"No," returned Santa Claus. "That wouldn't prove anything; but we might try him on it. Shall I send him up?"
"Yes," came the voice from above, much to Jimmieboy's delight, for he was quite curious to see what was going on up on the roof, and who it was that owned the other voice.
In a moment Jimmieboy found himself in Santa Claus's arms, cuddled up to the warm fur coat the dear old gentleman wore, in which position he was carried up through the chimney flue to the roof. Then Jimmieboy peeped out between his half-opened eyelids, and saw, much to his surprise, that instead of there being only one Santa Claus, there were two of them.
"Oh dear!" he said in astonishment; "I didn't know there were two of you."
Both the Santas jumped as if some one had let off a cannon cracker under their very noses.
"Well, I declare!" said the one that had carried Jimmieboy up through the chimney. "We're discovered. Here I've been in this business whole centuries, and I've never been discovered before."
"That's so," assented the other. "We know now how America must have felt when Columbus came sailing in. What'll we do about it?"
"We'll have to take him into partnership, I guess," rejoined the first. "It'll never do in this world not to. Would you like to be one of our concern, Jimmieboy?"
"Oh, indeed I would," said Jimmieboy.