hat won't make any
demand on our treasury, so Tom won't mind our adding them to our
Christmas list."

"I dare say we'll think of others before we go much farther. What we
need to do now is to decide on things to make for the Glen Pointers,"
and the talk went off into a discussion which proved to be merely a
selection from what they had learned to do while they were making up
their parcels for the real Christmas Ship. Now, with but a short time
before Christmas, they chose articles that could be made quickly. The
girls also decided on the candies that each should make to fill the
boxes, and they made requisition on the treasury for the materials so
that they could go to work at once upon the lasting kinds. Before the
afternoon was over the attic resumed once more the busy look it had worn
for so many weeks before the sailing of the _Jason_.

"Ethel Blue!" came a call up the attic stairs.

Ethel Blue ran down to see what her aunt wanted, and came back beaming,
two letters in her hand.

"Here's a letter from Mrs. Jackson to Aunt Marian saying that Katharine
may come to us for a fortnight, and another one from Katharine to me
telling how crazy she is to come. Isn't it fine!"

Ethel threw her arm over Ethel Brown's shoulder and pulled her into the
march that was the Mortons' expression of great pleasure: "One, two,
three, back; one, two, three, back," around the attic.

"When is she coming?" asked Roger, who had never seen Katharine and so
was able to endure calmly the prospect of her visit.

"Two days before Christmas--that's Wednesday in the afternoon."

"We'll ask grandmother to let us have the car to go and get her; it's so
much more fun than the train," proposed Ethel Brown.

"Um, glorious."

The attic rang with the Ethels' delight--at which they looked back
afterwards with some wonder.

CHAPTER V

THE GOOD SHIP "JASON"

The Rosemont schools closed for the holidays at noon of the Wednesday
before Christmas, so all the Mortons and Dorothy were free to avail
themselves of Mrs. Emerson's offer of her car to bring Katharine from
Hoboken. It was a pleasant custom of the family to regard any guests as
belonging not to one or another member in particular but to all of them.
All felt a responsibility for the guest's happiness and all shared in
any amusement that he or she might give.

According to this custom, not the Ethels alone went to meet Katharine,
but Helen and Roger and Dorothy, too. Mrs. Morto