ner is in, Cap'n Cephas, so it suits you."

Captain Cephas took his pipe from his mouth. "You're pretty late
thinkin' about it," said he, "fer day after to-morrow's Christmas."

"That don't make no difference," said Captain Eli. "What things we
want that are not in my house or your house we can easily get either up
at the store or else in the woods."

"In the woods!" exclaimed Captain Cephas. "What in the name of thunder
do you expect to get in the woods for Christmas?"

"A Christmas tree," said Captain Eli. "I thought it might be a nice
thing to have a Christmas tree fer Christmas. Cap'n Holmes has got
one, and Mother Nelson's got another. I guess nearly everybody's got
one. It won't cost anything--I can go and cut it."

Captain Cephas grinned a grin, as if a great leak had been sprung in
the side of a vessel, stretching nearly from stem to stern.

"A Christmas tree!" he exclaimed. "Well, I am blessed! But look here,
Cap'n Eli. You don't know what a Christmas tree's fer. It's fer
children, and not fer grown-ups. Nobody ever does have a Christmas
tree in any house where there ain't no children."

Captain Eli rose and stood with his back to the fire. "I didn't think
of that," he said, "but I guess it's so. And when I come to think of
it, a Christmas isn't much of a Christmas, anyway, without children."

"You never had none," said Captain Cephas, "and you've kept Christmas."

"Yes," replied Captain Eli, reflectively, "we did do it, but there was
always a lackment--Miranda has said so, and I have said so."

"You didn't have no Christmas tree," said Captain Cephas.

"No, we didn't. But I don't think that folks was as much set on
Christmas trees then as they 'pear to be now. I wonder," he continued,
thoughtfully gazing at the ceiling, "if we was to fix up a Christmas
tree--and you and me's got a lot of pretty things that we've picked up
all over the world, that would go miles ahead of anything that could be
bought at the store fer Christmas trees--if we was to fix up a tree
real nice, if we couldn't get some child or other that wasn't likely to
have a tree to come in and look at it, and stay awhile, and make
Christmas more like Christmas. And then, when it went away, it could
take along the things that was hangin' on the tree, and keep 'em fer
its own."

"That wouldn't work," said Captain Cephas. "If you get a child into
this business, you must let it hang up its stockin' before it goes to
bed,