which we decorated with burnt sugar and red
cinnamon drops.

On the day before Christmas, Jake packed
the things we were sending to the Shimerdas
in his saddle-bags and set off on grandfather's
gray gelding. When he mounted his horse at
the door, I saw that he had a hatchet slung to
his belt, and he gave grandmother a meaning
look which told me he was planning a surprise
for me. That afternoon I watched long and
eagerly from the sitting-room window. At last
I saw a dark spot moving on the west hill,
beside the half-buried cornfield, where the sky
was taking on a coppery flush from the sun
that did not quite break through. I put on my
cap and ran out to meet Jake. When I got to
the pond I could see that he was bringing in a
little cedar tree across his pommel. He used
to help my father cut Christmas trees for me
in Virginia, and he had not forgotten how
much I liked them.

By the time we had placed the cold, fresh-
smelling little tree in a corner of the sitting-
room, it was already Christmas Eve. After
supper we all gathered there, and even grand-
father, reading his paper by the table, looked
up with friendly interest now and then.

[[93]]

p092 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p093w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p094

v?