ut I'll fetch the tree," said Jim. "I'd like
to do that for the little boy."

"Jim's an awful clever ole cuss," said Field, trusting to work some
benefit by a judicious application of flattery. "It ain't every man
which knows the kind of a tree to chop. Not all trees is
Christmas-trees. But ole Jim is a clever ole duck, you bet."

"Wal," drawled Jim, "I never suspect my own intelligence till a man
begins to tell me I'm a clever old duck. Still, I reckon I ain't
over-likely to cut no cherry-trees over to the Pinyon hills."

"The celebration's comin' to a head in bully style, that's the main
concern," said the teamster. "I s'pose we'd better begin to invite all
the boys?"

"If all of 'em come," suggested a listener, "that one jack-rabbit
settin' up playin' turkey will look awful sick."

"I'd hate to git left on the gravy," added the carpenter--"if there's
goin' to be any gravy."

"Aw, we'll have buckets of grub," said the smith. "We'll ask 'em all
to 'please bring refreshments,' same as they do in families where they
never git a good square meal except at surprise-parties and birthday
blow-outs. Don't you fear about the feed."

"Well, we ought to git the jig to goin'," suggested Field. "Lots of
the boys needs a good fair warnin' when they're goin' to tackle cookin'
grub for a Christmas dinner. I vote we git out of here and go down
hill and talk the racket up."

This motion was carried at once. The boys filed out with hearty
good-nights, and wended their way down the slope, with the bite of the
frosted air at their ears.

Then Jim, at the very thought of travelling forty miles to fetch a tree
for Christmas gayeties, sat down before his fire to take a rest.

CHAPTER XI

TROUBLES AND DISCOVERIES

For the next ten days the talk of the camp was the coming celebration.
Moreover, man after man was surrounding himself with mystery
impenetrable, as he drew away in his shell, so to speak, to undergo
certain throes of invention and secret manufacture of presents for the
tiny boy at the cabin on the hill. Knowing nods, sly winks, and
jealous guarding of their cleverness marked the big, rough fellows one
by one. And yet some of the most secretive felt a necessity for
consulting Jim as to what was appropriate, what would please little
Skeezucks, and what was worthy to be tied upon the tree.

That each and every individual thus laboring to produce his offering
should be eager to excel his neighbor, an