and find it full in the mornin', and then tell it an all-fired lie
about Santa Claus if it asks any questions. Most children think more
of stockin's than they do of trees--so I've heard, at least."

"I've got no objections to stockin's," said Captain Eli. "If it wanted
to hang one up, it could hang one up either here or in my house,
wherever we kept Christmas."

"You couldn't keep a child all night," sardonically remarked Captain
Cephas, "and no more could I. Fer if it was to get up a croup in the
night, it would be as if we was on a lee shore with anchors draggin'
and a gale a-blowin'."

"That's so," said Captain Eli. "You've put it fair. I suppose if we
did keep a child all night, we'd have to have some sort of a woman
within hail in case of a sudden blow."

Captain Cephas sniffed. "What's the good of talkin'?" said he. "There
ain't no child, and there ain't no woman that you could hire to sit all
night on my front step or on your front step, a-waitin' to be piped on
deck in case of croup."

"No," said Captain Eli. "I don't suppose there's any child in this
village that ain't goin' to be provided with a Christmas tree or a
Christmas stockin', or perhaps both--except, now I come to think of it,
that little gal that was brought down here with her mother last summer,
and has been kept by Mrs. Crumley sence her mother died."

"And won't be kept much longer," said Captain Cephas, "fer I've hearn
Mrs. Crumley say she couldn't afford it."

"That's so," said Captain Eli. "If she can't afford to keep the little
gal, she can't afford to give no Christmas trees nor stockin's, and so
it seems to me, cap'n, that that little gal would be a pretty good
child to help us keep Christmas."

"You're all the time forgettin'," said the other, "that nuther of us
can keep a child all night."

Captain Eli seated himself, and looked ponderingly into the fire.
"You're right, cap'n," said he. "We'd have to ship some woman to take
care of her. Of course, it wouldn't be no use to ask Mrs. Crumley?"

Captain Cephas laughed. "I should say not."

"And there doesn't seem to be anybody else," said his companion. "Can
you think of anybody, cap'n?"

"There ain't anybody to think of," replied Captain Cephas, "unless it
might be Eliza Trimmer. She's generally ready enough to do anything
that turns up. But she wouldn't be no good--her house is too far away
for either you or me to hail her in case a croup came up suddint."

"T