surprise.

"No. Christmas means nothing to me. I intend to visit my camps. I
should have gone before, as no doubt the men are loafing. I am going
to surprise them. They'll never expect to see me at this season of the
year. The men'll want to take three days off, and I can't allow it.
They always come back unfitted for work after their celebrations.
They'll do nothing of the kind this year if they expect to work for me."

Lois knew only too well how useless it was to try to reason with her
father when he had once made up his mind. She had learned from bitter
experience in the past that the less she said the better it would be.
Nevertheless, her heart was very sad at the change that had come over
her father. Never before had he gone away fit Christmas time, and it
was the one day in the year when he was more pleasant than usual. What
would be the outcome of it all? she wondered.

That very morning as soon as breakfast was over Mr. Sinclair left for
the scenes of his lumbering operations, about fifty miles from the
city. He travelled with a horse and sleigh, and on the second day he
reached Camp Number Two shortly after the men had finished their
mid-day meal and were starting back to their work. No sooner had
Sinclair entered the cabin than his eyes fell upon a man lying in one
of the bunks.

"Hello, Stevens," he called to the foreman, "who is this taking life so
easy, when the rest of us are struggling for our daily bread?"

"Oh, that is Robins, one of our best men," was the reply. "He took
sick this morning, and I would have sent him to the shore at once only
to-morrow will be Christmas Day and I thought he could wait until
to-night when the teams will be going out, and----"

"Going out! Going out, are they?" Sinclair interrupted. "And who gave
orders to quit on Christmas Day, I'd like to know?"

"We always quit on that day, sir," Stevens stammered. "It's been the
custom for years, and I took it for granted----"

"Yes, that's just the trouble. You take too many things for granted.
But I tell you this, Christmas is all nonsense. It breaks up the work,
and the hauling season is none too long at the best. I'll have none of
it. You'll work or quit, and that's the end of it."

"But what about Robins?" questioned the foreman, whose thoughts were
travelling away to a little group of bright faces anxiously awaiting
his home-coming for a jolly Christmas.

"Isn't there any spare team?" Sinclair aske