stonishment, after all, said "yes," and smiled encouragingly on the
plan.

"Isn't mammy good?" said Polly, with loving gratitude, as they seated
themselves again.

"Now we're all right," exclaimed Ben, "and I tell you we can make the
tree look perfectly splendid, Polly Pepper!"

"And I'll tell you another thing, Ben," Polly said, "oh! something
elegant! You must get ever so many hickory nuts; and you know those bits
of bright paper I've got in the bureau drawer? Well, we can paste them
on to the nuts and hang 'em on for the balls Jappy tells of."

"Polly," cried Ben, "it'll be such a tree as never was, won't it?"

"Yes; but dear me," cried Polly, springing up, "the children are coming!
Wasn't it good, grandma wanted 'em to come over this afternoon, so's
we could talk! Now hush!" as the door opened to admit the noisy little
troop.

"If you think of any new plan," whispered Ben, behind his hand, while
Mrs. Pepper engaged their attention, "you'll have to come out into the
wood-shed to talk after this."

"I know it," whispered Polly back again; "oh! we've got just heaps of
things to think of, Bensie!"

Such a contriving and racking of brains as Polly and Ben set up after
this! They would bob over at each other, and smile with significant
gesture as a new idea would strike one of them, in the most mysterious
way that, if observed, would drive the others almost wild. And then,
frightened lest in some hilarious moment the secret should pop out,
the two conspirators would betake themselves to the wood-shed as before
agreed on. But Joel, finding this out, followed them one day--or, as
Polly said, tagged--so that was no good.

"Let's go behind the wood-pile," she said to Ben, in desperation; "he
can't hear there, if we whisper real soft."

"Yes, he will," said Ben, who knew Joel's hearing faculties much better.
"We'll have to wait till they're a-bed."

So after that, when nightfall first began to make its appearance, Polly
would hint mildly about bedtime.

"You hustle us so!" said Joel, after he had been sent off to bed for two
or three nights unusually early.

"Oh, Joey, it's good for you to get to bed," said Polly, coaxingly;
"it'll make you grow, you know, real fast."

"Well, I don't grow a-bed," grumbled Joel, who thought something was in
the wind. "You and Ben are going to talk, I know, and wink your eyes, as
soon as we're gone."

"Well, go along, Joe, that's a good boy," said Polly, laughing, "and
you'll