CHAPTER XXVII
A Crowded Day
MABEL rose very early indeed on Christmas morning to explore herbulging stocking and to open her packages; but Mr. Black and Mrs. Cranewere even earlier, and they were delighted to find that the weatherhad remained mild. Putting on their outside wraps and warm overshoes,the worthy couple went with good-natured Martin and Maggie, the nimblenursery maid, to the garden as soon as it was light. They strung thetall tree from top to bottom with tinsel and glittering Christmas-treeornaments, the finest that money could buy. Martin and the maid,perched on tall step-ladders, worked enthusiastically. Mr. Black andMrs. Crane handed up the decorations. The cook, watching them from thebasement window, grinned broadly at the sight.
"Sure," said she, "'tis a lot of children they are; but 'twould do noharrum if all the wurruld was loike 'em."
By church time the towering tree was in readiness except for a few ofthe more precious gifts, to be added later.
"I hope," said Mrs. Crane, with a lingering, backward glance, whenthere was no further excuse for remaining outdoors, "that the air willbe as quiet to-night as it is now. It would be dreadful if we couldn'tlight the candles."
"We'll have to trust to luck," returned Mr. Black, "but I'm quite surethat luck will be with us."
Of course the girls enjoyed their stockings at home, their giftsthat arrived by mail and express from out-of-town relatives and thebountiful dinners at the home tables. But the Black-Crane tree to whichHenrietta, likewise, had been invited, was something entirely new andso proved particularly enjoyable; if not, indeed, the crowning eventof the day. Martin had cleared away the snow and had laid boards andeven a carpet for them to stand on, and there were chairs and extrawraps, only the girls were too excited to use them. But Mrs. Craneand placid Rosa Marie sat enveloped in steamer rugs while the otherscapered about the brilliantly lighted tree, constantly discovering newbeauties.
"I declare," sighed Mrs. Crane, happily, "you're the youngest of thelot, Peter."
"Well," returned Mr. Black, "why not? It's the first real ChristmasI've had for forty years--but let's have another Christmas dinner onNew Year's Day; I was disappointed when all these young folks said,'No, thank you,' to our invitation to dinner. Just remember, girls,we expect to see you all here the first of January or there'll betrouble--I'll see that it lasts all the year, too."
"Peter Black," warned Mrs. Crane, "that step-ladder's prancing on oneleg. If you go over that bluff you won't stop till you land in thelake. Let Martin do all the circus acts."
"I've got it, now," said Mr. Black, coming down safely with the smallparcel that had dangled so long just above his reach. "Here's somethingfor Henrietta Bedford, with the tree's compliments."
"How nice of you to remember me," cried Henrietta, opening the parcel."And what a dear little pin--just what I needed. Thank you very muchindeed."
Of all their gifts, however, the Cottagers liked their lovely littlewatches the best. They had expected no such magnificent gifts from Mr.Black, and their own people had, of course, considered them much tooyoung to be trusted with watches.
"Dear me," said Mabel, strutting about with her timepiece pinned to herblouse, "I feel too grown-upedy for words. I never expected this momentto come."
"I've _always_ wanted a watch," breathed Jean, "but I certainlysupposed I'd have to wait until I'd graduated from high-school--folksalmost always get them then."
"And I," beamed Marjory, "never expected a _pretty_, really trulygirl's watch, because--worse luck--I'm to get Aunty Jane's awful watchwhen she dies. Of course I don't want her to die a minute before hertime, but getting even _that_ watch seemed sort of hopeless because allAunty Jane's ancestors that weren't killed by accident lived to enjoytheir nineties. But that doesn't prevent Aunty Jane's promising me thatclumsy old turnip whenever she's particularly pleased with me."
Bettie was too delighted for speech. But her big brown eyes spokeeloquently for her.
Rosa Marie accepted the unusual tree, all her Teddy bears, her dollsand other gifts, very much as a matter of course. Nothing it appearedwas ever sufficiently surprising to astonish calm little Rosa Marie.
"Perhaps," offered Bettie, "she's awfully surprised inside."
"I know _I_ am," laughed Mabel. "Inside and out, too."
Then, just as Mrs. Crane had decided that Rosa Marie had been outdoorslong enough, the Slater carriage arrived for the girls. Mr. Black,beaming at the success of his Christmas party, packed them with alltheir belongings into the vehicle and they rolled happily away.
They stopped at their own homes just long enough to drop most of thegifts they had garnered from the Black-Crane tree; and then Henriettawhisked her friends to the Slater home, where Mrs. Slater entertainedthem for two hours over a delightful, genuinely English Christmassupper.
Henrietta's tree, too, was a very handsome one. A realistic Santa Clauswho seemed as English as the supper, since he dropped the letter H justas Simmons always did, distributed the gifts. When the Cottagers openedodd, foreign-looking parcels and found that Henrietta had given eachgirl a set of three beautiful Oriental boxes with jewelled tops, theirdelight knew no bounds. They had expected nothing so fine.
"You see," explained Henrietta, "I told Father, months ago, to sendme a lot of little things to give away for Christmas and of course hebought boxes. I believe he buys every one he sees."
"They're darlings," declared Jean, dreamily. "They take you away tofar-off places where things smell old and--and magnificent."
"It's the grown-upness of my presents that I like," explainedeleven-year-old Mabel, with a big sigh of satisfaction. "It's lovely tohave people treat you as if you were somebody."
"You see," laughed Marjory, "it's only two years ago that anabsent-minded aunt of Mr. Bennett's sent Mabel a rattle, and the poorchild can't forget it."
"Miss 'Enrietta," inquired Santa Claus, anxiously, when the Slatertree, too, had been stripped of all but its decorations, "might Hi behexcused now? Hi'm due at a Christmas ball and Hi'm hawfully afridethese togs is meltin' me 'igh collar."
"Yes," laughed Henrietta, "you've done nobly and I hope you'll have alovely time at the party."
It was half-past ten before the Cottagers got to bed that night--a longday because they had risen so early.
"But," breathed Bettie, happily, "when days are as nice as this I like'em long."
"It's nice to have friends," said Jean.
"I wish," sighed Mabel, "they'd make some kind of a watch that had tobe wound every hour; it seems awfully hard to wait until morning."
When Mrs. Bennett looked in that night to see if Mabel had rememberedto take off her best hair ribbon, she found a doll on each side of theblissful slumberer, a watch pinned to her nightdress, a jeweled boxclasped loosely in each relaxed hand and at least half a bushel ofother treasures under the uncomfortable pillow. As Mrs. Bennett gentlyremoved all these articles and straightened the bed-clothes Mabelmurmured in her sleep, "Merry Christmas, girls."