Presently her Cousin Ned gave his knee a slap. “I have it!” he cried. “Why not sell Christmas greens? You can go up and help yourselves from that piece of woods where the fire was. I’m thinking of clearing it up, anyway. There are some nice little pines and cedars in there and a lot of ground-pine. Shouldn’t wonder if there were some holly, too. Yes, I am sure there is.”
Joanne sprang to her feet. “You darling deliverer!” she cried as she dashed over to give him a hug. “Now tell me just how we are to get it,” she went on perching herself on the arm of his chair.
“Can’t some of your Boy Scout friends help you out? You could make up a party to go up there. You girls could gather the ground-pine and holly while the boys cut down the trees. Too bad the canal boats aren’t running, for you could ship the stuff right down on them, but if you have more than the car or cars will hold, perhaps you can get Clover to bring it down in a wagon; he’ll be coming down here, probably. You can tell him why you are getting it, and I’m sure he’ll fall in with the plan. He’s a very good-hearted fellow.”
“Cousin Ned, I do think you are the most wonderful man,” exclaimed Joanne leaning over to give her cousin’s cheek a loving pat. “It is all so perfectly dear and sweet. In the first place it will be heavenly to go up there and get the greens, and it will be the greatest fun to make the wreaths, and we’ll make more money than we could in any other way. Besides it will be team work, which is the nicest of all. I wonder where would be the best place to sell the greens.”
“I’ll be the first customer,” spoke up Dr. Selden. “Count me in for all the wreaths and garlands we shall need.”
“Oh, Grad, you dear!” Joanne left her perch to take a similar one by her grandfather and to give him a little peck of a kiss on his cheek. “I want a tree, too.”
“You? Aren’t you too big for trees?”
“I don’t mean a baby tree, just a cunning little one for the dinner table.”
“All right; we’ll have it.”
“I’ll hunt up some funny little presents to put on it, and we’ll have them somewhere between turkey and plum pudding.” Again she left her perch to settle down a second time by her Cousin Sue. “It’s so adorable to think we’ll have Christmas in our own home and that you and Cousin Ned will be with us,” she said giving Mrs. Pattison’s hand a squeeze.