Produced by Robert Cicconetti, Melissa Er-Raqabi and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team SANTA CLAUS'S PARTNER BY THOMAS NELSON PAGE ILLUSTRATED BY W. GLACKENS [Illustration] NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1899 _Copyright, 1899, by Charles Scribner's Sons_ TO MY FATHER _who among all the men the writer knew in his youth was the most familiar with books; and who of all the men the writer has ever known has exemplified best the virtue of open-handedness, this little Book is affectionately inscribed by his son_, THE AUTHOR ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS IN COLOR BY W. GLACKENS _Vignette._ _"Guess who it is?" she cried._ _Livingstone had to dodge for his life._ _Half a dozen young bodies flung themselves upon him._ _He took the shopkeeper aside and had a little talk with him._ _The little form snuggled against him closer and closer._ _And James with sparkling eyes rolled back the folding doors._ _Standing in the Christmas evening light in a long avenue under swaying boughs._ SANTA CLAUS'S PARTNER CHAPTER I Berryman Livingstone was a successful man, a very successful man, and as he sat in his cushioned chair in his inner private office (in the best office-building in the city) on a particularly snowy evening in December, he looked it every inch. It spoke in every line of his clean-cut, self-contained face, with its straight, thin nose, closely drawn mouth, strong chin and clear gray eyes; in every movement of his erect, trim, well-groomed figure; in every detail of his faultless attire; in every tone of his assured, assertive, incisive speech. As some one said of him, he always looked as if he had just been ironed. He used to be spoken of as "a man of parts;" now he was spoken of as "a man of wealth--a capitalist." Not that he was as successful as he intended to be; but the way was all clear and shining before him now. It was now simply a matter of time. He could no more help going on to further heights of success than his "gilt-edged" securities, stored in thick parcels in his safe-deposit boxes, could help bearing interest. He contemplated the situation this snowy evening with a deep serenity that brought a transient gleam of light to his somewhat cold face.