There came a burst of laughter from the dining room and Kit calling to her to hurry up. It appeared that Doris, the tender-hearted, had said pathetically when Mrs. Gorham, the housekeeper, brought in the great roast turkey, “Poor old General Putnam!”
“That isn’t the General,” Billie called from his place. “The General ran away yesterday. First off, he lit up in the apple trees. Then as soon as he saw Ben was high enough, off he flopped and made for the corncrib. Just as he caught up with him there, he chose the wagon sheds and perched on the rafters, and when he’d almost got hold of his tail feathers, if he didn’t try the barn and all his flock after him, mind you. So he thought he’d let him roost till dark, and when he stole in after supper, the old codger had gone, bag and baggage. He’ll come back as soon as he knows our minds aren’t set on wishbones.”
“Then who is this?” asked Kit, quite as if it were some personage who rested in state on the big willow platter.
“That is some unnamed patriot who died for his country’s good,” said the Judge solemnly. “Who says white meat and who says dark?”
“For pity’s sake, child, what are you crying about?” exclaimed Becky after dinner while they were all sitting around the table talking leisurely.
Jack sobbed sleepily, “I—I don’t know.”
“He’s lonely for his own family,” Doris spoke up.
“I ain’t neither,” groaned Jack, “it’s too much mince pie.”
So under Becky’s directions, Billie took him up to his room, and administered “good hot water and soda.”
“Too bad, ’cause he missed seeing all the things taken off the tree,” said Becky, laying aside Jack’s presents for him, a long warm knit muffler from herself, a fine knife from the Judge with a pocket chain on it, a package of Billie’s books that he had had as a child, and ice skates from the Craigs. After much figuring over the balance left from their Christmas money they had gone together on the skates for him, knowing he would have more fun and exercise out of them than anything, and he needed something to bring back the sparkle to his eyes and the color to his cheeks.