o the extrication of Miss Pierce, now hopelessly involved
in a surge of swarming children, and Jim went on his way. He carried
with him a warm memory of the erect young figure in white, and the thick
twisted braid, set against a background of Christmas green. For Julia
the rest of the afternoon was enchanted; an enchantment subtly flavoured
with the odour of evergreen, and pierced by rapturous voices, and by the
glowing colours of the Christmas tree, and the slapping rain at the
window.

She and Miss Toland sat down, exhausted and well satisfied, at seven
o'clock, to a scrappy little supper in the littered dining-room: one
director had left chocolates, another violets; a child's soiled hair
ribbon, still tied, lay on the floor; the chairs were pushed about at
all angles.

"Give me some more coffee, dear, and open that box of candy," said Miss
Toland luxuriously. "We'll sleep late, and go to high mass at the
Cathedral. Alice always has room in her pew. And then we might go over
to Sausalito and say 'Merry Christmas.' They'll all be scattered; Jim
tells me he and my brother have an operation at twelve, poor wretches!
And I suppose Barbara and little Sally will be off somewhere. Sally
always tries to keep them together for Christmas Eve, but in my opinion
they're all bored by this tree and stocking business. But of course Ned
and his extraordinary wife will be all over the place!"

"I've not been in Sausalito, except once, for eight years," Julia said
reflectively.

"I know you've not. Well, we'll go to-morrow." Miss Toland reached for a
cigarette; yawned as she lighted it. But Julia's heart began to beat
fast in nervous anticipation.

Mrs. Toland received them very graciously the next day, and Julia was at
once made to feel at home in the pretty house, which was littered
charmingly to-day with all sorts of Christmas gifts, and bright with
open fires. Barbara was there, and the crippled Richie, but Sally had
gone to a Christmas concert with her devoted little squire, Keith
Borroughs, and Mrs. Toland presently took Miss Sanna aside for a long,
distressed confidence. Theodora, it seemed, had had a stormy argument
with her father on the subject of her admirer, Robert Carleton, some
days before, and yesterday had left, in defiance of all authority, to
meet him for a walk, and lunch with him. She and her father had not
spoken to each other since, and Ted was keeping her room. Julia met
Ned's wife, a pretentious, complacen