The San Francisco call. [volume], December 25, 1910, Page 8, Image 8

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL', SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1910.— THE JUNIOR CALL'
THE AUCTIONING OF FREDERICK THE GREAT
KATHERINE DUNLAP CATHER
rATHER CARPENTER and Mother
Carpenter and the two young Car
penters were in a state of -tremu
lous excitement, all because of a post
card that had come in the afternoon
mall. Considering the fact that Uncle
Henry was in Europe and often sent
pictured messages from the places he
visited, it was not strange that the
coming of a postcard should be an
event in the lives of the young Car
penters. But this card was different.
No castle on the Danube did it show,
nor bit of Alplno' scenery to start the
wander fever burning in their veins.'
It was just one of tho common yel
lowish brown cards that Uncle Sam
provides, but the message it contained
dignified it- to an equality with the
mostgayly colored foreign ones. When
, Christmas' ls but two weeks away and
turkey Is 30 cents a pound, the receipt
-of a homely card may be momentous.
"To think,".- sang. Henry, ns he' broke
into a succession of fantastic step's
• that ; were a. cross 'between a Polish
; mazurka; and an Irish reel,' "to think
that .when; we had clean 1 given , up the
dinner we^are going, to have* It any
way/:- ■-\ ■ ■-'?;. .-' *■■ y ..:■-,-:■ ■■!.. -> ; . ■'.,.. •■■ j-.;-;^r;.';
."/I;-."Yes,V answered his mother," ;who. sat
* curling) the. card In'hcr'.'liand 'and'smll-";
: ing j; on \ her acrobatic "son, ' Valid when
Aunt Ellch'. ; knows just .; how much «it •
j-nieans'she will^be as happy as we fire."
S^Affit^Ellenlw^ats^tfteJlWdtHef^s^Blfter,^
" who/ lived on a" ranch';. over "in Uhe San
/Jodquin.-; .The •'Carpenters!, had never
, beenltliere,- > but, v judglng/from the good
r thlngs'}tnat.came'from\lt;each" season;
fit i-must^be-ithe^most wonderful ■ place
' iri.Californiar,^ :. .• -.'.: V -^.« -.."..>:• .,; rrivv
, In.winterlthere.was.always. the^mess ,
•■of ; wild {ducks, , shot " ; as. they ; flew' over
j .the ■"irri gated i'fields*' by v the "Carpenters'.'
-cousins. A-little^ later- came" a jbox bt
.oranges/ great luscious Ones, juicy 'and
sweet r as 'any ; that ~ ever grew along
■ tho - Suwanee. ; Autumn brought ; royal
,:• clusters ;of ; raisins, that '•) had ; drawn
f roni the, sun and sand,'; while '
, atv Christmas -time 'Aunt Ellen's
. was*manifested;in,a,bigtbrohze .turkey. 1
I -Of ; course,^ the ■„ Carpenters ■■ expected
pthe -turkey this, year, mother
S said; they, must ■ never«.take'*the*bestowi-/
;ing of aJgift-as.a'matter.'of^course,' so.
'they; couldn't -.invite .their, guests V until 1
*^they", knew - positively . that .the - feast
,1 would be. >;^ But at last .the glad news
'had' come, and' they were as liappy as
■^kings. ,'-:"', ■:-'■: .'.'■* r '■
i> . "May., we go over and Invite /them as
i sobn'as I -have .the"; dishes washed?!.'
■Bessie asked,'/ as she ; climbed on;the
arm of fher; mother's chair and gave. her.
; a ; blg -hug. "I c can -just .see , their eyes
dance when they"hear r of it." * .
'■•■' ; The mother, smiled, i' '"; ; v - ' •" ■•.[■
,■''■;. "Yes, but I must write a note, to Mrs.'
i ßaymond to make It quite; proper. 1 ' • '
. She; went, to . :the : - desk; and ; wrote
r while Bessie commenced clattering the
b dishes. ' t Her hands fairly flew, as she
„ washed f, the china. "• '.'.: She . scoured the .
ipots arid' pans^ and' put' everything' in,
Vits' place. ; Henry fed' the cat and
(•( • brought In K the .wood '■ while his ; sister^
tidied up .the -kitchen, arid almost !as
/soon as the note was t written the young
■ Carpenters were ready to set out to
< dellver.the! invitation. . . •.: ,
The. feast was set: for Christmas and
the ; guests were' to be six children
>' from the "Home," the big brown or-
. phanage ; on the Merest' of the 'hill. " It
, didn't seem ablt like a home to the
Carpenters, for the floors, had no. soft
[ carpets on ,them| but were covered
i.wlth linoleum,' , wliich in winter was
very cold, and there were --no cozy
corners with fluffy cushions to give
. bits of color to the dull place. " It was
'. just a place to stay, and beside the
Carpenter home it seemed very dreary,
so these more favored children had
been planning -for months to give the
six crippled orphans a good time on
the holiday.
They had not'far to go, so within a
few minutes after leaving home, they
rang the bell at the orphanage and de
livered the note to Mrs. Raymond; the
matron.
:. She was a kind woman and readily
i promised to let ( the children go, foreho
was glad that 'they might have a real
old fashioned Christmas. It would be
a delightful change from oatmeal
and prunes and brown calico of the
orphanage.
A week had passed. But one more
was left until Christmas. It was Thurs
day morning and Bessie got up early.
She browned flour for the molasses
cakes so mother could go ahead with
the baking; then she went off to school
in high spirits.
"At noon she was late about getting
home, and Henry was there before her.
Am ehe went in at the gato she buw
him in tho yard. He wus not whistling
as usual and his face . didn't wear Uh
nccuatomed sunny look.
: VHello,'. Henry," she called. "Any
thing.the matter? Your face Is as long
as a yardstick.",- 'f.. -
"Matter enough," he. answered.
Yours.'lT geV.long, too, when you .know
what I do: : We're not going to have a
turkey.";- '■'•-■■i- .■"•'" '■--"/. •!;.•' ,'- ; ";■■'•' .""■':;
'Bessie! fairly shrieked: "No turkey?
Why; of course we'll have a * turkey.
Aunt Ellen said she'd send one." -
"Yes, but look here." he said, handing
her a ; small ' yellow paper. "This tells
a. different. story." : V : . ■
Bessie; took ; it and read. There was
no.< mistake. ■ They were not to have a
turkey. It ,was : a telegram, and this
is what, it said: .V. .; ■■.■'■'. ; , ; :•'. ■■...'
"Turkeys all stolen last night. Sorry
I can't send you' one. ' Ellen."
Bessie's face grew blank, for she
couldn't imagine anything more dread
fui:: ;■' .:■■:■■ ■•":••■. y- ■:-■.: -■ ;■■■,■■
"But," she stammered, ."we've got
to have a turkey. We'll buy one." . i.
"How?" asked J Henry. ''Mother's
been sick and there's ; the. doctor bill to
pay. ' Easy enough to say,: but turkeys
cost money. We're .out of it, that's
all.' -Nothing for the' Carpenters but
beefsteak." - ? w .," ; ;*.
.. "But, Henry, It's awful. We've in
vited the children. They will be so
disappointed. I can't bear to think
of it" .
"Yep, I know, but what can we do?' 1
Bessie stood fingering her dress and
digging her heel in tho soft gravel,
trying to think of 'some way out of
the" predicament. Just then Frederick
the Great walked through the yard,
his majestic tail sweeping the ground
as he went. -
Frederick the Great was a thorough
bred cat Uncle Henry had given them
before he went abroad. He was a
magnificent looking fellow, with long,
silky, fur. His father was a full
blooded Angora, while his mother was
the stateliest of > Persian coons," and
Frederick combined the good points of
the two royal breeds. Everybody -in
town knew him, and many, a good offer
for him had been refused by the Cur
penters, who would as coon have
thought of selling one of the family
as their beloved pet.
He came up to where Bessie stood
and rubbed 'his silky body against her
dress, at the same time giving a low
purr, She stooped and patted, |iini, and
as she did so uu ideu came into her
"Henry," ulie - exclaimed, "It's for
charity, and mule wouldn't care." Her
voice broke a little,: but she went on:
".Let's i sell Frederick the Great."
•, Henry_ whirled; around and; looked at
her In astonishment. ,-*'• /'" ' \ '.
v ? "Sell Frederick, our ' beautiful, cat!"
he shouted. "We couldn't do that." .'".' ;"';!
l,"l know ; It '.would be hard to rglve
him up, but . think . of , how/ happy < we
could . make, the children: ; With . the
money he'd bring 1 we could buy enough
feast for all. the the I'Home.' .",.-/
'_'."!': guess we would, especially if we
had an. auction. ,^< Everybody, knows him
and. would .want him, he's sucli ,_■)?. a
beauty. Aren't you,' ; old fellow?"- "he
>aid as he picked' him up arid lovingly
stroked his .glossy^fur. • ; ': . "
They went in and talked it over with
Mrs. Carpenter.' . - v
."The, cat* is yours." she said, f'and
you may do as you '_ like; It would be
a. gracious. act. if you can give him up.
Of course if you: do: the dinner -"must
boat the .orphanage, but perhaps we
can make ,it seem homelike" anyway/
-'■. So itt was settled that Frederick the
Great was, to .go from the Carpenter
home,, that' the- orphans might have a
Christmas dinner.,' ''
They set to work at once to make
ready for- the auction. Henry made
posters, which some of the boys helped
him put up in conspicuous places
about town. , They "were yellow and
could be seen at quite a distance, and
many stopped to . read the queer signs
which told that , on Saturday morning
at 10 o'clock on the school diamond
Frederick the Great would be sold to
the highest bidder.
The placards did. their work and did
it well, the tongues of the school chil
dren aided and news of the benefit' sale
flew like wlldilre.
' Saturday morning brought dozens of
people to the, playground. The. gram
mar ..school was splendidly represented,
while lads from the high school and. a
number of men waited for a chance to
bid, When 10 o'clock came Henry
mounted to the highest scut of . the
bleachers to begin the sale. Frederick
the Great was with him, looking more
regal than ever after his bath .and
brushing, th" pink satin ribbon around
his neck bringing out the dazzling
blackness of hi.s silky fur. A murmur
Hwept over the crowd as the boy held
him up to view, and one man was
heard to .suy to his companion, , '.'Bid
up high."
Henry's voice rang out and a bid of
75 rents was made. Some one raised it.
Higher H went and higher, until U voice
called out "Ten-, dollars." . '„ The amount-,
"grew, steadilyjand .rapidly. ' It 'was; $15
now and' still [the bids piled up." Henry's ;
; voice jwas;gre'ttlng,tlred with;much call
ing,, but :: his: ears '.tingled;: with? excite- 1
ment, ; for.^the , sum >ha/i 7 reached":' s27. v
There was ; a r moment's silence. ■ . No} one I
offered' to :■ go higher, .so Frederick the
Great went to the mayor^ of the town.
•• "Twenly-seven dollars," .'thought
Henry. "That '.will buy .many ; turkeys.", <
3 Christmas day ; came and the dinner"
at the home was fan 'ever .to be.remem-.
"bered ;*event;C- . Nobody in town' had lever
known, $27. to go so^highVin the pur-,
chase , of 'good 'things to eat, and just
how ; ? lt ' was > done could Cbe"- told only
by the 'grocers : and , poultrymen v who
furnished "the provisions.:; There was
turkey, fat and': juicy, and roasted to
a beautiful 'golden' brown; sweet po
tatoes 1 cooked 'by ' Mrs. Carptenter so
that : they .were, fit for, a : , king; pumpkin
pies and cranberry sauce. After all
! was^bought and . paid fpr_. there" was
money enough .left for a. new, 1 , white
apron'for each of 'the glrls.^whlle the
boys were resplendent in' bright new
neckties..: ' :.•.'.■; [,"" ' ,'•■'• ■ y.'.*-> : '■.?:' 'j/'v :
■ A happier lot of children .never* sat
down to a meal than those '3s orphans.
Mrs. Raymond: invited Henry and Bes
sie as guests of the children', and they
not ■ only partook of the . '.feast, but
helped in every^way they could/Henry
'carried the plates around after, they
were served, while. Bessie presided at
the cranberry dish. The school orches
tra played during the dinner,. so that
it seemed like a real party and after
all had finished eating they joined in
singing and -games; in which the Car
penters led.
Evening came all too soon and Hen
ry and Bessie, had to go'home. As they
walked along they talked over the day
an«i the happiness it hud held for the
children., When" they, reached home
they, wont first to 'Frederick' the Great's
empty box. They stood and looked at
it' in silence a moment; then Henry
spoke. .
"I felt at first as if I couldn't give
up Frederick, but it isn't as hard as I
thought it would be."
Bessie shook her head.
"No, I think we'll get to where we
won't miss him so much, but I'm sure
I'll never love another cat as well."
.Henry close*] the box and they went
into the houVe, a little lonely that their
pet was gone, yet with happy hearts
because they had leurned something of
pie 'sweetness *■>( tiucrlflce,