"Tooked?" said Mrs. Gratz. "I beliefs me not in Santy Claus that way.
I beliefs he is a good old man. For givings I beliefs in Santy Claus,
but for takings I beliefs in toober-chlosis bugs."

"An' th' busted padlock, then?" asked Mrs. Flannery.

"Ach!" exclaimed Mrs. Gratz. "Them reindeers is so frisky, yet. They
have a right to kick up and bust it, mebby."

Mrs. Flannery sighed.

"'T is a grand thing t' have faith, ma'am," she said.

"Y-e-s," said Mrs. Gratz indolently, "that's nice. And it is nice to
have nine hundred dollars more in the bank, ain't it?"


THE END


BY THE SAME AUTHOR


_That Pup_

_The Great American Pie Company_

_Pigs is Pigs_

_Mike Flannery on Duty and Off_