such
times, Maida noticed that Billy's eyes always "skrinkled up."

They were just putting the finishing touches to the tree when the
window darkened suddenly. Maida looked up in surprise. And then,
"Oh, my papa's come!" she screamed; "my papa's come to my Christmas
tree after all!"

There is so much to tell about the Christmas tree that I don't know
where to begin.

First of all came Laura and Harold. Mrs. Lathrop stopped with them
for a moment to congratulate Mrs. Dore on finding her mother.

"Mrs. Lathrop, permit me to introduce my father, Mr. Westabrook,"
Maida said.

Mrs. Lathrop was very gracious. "The neighborhood have accepted your
daughter as Mrs. Flynn's grandchild, Mr. Westabrook. But I guessed
the truth from the first. I believed, however, that you wished the
matter kept a secret and I have said nothing of it to anybody."

"I thank you, madam," said "Buffalo" Westabrook, bending on her one
of his piercing scrutinies. "How ever the neighborhood accepted her,
they have given her back her health. I can never be too grateful to
them."

Came Rosie next with a, "Oh, Maida, if you could only have seen
Edward when my mother bathed him to-night!" Came Arthur, came the
Doyles, came the Clark twins with Betsy tagging at their heels. Last
of all, to Maida's great delight, came Dr. Pierce.

Nobody was allowed to go into the shop where the tree stood until
the last guest had arrived. But in spite of their impatience they
had a gay half hour of waiting. Billy amused them with all kinds of
games and tricks and jokes, and when he tired, Dr. Pierce, who soon
became a great favorite, took them in hand.

Dr. Pierce sat, most of the evening, holding Betsy in his lap,
listening to her funny baby chatter and roaring at her escapades. He
took a great fancy to the Clark twins and made all manner of fun for
the children by pretending that there was only one of them.
"Goodness; how you do fly about!" he would say ruefully to Dorothy,
"An instant ago you were standing close beside me," or "How can you
be here on the couch," he would say to Mabel, "when there you are as
plain as a pikestaff standing up in the corner?"

"What can you do about that leg, Eli?" Mr. Westabrook asked Dr.
Pierce once when Dicky swung across the room.

"I've been thinking about that," Dr. Pierce answered briskly. "I
guess Granny and Annie will have to let me take Dicky for a while. A
few months in my hospital and he'll be jumping round here like