| Suddenly a light came on. To Hobo's great surprise he was now looking
at a very old Beardie. He had a long white beard and a twinkle in his eye.
When he spoke it was as soft as the fur that danced over his body as he
laughed,
" Ho, Ho, Ho, you must be that little pup that Santa went to fetch to help save Christmas."  "But who are you?" Hobo asked as he gathered his wits. 'He looks like....' "I" the old one said, "am Santa's old companion MacBeard* . It is fortunate that CLAWS threw you in here. This is one place that I still can enter, as it is the place I normally work. I see you have the magic key." Hobo, in his struggle to free himself from the grasp of CLAWS, had absently grabbed the pouch that the large cat wore around its neck. And now it lay on the floor broken open. Along side lay a golden key that had slipped from its interior. * Note: Macbeard has many names around the world. He is sometimes called McBeard and rumored to be Santa Paws.  ...Turn
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