s hat in his hand,
looking as if he deserved hanging, but very proud of the kindness they
all showed his girl. Holmes gave him some money for a Christmas gift,
and he took it, eagerly enough. For some unexpressed reason, they
stood a long time in the snow bidding Lois good-bye; and for the same
reason, it may be, she was loath to go, looking at each one earnestly
as she laughed and grew red and pale answering them, kissing Mrs.
Howth's hand when she gave it to her. When the cart did drive away,
she watched them standing there until she was out of sight, and waved
her scrap of a handkerchief; and when the road turned down the hill,
lay down and softly cried to herself.

Now that they were alone they gathered close about the fire, while the
day without grew gray and colder,--Margret in her old place by her
father's knee. Some dim instinct had troubled the old man all day; it
did now: whenever Margret spoke, he listened eagerly, and forgot to
answer sometimes, he was so lost in thought. At last he put his hand
on her head, and whispered, "What ails my little girl?" And then his
little girl sobbed and cried, as she had been ready to do all day, and
kissed his trembling hand, and went and hid on her mother's neck, and
left Stephen to say everything for her. And I think you and I had
better come away.

It was quite dark before they had done talking,--quite dark; the
wood-fire had charred down into a great bed of crimson; the tea stood
till it grew cold, and no one drank it.

The old man got up at last, and Holmes led him to the library, where he
smoked every evening. He held Maggie, as he called her, in his arms a
long time, and wrung Holmes's hand. "God bless you, Stephen!" he
said,--"this is a very happy Christmas-day to me." And yet, sitting
alone, the tears ran over his wrinkled face as he smoked; and when his
pipe went out, he did not know it, but sat motionless. Mrs. Howth,
fairly confounded by the shock, went up-stairs, and stayed there a long
time. When she came down, the old lady's blue eyes were tenderer, if
that were possible, and her face very pale. She went into the library
and asked her husband if she didn't prophesy this two years ago, and he
said she did, and after a while asked her if she remembered the
barbecue-night at Judge Clapp's thirty years ago. She blushed at that,
and then went up and kissed him. She had heard Joel's horse clattering
up to the kitchen-door, so concluded she would go