“Can't tell you!”
The boy with the cold became the most unpopular child in Stowe Township, and several of his fellows outside in their agony threatened him with personal violence.
“I'll lick you when I ketch you!” shouted children in the rabble rout to the lucky child with the cold.
“I don't care!” said the child inside, “you just ought to see the tree now!”
Lide Lee was aiding the others to festoon the church. Under the maternal direction she was fitting tawdry little wax candles among the branches of the Christmas tree, and tying on Barlow knives for all the little boys, and “Housewives” for all the little girls.
Lide had not seen Ed save once since the spelling-school, and then she met him in the village drug-store by chance. But they wrote to each other, and some progress in this way had been made toward an elopement which was scheduled for the coming Spring. Aunt Ann in the depths of her sagacity, suspected the arrangement, but it gave her no alarm. As for Jim Lee, so fatuous was he that he believed he had ended all ties between his daughter and Ed Church.
While decorations were in progress in the church, Jim Lee suddenly drove up.
“Aunt Ann,” said Jim Lee, after pausing to admire the garish display, “Aunt Ann, I've just got a line from Ludlow, and there's goin' to be a special meetin' of the board of directors of our Ice Company, and I've got to mosey into the city.”
Jim Lee had an air of importance. He liked to appear before Aunt Ann in the attitude of a much-sought-for man of business.
“Pshaw! father, that's too bad!” said Aunt Ann. “Can't you be back by Christmas Eve?”