little*■ fireplace wrapped the silent figures of thesad-faced man and the little girl he held inhis arms, in its ruddy light, vainly trying toreach their hearts with its message of gladness and Christmas cheer. It was the nightbefore Christmas, that mystic time when allthe world forgets its sorrows and unites tomake merry, in memory of the birth of a little child in far-off Bethlehem, whose adventthe angels heralded with a glad song ofPeace on earth, good will toward men. Butthe message of peace and gladness did notreach the heart of the bowed and sorrow-ladenman, and the eyes of the child were full ofa longing, heart-hungry light.Presently the little one stirred, and, freeingherself from the encircling arms, she sat upand faced the man, looking into his eyes withan intense earnestness, as she asked in awhisper, Daddy, shes comin back soon, isntshe? Its such a long, long time since shew7ent away, and I want her so. Oh, I wanther so! Daddy, say shes comin back soon.A half-suppressed groan burst from themans throat as he gathered the little figureclose, and hid his eyes in the tangle of darkcurls that covered her head. Oh, honeychild, I dont know, I dont know. The wordsseemed to choke him, and his shoulders shookwith the dry, tearless sobs of a strong man,who, for the first time has staked his all andlost.But, daddy dear, she must come soon,cause we want her so. Dont you spose thatwhen we want her so she feels it way downin herheart, an 11 have to come back to us?And, daddy dear, every day I ask God tosend her back to us, and when He sees howmuch we need her dont you spose Hell sendher back? Then, besides, daddy, I askedSanta to bring her back to us for Christmas,and surely, when he goes all over the world,he will find her. You mailed my letter toSanta, didnt you, daddy? she addedanxiously.Yes, yes, baby girl, I mailed your letter,but Im afraid Santa cant find her for youthis Christmas. Im afraid shes hidden awaywhere even Santa Claus cant find her. Thepain deepened in his face as he saw the lightdie out of her eyes, and the old, hungry looksteal back again. But come, darling, itstime for tired little girls to be in bed.Very reluctantly she slid from his arms,and followed him into the next room, whereshe was soon tucked into her little bed. Theman, sitting beside her, crooned brokenly theold lullabies, which her mother had sung toher in the long ago, when happiness and peacereigned. Slowly the heavy eyelids droppedlower and lower, and presently her soft, regular breathing told the man that she wasasleep. With heavy, dragging footsteps hewent back to the chair before the fire, where,with his head resting on a thin, care-wornhand, he sat gazing into the dying embers,thinking bitterly that those dying embers fitlysymbolized the death of all his hopes.Outside, a driving snow storm beat with relentless fury against the little house, andwrapped the skirts of the poorly clad woman,who stood outside the window, closely abouther. The dim light from the fire revealed ahaggard, pain-furrowed face, dominated by apair of large, tear-filled eyes, whose gaze remained fixed on the silent figure within.Suddenly, as if shaking off his load of sorrow7 the man arose, straightened his shouldersand went toward the door. As his handturned, the knob the woman, with a gasp offear, shrank back into the shadows. But herfear was groundless, for the man, without aglance around him, picked up a little ever-
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34506
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

Further information on this record can be found at its source.