| PAGE | |
| Choosing the Christmas Tree [(See page 99)] | [Frontispiece] |
| "'He put on one of her new dresses'" | [7] |
| "Pointing to a dilapidated weather-beaten structure almost hidden from view" | [19] |
| "Whereupon he was taken in hand" | [42] |
| "Then began a wild ride" | [52] |
| "A cleaner if not a better boy" | [59] |
| "Joined her family beneath an apple-tree" | [73] |
| "Laughing softly as she rocked" | [90] |
| "The next day Chinky sharpened his hatchet" | [103] |
| "The seven stood in a row" | [107] |
THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER I
HOPE FOR THE MULVANEYS
Sally Brown remembered the Mulvaneys. It was no wonder the child talked of them at first; but, when she had lived in the country two months, her mother and brother Alfred begged her to change the subject.
"Give us a rest," was Alfred's repeated command.
"Really, Sally," her mother remonstrated one morning, "what is the use of thinking of the Mulvaneys all the time? If it did any good I wouldn't say a word, but you only make us uncomfortable without helping them in the least."
"Well, mamma," was the reply, "you see I can't help hoping."