ded homeward through
the snow. As he reached the old barn the great clock in the library
struck twelve and faintly through the snowy air floated the distant
silvery chimes of the Cotesville bells, clear and sweet, ringing in a
Christmas morning.

Creeping to bed long after the first rooster had crowed Uncle Noah had
sought the kitchen again with the sunrise, his tired eyes opening
jubilantly upon a snapping cold Christmas morning radiant in gold and
white. Downstairs clusters of holly and mistletoe festooned doors and
windows, dotted the old-fashioned hanging lamps with spots of crimson,
and crowned the family portraits with royal diadems, and evergreen
wreaths hung in the windows--all the work of a wrinkled pair of
faithful brown hands toiling while the world slept. In the library a
blazing wood fire leaped and crackled, while in the dining-room the
table was spread for breakfast. Certain long-needed articles of china,
which had mysteriously disappeared from time to time since the autumn,
dotted a tablecloth free from holes (a new one subjected to a severe
laundry process during the night), and the napkins no longer resembled
Ku-Klux masks. A great bowl of purple orchids glowed at Mrs. Fairfax's
plate.

V

Fernlands

V

The Colonel greeted the Christmas festoons of holly in the library with
a stare of astonished approval. A question had risen to his lips, but
the warning look in Uncle Noah's eyes as they rested on Mrs. Fairfax
had checked it. These two had had many financial and domestic secrets
from the dear lady, and the Colonel promptly decided that Uncle Noah
had sold some forgotten relic and had once more made use of his highly
developed faculty for expanding a small sum to incredible elasticity,
and he praised the result accordingly. Mrs. Fairfax, too, brightened
wonderfully, yielding to the Christmas spirit with which the old darky
had contrived to fill the house.

Uncle Noah felt a glow of delight at their outspoken appreciation, and,
bowing elaborately, he ushered his master and mistress in to breakfast.
Here again, as he seated himself, the Colonel was conscious of an
agreeable flood of astonishment. There was quite an air about this
Christmas breakfast. Fixing his keen eyes on the tablecloth and
napkins, he stealthily fingered them with a searching look at the
waiting negro. Fortunately his interest was speedily diverted. He
caught sight of the orchids and the tear-stained fa