women. And
Stewart was not alone in his devotion. A member of the party, a New
Yorker named Adam, was much in love with the girl and indifferent who
knew it. Stewart detested him.

In his despair Stewart wrote to Peter Byrne. It was characteristic of
Peter that, however indifferent people might be in prosperity, they
always turned to him in trouble. Stewart's letter concluded:--

"I have made out a poor case for myself; but I'm in a hole, as you can
see. I would like to chuck everything here and sail for home with these
people who go in January. But, confound it, Byrne, what am I to do with
Marie? And that brings me to what I 've been wanting to say all along,
and haven't had the courage to. Marie likes you and you rather liked
her, didn't you? You could talk her into reason if anybody could. Now
that you know how things are, can't you come up over Sunday? It's asking
a lot, and I know it; but things are pretty bad."

Peter received the letter on the morning of the day before Christmas. He
read it several times and, recalling the look he had seen more than once
in Marie Jedlicka's eyes, he knew that things were very bad, indeed.

But Peter was a man of family in those days, and Christmas is a family
festival not to be lightly ignored. He wired to Stewart that he would
come up as soon as possible after Christmas. Then, because of the look
in Marie's eyes and because he feared for her a sad Christmas, full of
heartaches and God knows what loneliness, he bought her a most hideous
brooch, which he thought admirable in every way and highly ornamental
and which he could not afford at all. This he mailed, with a cheery
greeting, and feeling happier and much poorer made his way homeward.

CHAPTER XV

Christmas-Eve in the saloon of Maria Theresa! Christmas-Eve, with the
great chandelier recklessly ablaze and a pig's head with cranberry eyes
for supper! Christmas-Eve, with a two-foot tree gleaming with candles on
the stand, and beside the stand, in a huge chair, Jimmy!

It had been a busy day for Harmony. In the morning there had been
shopping and marketing, and such a temptation to be reckless, with the
shops full of ecstasies and the old flower women fairly overburdened.
There had been anxieties, too, such as the pig's head, which must be
done a certain way, and Jimmy, who must be left with the Portier's wife
as nurse while all of them went to the hospital. The house revolved
around Jimmy now, Jimmy, who seemed the