n his
seat.

"I tol' you it was _rot_," he said. "There isn't any Father Christmas.
It's jus' an' ole tale folks tell you when you're a kid, an' you find
out it's not true. He won't send no supper jus' cause he isn't
anythin'. He's jus' nothin'--jus' an ole tale----"

"Oh, shut _up!_" William turned sharply at the sound of the shrill
voice from the bed within the room. "Let the kid 'ave a bit of
pleasure lookin' forward to it, can't yer? It's little enough she 'as,
anyway."

William arose with dignity.

"All right," he said. "Go'-bye."

He strolled away down the street.

"_Softie!_"

It was a malicious sweet little voice.

"_Swank_!"

William flushed but forbore to turn round.

That evening he met the little girl from next door in the road outside
her house.

"Hello, Joan!"

"Hello, William!"

In these blue eyes there was no malice or mockery. To Joan William was
a god-like hero. His very wickedness partook of the divine.

"Would you--would you like to come an' make a snow man in our garden,
William?" she said tentatively.

William knit his brows.

"I dunno," he said ungraciously. "I was jus' kinder thinkin'."

She looked at him silently, hoping that he would deign to tell her his
thoughts, but not daring to ask. Joan held no modern views on the
subject of the equality of the sexes.

"Do you remember that ole tale 'bout Father Christmas, Joan?" he said
at last.

She nodded.

"Well, s'pose you wanted somethin' very bad, an' you believed that ole
tale and sent a bit of paper up the chimney 'bout what you wanted very
bad and then you never got it, you'd feel kind of rotten, wouldn't
you?"

She nodded again.

"I did one time," she said. "I sent a lovely list up the chimney and I
never told anyone about it and I got lots of things for Christmas and
not _one_ of the things I'd written for!"

"Did you feel awful rotten?"

"Yes, I did. Awful."

"I say, Joan," importantly, "I've gotter secret."

"_Do_ tell me, William!" she pleaded.

"Can't. It's a crorse-me-throat secret!"

She was mystified and impressed.

"How _lovely_, William! Is it something you're going to do?"

He considered.

"It might be," he said.

"I'd love to help." She fixed adoring blue eyes upon him.

"Well, I'll see," said the lord of creation. "I say, Joan, you comin'
to my party?"

"Oh, _yes_!"

"Well, there's an awful lot comin'. Johnny Brent an' all that lot. I'm
jolly well not lookin' forward to it, I can