"Put that on yer neck," said he, proudly.
"Wh-what?" his uncle stammered.
"C'ris'mus present," said the boy, with a serious look.
The Emperor took off his faded crown. He put the ribbon over his head so that the compass dangled on his breast.
"There," said Socky, "that looks a little better."
In a moment, with that prudence which always kept the last bridge between himself and happiness, he added, "You can let me have it nights."
Every night since it fell to his possession he had gone forth into the land of dreams with that compass held firmly in his right hand.
"Here's twenty-five cents," said Sue, holding out the sacred coin which her nurse had given her, and which, on her way into the forest, had been set aside for a sacrifice to the great man of her dreams. At last the two had accepted him, without reserve, as worthy of all honor. They could still wish for more in the way of personal grandeur, supplied in part by the glittering compass, but something in him had satisfied their hearts if not their eyes. He was again their sublime, their wonderful Emperor.
"You better keep it; you're going to buy an album for Aunt Sinthy," the boy warned her.
Her little hand closed half-way on the silver; it wavered and fell in her lap. She seemed to weigh the coin between her thumb and finger. She looked from the man to the woman. Socky saw her dilemma and felt for her.