HOW DICKIE SAVED CHRISTMAS.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 15, 25 June 1920, Page 12

HOW DICKIE SAVED CHRISTMAS.

By Natalie Joan.

(Ooncluded from Last Week). The car had never gone so fast hefore, and it was so nice not to have someone holding on behind. The lady told him which way to go, and they had soon left the town behind, and were making for the country. There was no one in the way, but, of course, motorists always sound their homs in any case, and I wonder what the country people in bed in their houses thought when they heard a car going by in the middle of the night. I expect they thought it was some doctor who had been called out to see someone who was not welL They climbed a hfgh hill, and there on the top a sorry sight met their eyes. The great chariot was lying on one side ; one reindeer was standing, very much tangled up in the harness, and the other, poor t-hing, was down on its knees. Toys of every kind were ecattered all over the snow, and a little farther on a poor old figure dressed in red was lying face downwards, not moving at all. In a moment Dick saw that this was a very serious case. "It will take some time," he said, and the holly-berry-lady, who eeemed to be a most useful person, said quickly "Then I had better hurry back to the world and make the children sleep one hour later than on apy other morning." "That's a good plan," said Dickie, "a good deal can be done in one extra hour," and as the holly-berry-lady hurried away h© set to work. He found that Father Christmas had a very bad leg, a very bad arm, and a horr-id cut on his head. HoweveT, there were no bones broken, and he was soon busily cutting off pieces of lint and damping it with "Pond's," and bandaging the dear old man, who was very brave, but dreadfully worried about the stockings. "Now see if you can stand up, sir" said Dickie, when he had at last finished the arm and leg. Father Christmas struggled to his feet, and to his delight he found he could walk quite well and use his arm, and when the nice old white head had also been bandaged, he cet to work to collect the hundreds of toys, which, as they had luekily fallen on the snow, were not broken. Dickie now hurried off to the reindeer, and this took longer, for it did not quite understand when Dickie said, "Now let's see if you can walk, old fellow." However, presently it felt better and got up, and after that was the business of untangling -the harness. Dickie had never worked so hard in all his life, but Father Christmas was now able to help, and in a few minutes more he had mounted the chariot and he smiled down and said, "I may be in time after all! Thank you, Dr. Dick." Dickie sprang into his, car, and together they raced along the road in the moonlight, and the chariot flew on when Dickie stopped at his house. Father Christmas stood up and waved his whip, and the holly-berry-lady came running to Dickie and said, "I dropped some more sleepy sand into their eyes. Now I must go and help with the stockings," and she smiled a fairy's smile at him and said "Goodnight. Good-night!" ** Well! Dickie's father- had some very gyand patients, but it was quite sure he had none so grand as this! Why, Father

j Christmas was known always and everywhere. Supposing he liad perished out there on the snow what would the world have said? Dickie crept quickly upstairs and tumbled into bed. Cf c'ourso, his stockings was still hanging limp and thin on the post, but, oh ! Dickie was so tired he almost didn't care. In one minute he was asleep. But when he woke up very late the next morning he knew that everything was all right, after all, for his stocking simply bulged with presents, and there were some hig parcels, too, and on one of them was written : For the boy who saved Christmas."