d started to melt had frozen up again. The sidewalks were
liked frosted cakes. Long icicles made pretty fringes around the
roofs of the houses. The trees and bushes were glazed by a sheathing
of crystal. The sunlight playing through all this turned the world
into a heap of diamonds.

Mr. Chumpleigh had perked up under the influence of the cold. His
manner had gained in solidity although his gaze was a little glassy.
Hopefully Maida hunted about until she found his nose.

She replaced his old set with some new orange-peel teeth and stuck
his pipe between them. He looked quite himself.

But, alas, the sun came out and melted the whole world. The
sidewalks trickled streams. The icicles dripped away in showers of
diamonds. The trees lost their crystal sheathing.

In the afternoon, Mr. Chumpleigh began to droop. By night his head
was resting disconsolately on his own shoulder. When Maida looked
out the next morning, there was nothing in the corner but a mound of
snow. An old coat lay to one side. Strewn about were a hat, a pair
of gloves, a pipe and a cane.

Mr. Chumpleigh had passed away in the night.

CHAPTER XIII: THE FAIR

SAVE YOUR PENNIES
A CHRISTMAS FAIR
WILL BE HELD IN THIS SHOP
THE SATURDAY BEFORE
CHRISTMAS
DELICIOUS CANDIES MADE BY
MISS ROSIE BRINE
PAPER GOODS DESIGNED AND
EXECUTED BY
MASTER RICHARD DORE
WOOD CARVING DESIGNED AND
EXECUTED BY
MASTER ARTHUR DUNCAN
DON'T MISS IT!

This sign hung in Maida's window for a week. Billy made it. The
lettering was red and gold. In one corner, he painted a picture of a
little boy and girl in their nightgowns peeking up a chimney-place
hung with stockings. In the other corner, the full-moon face of a
Santa Claus popped like a jolly jack-in-the-box from a chimney-top.
A troop of reindeer, dragging a sleigh full of toys, scurried
through the printing. The whole thing was enclosed in a wreath of
holly.

The sign attracted a great deal of attention. Children were always
stopping to admire it and even grown-people paused now and then.
There was such a falling-off of Maida's tra