uls 213

XIV. William's Christmas Eve 228

CHAPTER I

A BUSY DAY

William awoke and rubbed his eyes. It was Christmas Day--the day to
which he had looked forward with mingled feelings for twelve months.
It was a jolly day, of course--presents and turkey and crackers and
staying up late. On the other hand, there were generally too many
relations about, too much was often expected of one, the curious taste
displayed by people who gave one presents often marred one's pleasure.

He looked round his bedroom expectantly. On the wall, just opposite
his bed, was a large illuminated card hanging by a string from a
nail--"A Busy Day is a Happy Day." That had not been there the day
before. Brightly-coloured roses and forget-me-nots and honeysuckle
twined round all the words. William hastily thought over the three
aunts staying in the house, and put it down to Aunt Lucy. He looked at
it with a doubtful frown. He distrusted the sentiment.

A copy of "Portraits of our Kings and Queens" he put aside as beneath
contempt. "Things a Boy Can Do" was more promising. _Much_ more
promising. After inspecting a penknife, a pocket-compass, and a
pencil-box (which shared the fate of "Portraits of our Kings and
Queens"), William returned to "Things a Boy Can Do." As he turned the
pages, his face lit up.

He leapt lightly out of bed and dressed. Then he began to arrange his
own gifts to his family. For his father he had bought a bottle of
highly-coloured sweets, for his elder brother Robert (aged nineteen)
he had expended a vast sum of money on a copy of "The Pirates of the
Bloody Hand." These gifts had cost him much thought. The knowledge
that his father never touched sweets, and that Robert professed scorn
of pirate stories, had led him to hope that the recipients of his
gifts would make no objection to the unobtrusive theft of them by
their recent donor in the course of the next few days. For his
grown-up sister Ethel he had bought a box of coloured chalks. That
also might come in useful later. Funds now had been running low, but
for his mother he had bought a small cream-jug which, after fierce
bargaining, the man had let him have at half-price because it was
cracked.

Singing "Christians Awake!" at the top of his lusty young voice, he
went along the landing, putting his gifts outside the doors of his
family, and pausing to yell "Happy Christmas" as he did so. From
within he was greeted in each case by muffle