“He shall come,” said Dick Phelps, “I’ll bring him myself.”
“Do,” said Patty, “and we’ll tie a red ribbon round his neck with a sprig of holly, and I’ll see to it that there’s a present on the tree for him.”
The quartet walked on to the grove, and sat down on the ground under the pine trees.
“I feel very patriotic,” said Patty, who was decorated with several small flags which she had stuck in her hair, and in her belt, “and I think we ought to sing some national anthems.”
So they sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and other patriotic airs, until they were interrupted by Winthrop and Elise who came toward them singing a Christmas carol.
“I asked you to come here,” said Roger aside, to Patty, “because I wanted to see you alone for a minute, and now all these other people have come and spoiled my plan. Come on over to the orchard, will you?”
“Of course I will,” said Patty jumping up, “what is the secret you have to tell me? Some plan for to-night?”
“No,” said Roger, hesitating a little, “that is, yes,—not exactly.”
They had walked away from the others, and Roger took from his pocket a tiny box which he offered to Patty.
“I wanted to give you a little Christmas present,” he said, “as a sort of memento of this jolly day; and I thought maybe you’d wear it to-night.”