CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11635, 24 April 1901, Page 3

CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

"COLD PARTY." [BY GEORGIA CLAY.]

Keabia- all the boys and girls in town had been invited to Mildred Barton's Christinas party, and, for a small town, there was a very large number of girls and boys. The Bartons lived at The- Cedars—a fine old homestead five miles out in the country, and besides the fan awaiting the guests at the end of their journey there* was the journey itself, a promise of delight. In great waggon?, wrapped. snugly in. furs and shawls, they rolled swiftly over the hardened reads until fairyland burst upon them from the hilltop. " " ' * The Barton clans had assembled for the holidays, and the big house was full of eager young people. Besides Millie and V her brother Archie, there were the Martins, Fred and Florence, and the three Ckesters, Gail, Dick, and Paul cousins, and all throwing themselves enthusiastically into the bustle of preparation, until the long parlours were turned into bowers of loveliness, with their garlands and wreaths of evergreens; and Mrs. Barton's storeroom, pantry, and ice-boxes were filled to overflowing with every sort of refreshment, even to the huge freezers of ice-cream -which the boys had just brought out from town and deposited on the back; verandah for safekeeping. "They're packed to stay, Aunt Fanny," exclaimed Fred; " and the nipping cold outside will harden the cream so that you'll have to saw it off for the guests. I never felt such weather;" and Fred held his numb fingers near the grateful blaze, as the girls made room for ban around the log tire. " I shouldn't wonder if we had snow, mother," added Archie. " Archie's been seeing ghosts all the way out," laughed Dick. ""We brushed against a few flakes; it's too cold for more than a flurry." " But the snow is falling, and pretty, steadily, too," announced Gail, who could see outside from her seat nearest the window. This drew them all from the fire, and they looked anxiously out. '"''".-' Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Barton, "such big, thick Hakes! I fear a great storm." "Why, it would be perfectly lovely," cried Milly, " with the white ground, and the coloured lanterns, and the house ; all lighted up." , "A regular Christmas card," said Flo-' rence. . "It will be such a long, cold ride for the guests to-morrow," said Mrs. Barton. " Just a lark," said Paid comfortably, " I wish I was comiag out with tlie waggonloads ; that would be more fun than sitting round stiff in your best rig. There's nothing in a party but refreshments anyway, and we can't h# eating all the time," he wound up amid a general laugh. Paul was very young. But that night thing 3 began to look a little serious. The wind rose high, tearing madly round the eaves and corners of The Cedars, and sweeping the mow thickly-fall-ing snow in great drifts across the country. In the morning it was still snowing steadily, piling up on the window ledges and against the sides of the house. The whole world seemed changed. The snow had co?ept around the big trees, hiding the trunks, so that the tops looked like stunted snowladen bushes on a vast white sea. "A blizzard!" exclaimed Mr. Barton, as he came to the window where the young people stood, dazzled by the wonder* of it all. "I haven't seen such a thing since I was a boy." " There's no going to town to-day, father," said Archie. "John says he can't get to the stable till he shevels his way." " Then there will be no party to-night, at that rate," declared Mrs. Barton.

"No party!" echoed the girls' in dismay. Somehow in their excitement such a thought had never occurred to them. The boys' faces were studies, but they said nothing. "Don't you see, dear," went on Mrs. Barton, with a hand on Mflly's shoulder, " the snow has blocked lip everything; not a waggon has come out from town, and there seems no prospect of its.holding up to-day. Those heavy, crowded vehicles could never make the trip to-nighteven a sleigh could scarcely travel ''in'such snow—so we'll be cheerful and make the best of it, little daughter, won't we?" —I suppose so," answered Milly, staring out of the window, her eyes dim witii the disappointment. "It may be only postponed for a day or two," said Flo, trying to be encouraging. "And meantime there are seven pretty jolly people out here," put in Dick; "and the refreshments will keep, even to the icecream. That back verandah is a perfect refrigerator." • It reminds me of the North Pole," said Archie, with a shiver, "You'll have to cut your passage to the ice-box, mother, and those freezers are banked halfway up with snow."

"It— might be worse," faltered Milly, as if, to her mind, it was hardly possible. "Think of those poor people in town; they are certainly wore© oil' than we are," said Gail, philosophically. "At least, we have the big house and the party fixings, and, as Dick says, there are so many of us it isn't possible to mope or to be dull." But it was a queer day, nevertheless, with the great white silence outside; while the snow fell unceasingly. Late in the afternoon the boys shovelled a path on the verandah, for the household needed an airing, but could not venture where the snow hail drifted waist high. By night all had recovered their usual spirits,' in spite of the disappointment. It was Christmas Eve, and they kept it in fine style. The girls put on their pretty dresses, and they danced to their hearts' content in the big garlanded parlours. To crown all, there was a giant Christinas tree, with gifts and surprises for everyone; and after consultation it was decided to open one of the big freezers and to distribute sundry small cakes from the general hoard of dainties. _. Christmas Day was even more discouraging—it was sleeting now on top of the snow, and everything was eased in ice. : "Worse and worse," groaned Fred; "the party is off for another day." " And where am I to get my Christmas dinner, I'd like to know?" asked Mrs. Barton, in comical despair. " I depended on my town provisions, and nothing can come out here. > Now, what shall we do? I put it .before the house; it's either starve or—" '■■"■'■; . '-•;■; * "Eat up the party," said Milly, with decision. " Bravo, bravo!" cried Mr. Barton. : "It seems a pity," objected Gail., But Milly ■ was determined. "We must have our Christmas dinner," she said, "and —and I'm afraid there's no chance for the party." •.•■■.'.

"-Now, I propose that yon girls take hold of t;is housekeeping for a while." suggested Mrs. Barton. "It is likely that ivs may be cut off from supplies for several clays,. wit? except a bag of coffee, another of sugar, and another of salt, my cupboard is bare " "But we must help—indeed we must," cried the boys. :■■,:;■■ : -;K -;:V:g': " No," said Mrs. Barton, decidedly : " this. is the girls' mission you are to eat and enjoy without question, as I intend to do." "Girls never calculate," said Dick; "they will run short of provisions, mark my words." i"When we reach that stage we'll call in your help," said Milly, with a laugh. : The tlii-eo girls, , hooded ■: and cloaked, 1 went out on the back verandah to take a survey, and consult as to ways and means. They found everything in fine conditiongreat platters of sliced turkey and ' roast beef and tongue and ham; immense; bowls of chicken salad, frozen hard; a dozen, or move loaves of bread which had been meant for sandwiches, but which Gail declared could easily be freshened up; uncounted fancy rolls and crackers of every kind, and , a small barrel of oysters packed in ice. , Milly unlocked a '-safe where Mrs. Barton had stored her jellies and fancy dishes, huge tins of cakes, and : quantities of fruit; and guarding all this the great ice-cream freezers stood like sentinels. "Is there anything in that • asked Flopointing to another chest at the far end of the verandah. > "No : mother calls •it the reservoir; '•'. we keep our ice supply there- during the winter." "' - . --:\<- * "Well," said Gail, when they had brought a thorough inspection to a close by a visit to the pantry, " I flunk we nan' manage easily with such quantities. Shall we take turns or work together in providing the. meals?" . ' " Together," they cried, "or the boys will draw comparisons." Then they turned their attention to the Christinas dinner, and really / served up a banquet so creditable that they were praised on all sides. ;;:.." Take care," warned Mrs. Barton; "of course Christmas is a lavish time, but you mustn't give us so much to-morrow." "Why, auntie, the things hardly look as if they had bean touched— they, girls?" and Flo triumphantly appealed to her aids, j who staunchly backed her assertion. "I certainly did think so," said MiUy, j when they met again to prepare for supper. I "I suppose it is just my imagination, but j that turkey doesn't seem to fill the platter j as it did before." i "Nonsense," said Flo; "your eye has j grown used to the quantity, that's all'." "I thought I counted twenty-five dough-, .nuts; there are only fifteen here. I must have been mistaken;'". and Gail looked worried. : ':' ■ - " Don't count—measure with your eye— will save a lot of trouble," advised Flo. "Some things may have slid into the bottom of the chest; we'll find them afterward," she added comfortably, and they finished that day, as they did the day before, with a delicious ice-cream treat and another informal dance. "Don't tell me!" cried Fred, as they trooped upstairs that night. " Milly's party in all its glory could never compare with the fun we're having now. Think of the spread every day, and the dance at night, and waking up to another spreadand so on through another day! That's the way to live!" The girls smiled and agreed with him, but they were a little thoughtful the next morning. , Their store certainly was smaller, and they began to be saving. They cut down the supply of cold meats and shaved their bread in transparent slices. The snow was still falling fitfully during the day. There never had been such a. storm. For miles around people were imprisoned in their homes; everywhere provisions had given out, and there was much distress. The Bartons were indeed fortunate in having so much on hand, but the problem was how to keep up the supply for a day or Wo longer. The girls ourbed their healthy appetites to one modest helping at each meal, but the boys ate with full . ardour, ; unmindful of anxious glances cast their way, and always blissfully looking for the morrow's supply. It was simply shocking to see the ravages .in that- apparently bottomless ice-chest. The housekeepers-stared"aghast at the ruin, and looked at one another in stony, despair. "I can't understand it," said Flo. "We had such a Ist to begin with; they'll never be content- with a skimpy breakfast to-mor-row, and I don't know how we'll ever-piece i out the day." It was just at/ critical time that -the weather broke; there was a sudden and general thaw that sent the snow rushing in torrents -tfcy©ug& the country. The girls began to breathe again ; they saw their way clear when the ice dropped off the telephone wires and the inmates of The Cedars were able once more 'to talk with the outer world. Then they let Mrs.' Barton into the private state of their larder, and she shook her head. ■ : ' " You've barely enough for a good lunch; my advice is to feed them well and confess that you cannot provide the dinner; being boys, they may be able t» forage a little in the neighbourhood. It's the last meal, after 8.11, and you did remarkably well, but provisions will be out he*e in the early morning, so there'll be no more trouble." The boys made a hearty meal, and the girls quaked as they saw certain precious morsels disappear. Milly: broke the news. "I'm sorry that even my party has to have an end," she began. "Hold hard, lassie there's still another helping to-night," said Dick, serenely. " No, there's not a crumb; we've ran short."' .- - • .... "As I predicted!" exclaimed Dick, in

triumph. "And what are we to do, pray?" " The best you can," retorted Gail ; ' we've tamed it over to you." . "Humph! I like that!" muttered Fred. " You should have let us down easier," added Archie; "it's too sudden a fall." Paul said nothing whatever he heard nothing, being too busy over the remnants. "Now, see here," said Dick; "we knew how it would be if we cleared out and let you manage; if you want us to forage for this last meal you must promise to fold your hands and look on without comment— we won't be criticised." "Very well," they answered meekly, but they watched slyly for some sign of preparation. Those provoking boys went about as usual, with apparently no household cares upon their shoulders An hour before dinner they disappeared no one had seen them leave the house, but all was silent downstairs—a most unusual thing. They assembled promptly that night, the girls in their daintiest, the boys spotless in their best, for! this was to be their last happy evening at The Cedars. When dinner was announced there was a nutter in the family; Archie led the way, raid they stood beside a table fairly groaning with the choicest delicacies, left over from the party! "Wherewhere did you get all this?" cried the girls, in an excited chorus. "Well," said Dick, his eyes twinging., "When we saw how wastefully you • girls were diving into things, we decided to put some aside for a, rainy day." : " But how could you?" cried Milly. "There was no place.", " You - forget; the old ice-chest," put :in Archie. ' "Day by , day we smuggled our store into that old chest, and chuckled as, we watched your pile grow smaller. And oh! you did look so badgered and bothered!" "We might have given in," said Fred, " if we hadn't wanted to make this a memorable occasion—and be?aold the result!" They sat down in high merriment, their only regret being that the morning would end it all. "To think of school and study after this week of delight is more than I can bear," said Flo, pensively, nibbling a last delicious olive. ' " A whole family saved from starvation by not having a party puts me in mind of the baby whose life was saved by not sw?<t"ow» ing a pin," observed Dick. "I don't believe I ever had nuch 3 jolly time," declared Paul ; " even if the party didn't take place, it was fun all through.''— St. Nicholas. : ~