“Just this way,” said Roy. “Let us ask every boy to give something out of his abundance to provide a feast for the old people.”
“Capital idea,” shouted Bracebridge. “I do not believe there is a boy who would refuse.”
“I agree with you,” said Jack.
“But the difficulty is,” remarked Ambrose, “that we can not feast old folk on cake and nuts and candy. I suppose this is about all that comes in those boxes.”
“You mistake,” remarked Roy. “I am sure you will find all sorts of cooked meats—turkeys, chickens, geese, and an unlimited supply of canned meats and delicacies.”
Bracebridge was surprised, but then he had not much experience in college Christmas boxes. He was inclined to be slightly incredulous. This was Ambrose's second year at St. Cuthbert's. As he had spent the previous Christmas at home, owing to the fact that he lived but a few miles from the college, he had not yet seen the college sights of Christmas time.
Had he seen the hundreds of Christmas boxes arrive a few days before the great feast; had he learned that one of the smaller study-halls had to be converted into a temporary boxroom for the holidays; had he seen the contents of an average Christmas-box from home, he would have been possessed by no doubt as to the possibility of the boys, presuming they were willing, to supply the inmates of the home for the aged poor with as bounteous a dinner as heart could desire.
The proposal appealed to the fancy of our friends. They went at once to the President to obtain the necessary permission.
“I give you leave willingly,” said the head of the college, “and I am pleased to see my boys cultivating