ets as they stood about the fire, and
below their short coat-sleeves their wrists showing chapped and red;
while to the little boys and girls had fallen only such odds and ends
of clothing as the older ones could spare. Quickly the doctor got his
party indoors and to work on the Christmas tree. Not one did he tell of
the impending danger, and the Colt's .45 bulging under this man's shoulder
or on that man's hip, and the Winchester in the hollow of an arm here
and there were sights too common in those hills to arouse suspicion in
anybody's mind. The cedar-tree, shorn of its branches at the base and
banked with mosses, towered to the angle of the roof. There were no
desks in the room except the one table once used by the teacher. Long,
crude wooden benches with low backs faced the tree, with an aisle leading
from the door between them. Lap-robes were hung over the windows, and soon
a gorgeous figure of Santa Claus was smiling down from the very tiptop
of the tree. With her flushed face, eager eyes, and golden hair the busy
marquise looked like its patron saint. Ropes of gold and silver tinsel
were swiftly draped around and up and down; enmeshed in these were little
red Santas, gayly colored paper horns filled with candy, colored balls,
white and yellow birds, little colored candles with holders to match, and
other glittering things; while over the whole tree a glistening powder
was sprinkled like a mist of shining snow. Many presents were tied to
the tree, and under it were the rest of the labelled ones in a big pile.
In a semicircle about the base sat the dolls in pink, yellow, and blue,
and looking down the aisle to the door. Packages of candy in colored
Japanese napkins and tied with a narrow red ribbon were in another pile,
with a pyramid of oranges at its foot. And yet there was still another
pile for unexpected children, that the heart of none should be sore. Then
the candles were lighted and the door flung open to the eager waiting
crowd outside. In a moment every seat was silently filled by the women
and children, and the men, stolid but expectant, lined the wall. The like
of that tree no soul of them had ever seen before. Only a few of the older
ones had ever seen a Christmas tree of any kind, and they but one; and
they had lost that in a free-for-all fight. And yet only the eyes of them
showed surprise or pleasure. There was no word--no smile, only unwavering
eyes mesmerically fixed on that wonderful tree.

The y