“We filled the little stockings hanging on the
mantel. Then they helped me to put on my beard
an’ the greatcoat an’ cap an’ the
pack over all, an’ Mrs. Bill an’ I went
out-of-doors. We stood still an’ listened
for a moment. Two baby voices were calling out
of an upper window: ‘Santa Claus, please
come, Santa Claus!’ Then we heard the window
close an’ the chatter above stairs, but we stood
still. Mrs. Bill seemed to be laughing, but I
observed that her handkerchief had the centre of the
stage in this little comedy.
“In half a minute I stole down the road an’
picked up the bells that lay beside it, an’
came prancin’ to the door with a great jingle,
an’ in I went an’ took my stand by the
Christmas tree. We could hear the hurry of small
feet, an’ eager, half-hushed voices in the hall
overhead. Then down the stairway came my slender
battalion in the last scene of the siege. Their
eyes were wide with wonder, their feet slow with fear.
The little captain of three years ran straight to
Mrs. Bill an’ lay hold of her gown, an’
partly hid himself in its folds, an’ stood peekin’
out at me. It was a masterful bit of strategy.
I wonder how he could have done it so well.
She raised him in her arms an’ held him close.
A great music-box in a corner began to play:
“’O tannenbaum! O tannenbaum!
wie grun sind deine blaetter!’
[Illustration: Their eyes were wide with wonder.]
“Then with laughter an’ merry jests we
emptied the pack, an’ gathered from the tree
whose fruit has fed the starving human heart for more
than a thousand years, an’ how it filled those
friends o’ mine!
“Well, it was the night of my life, an’
when I turned to go, its climax fell upon me.
Mrs. Bill kneeled at my feet, an’ said with
tears in her eyes, an’ her lips an’ voice
trembling:
“’O Santa Claus! you have given me many
things, but I beg for more—five more.’
“The city had fallen. Its queen was on
her knees. The victorious army was swarming
into the open gate of her arms. The hosts of
doubt an’ fear were fleeing.
“I refuse to tell you all that happened in the
next minute or two. A witness has some rights
when testifyin’ against his own manhood.
“I helped the woman to her feet, an’ said:
“’They are yours. I shall be happy
enough, and, anyhow, I do not think I shall need them
now.’
“An’ so I left them as happy as human
beings have any right to be. At last they had
caught up with Lizzie, an’ I, too, was in a fair
way to overtake her.
“An’ how fared Dan in his pursuit of that
remarkable maiden? Why, that very night Lizzie
an’ Dan had been shakin’ the tree o’
love, an’ I guess the fruit on it was fairly
ripe an’ meller. Next day they came up
to my house together.
“Dan couldn’t hold his happiness, an’
slopped over as soon as he was inside the door.
“‘Mr. Potter,’ says he, with more
than Christmas merriment, ’we’re going
to be married next month.’
