able--but come she would not. I wonder if she couldn't come over now
if we sent after her, last minute?"

Simeon Buck, appearing a few minutes later at the kitchen door to set a
basket inside, was dispatched for Ellen Bourne, the warming oven, and
the coffee-pot, collectively. He took with him Abel Ames, who was
waiting for him without. And it chanced that they knocked at the
Bournes' door just after Ben Helders had driven away with the little
boy, so that the men found the family still in the presence of the
little tree.

"Hello," said Simeon, aghast, "Christmassing away all by yourselves,
I'll be bound, like so many thieves. I rec'lect not seeing your names on
the paper."

"No, I didn't sign," Ellen said. "I voted against it that night at the
town meeting, but I guess nobody heard me."

"Well," said Simeon, "and so here you've got a Christmas of your own
going forward, neat as a kitten's foot--"

"Ain't you coming over to Mary Chavah's?" Abel broke in with a kind of
gentleness. "All of you?"

Ellen smote her hands together.

"I meant to go over later," she said, "and take--" She paused. "I
thought we'd all go over later," she said. "I forgot about it. Why, yes,
I guess we can go now, can't we? All three of us?"

Abel Ames stood looking at the tree. He half guessed that she might have
dressed it for no one who would see it. He looked at Ellen and ventured
what he thought.

"Ellen," he said, "if you ain't going to do anything more with that tree
to-night, why not take some of the things off, and have Matthew set it
on his shoulder, and bring it over to Mary's for the boy that's
coming?"

Ellen hesitated. "Would they like it?" she asked. "Would folks?"

Abel smiled. "I'll take the blame," he said, "and you take the tree."
And seeing Simeon hesitate, "Now let's stop by for Mis' Moran's
coffee-pot," he added. "Hustle up. The Local must be in."

So presently the tree, partly divested of its brightness, was carried
through the streets to the other house--in more than the magic which
attends the carrying in the open road of a tree, a statue, a cart filled
with flowers,--for the tree was like some forbidden thing that still
would be expressed.

"_He_ might not come till Christmas is 'way past," Ellen thought,
following. "She'll leave it standing a few days. We can go down there
and look at it--if he comes."

[Illustration: "THEIR WAY LED EAST BETWEEN HIGH BANKS OF SNOW"]

A little way behind them, Simeon an