I understood Mr. Smith, and arose up instantly, not so much as
glancing towards the partly opened folding door.

We were hardly in the dining room before we heard the light
pattering of feet, and low, smothered tittering on the stairway.
Then all was still, and we descended to the parlors again, quite as
much pleased with what had occurred as the little rogues were
themselves.

"I declare! Really, I thought them all sound asleep an hour ago,"
said I, on resuming my work of decorating the Christmas tree, "Who
could have believed them cunning enough for this? It's all Will's
doings. He'll get through the world."

"Aye will he," returned Mr. Smith. "Oh if you could have seen his
face as I saw it, just peering from under the table cloth, his eyes
as bright as stars, and full of merriment and delight."

"Bless his heart! He's a dear little fellow!"

How could I help saying this?

"And the others! You lost half the pleasure of the whole affair by
not seeing them."

"We shall have a frolic with the rogues to-morrow morning. I can see
the triumph on Will's face. I understand now what all their
whisperings meant this afternoon. They were concocting this plan. I
couldn't have believed it of them?"