"Yes, I know," replied Eleanor thoughtfully, "but I'd have you and Uncle Heath and Aunt Nellie and all of them to give me Christmas gifts."
Her uncle laughed. "Her wounds are too recent for her to be worked upon in any such way, Dora. How much money did you say you had in your purse, Dimple?"
"A silver dollar and two quarters."
Her uncle handed the small purse back to her. "Look again; I'm afraid you don't know how to count."
Eleanor emptied the purse into her lap, and lo! instead of only one dollar there were five. She gave a scream of delight. "Oh, Uncle Heath, how dear you are. Do you truly mean this all for me?"
"What a question. What is in your purse is yours, isn't it? I told you that you didn't know how to count." And this was all the satisfaction she could get from him, although there was no doubt that Uncle Heath had slipped in the extra dollars.
"Now, I can get a doll for Bubbles, for we must find her," she said. "Now I shall have fifty cents instead of fifteen; no, I shall have more than that." She fingered the money absently. "Aunt Dora," she said after a pause, "I will get something for Cousin Ellen and all of them. To be sure they were not very nice to me, but I said hateful things, too, and I'd feel better about it if I were to send them something. I could spend twenty-five cents on each of them, you know, and, even then, I'd have more than I thought I should have for every one else."
Her Aunt Dora smiled. "What did I tell you, Heath? Well, dear, I think that will be a very good plan, and I am sure that we can find some very pretty little gifts to-morrow, perhaps for even less than twenty-five cents. Now, I tell you what I should do: I should spend the most, as you ought to do, upon your father and mother, and then get Bubbles her doll. After that we can spend the rest of the money upon the remaining persons."
This suited Eleanor exactly, and she said so. But just at this moment came a ring at the door and a telegram was handed to Mr. Dallas. He read it and looked up brightly at Eleanor. "Bubbles is found," he said; "she is at the hospital from which I have just received this telegram. I left word at each one of them that I was to be informed if a child of her description should come in. It seems she is not in a very bad state, but has a broken arm."
"Oh," Eleanor clasped her hands, "dear Uncle Heath, can we go get her right away?"