Captain Tutchy was away—he was away about half the time with his ship “The Treasure”—named, he said, after his wife—and Mrs. Tutchy had just received a letter from him saying he could not be home for the Christmas holidays, and so the children must wait for their presents and their party until he came, “and you may expect me, my dear,” the letter ended, “the second day of the New Year.”
And this is why the Tutchy children were mad.
They said nothing until mamma, hearing baby cry, went out of the room. Then they began:
“What will Christmas be without papa?” said Lizzie. “Who’s to laugh, I’d like to know? Papa does most of the laughing.”
“I shan’t, for one!” said Willie.
“Nor I,” said Robbie.
“There won’t be a bit of fun getting up early on Christmas morning,” said Nellie. “No boxes to open, and no stockings to empty!”
“I’ll not hang up my stocking, and I’ll not get up early, either—so there now!” said Annie.
“Why? won’t Santa Claus come at all?” asked Sallie and Maud, in one breath.
“Yes, I s’pose he’ll come,” answered Annie, “but he won’t bring such nice things as he does when papa’s home. He’s a very, very old friend of papa’s.”