ich was grabbed from the bed-post and cuddled into
bed beside him at least two hours before the scheduled time; and by the
postman, who did not make his appearance till midday, thereby greatly
disarranging things.

The day passed very pleasantly: the luncheon at the Jowetts' was
everything a Christmas meal should be, Mrs. M'Cosh surpassed herself
with bakemeats for the tea, the presents gave lively satisfaction, but
_the_ feature of the day was the box that arrived from Pamela and her
brother. It was waiting when the family came back from the Jowetts',
standing in the middle of the little hall with a hammer and a
screw-driver laid on the top by thoughtful Mrs. M'Cosh--a large white
wooden box which thrilled one with its air of containing treasures. Mhor
sank down beside it, hardly able to wait until David had taken off his
coat and was ready to tackle it. Off came the lid, out came the packing
paper on the top, and in Jock and Mhor dived.

It was really a wonderful box. In it there was something for everybody,
including Mrs. M'Cosh and Peter, but Mhor's was the most striking
present. No wonder the box was large. It contained a whole railway--a
train, lines, signal-boxes, a station, even a tunnel.

Mhor was rendered speechless with delight. Jean wished Pamela had been
there to see the lamps lit in his green eyes. Mrs. M'Cosh's beautiful
tea was lost on him: he ate and drank without being aware of it, his
eyes feasting all the time on this great new treasure.

"I wish," he said at last, "that I could do something for the Honourable
and Richard Plantagenet. I only sent her a wee poetry-book. It cost a
shilling. It was Jean's shilling really, for I hadn't anything left, and
I wrote in it, 'Wishing you a pretty New Year.' I forgot about 'happy'
being the word; d'you think she'll mind?"

"I think Pamela will prefer it called 'pretty,'" Jean said. "You are
lucky, aren't you?--and so is Jock with that gorgeous knife."

"It's an explorer's knife," said Jock. "You see, you can do almost
everything with it. If I was wrecked on a desert island I could pretty
nearly build a house with it. Feel the blades--"

"Oh, do be careful. I would put away the presents in the meantime and
get everything ready for the charade. Are you quite sure you know what
you're going to do? You mustn't just stand and giggle."

Jean had asked three guests to come to supper--three lonely women who
otherwise would have spent a solitary evening--and Mrs