. You must tell your
father from me, Reuben, that he must please to use his new one for the
present, and let you mend up that at your leisure. Will you?"

Reuben flushed--looking up and then down as he said, "Yes, sir,"--and
then very softly, "O Mr. Linden, you needn't have done that!"

"Of course I need not--people never need please themselves, I suppose.
But you know, Reuben, there is a great deal of Santa Glaus work going
on at this time of year, and Miss Faith and I have had some of it put
in our hands. I won't answer for what she'll do with you!--but you must
try and bear it manfully."

Reuben laughed a little--half in sympathy with the bright words and
smile, half as if the spirit of the time had laid hold of him.

"You know, Mr. Linden," said Faith laughing, but appealingly
too,--"that Reuben will get worse handling from you than he will from
me!--so let him have the worst first."

"I'll bring in your basket," was all he said,--and the basket came in
accordingly; Reuben feeling too bewildered to even offer his services.

Faith found herself in a corner. She jumped up and placed herself in
front of the basket so as to hide it. "Wait!"--she said. "Reuben, how
much of a housekeeper are you?"

"I don't know, Miss Faith,--I don't believe I ever was tried."

"Do you know how to make mince pies, for instance?"

But Reuben shook his head, with a low-spoken, "No, Miss Faith,"--a
little as if she were somehow transparent, and he was viewing the
basket behind her.

"Never mind my questions," said Faith, "but tell me. Could you stuff a
turkey, do you think, if you tried?"

"I suppose I could--somehow," Reuben said, colouring and laughing. "I
never tried, Miss Faith."

"Then you couldn't!" said Faith, her laugh rolling round the little
room, as softly as the curls of smoke went up the chimney. "You needn't
think you could! But Reuben, since you can't, don't you think you would
let me do it once for you?"

Reuben's words were not ready in answer. But a bashful look at Faith's
face--and her hands,--one that reminded her of the clam-roasting,--was
followed by a grateful, low-spoken--"I don't think you ought to do
anything for _me_, Miss Faith."

"I have had so much pleasure in it, Reuben, you'll have to forgive
me;"--Faith answered, withdrawing from the basket.

"You must look into that at your leisure, Reuben," Mr. Linden said, as
he watched the play of feeling in the boy's face. "Miss Faith is in no
hurry fo