"Our church always sends a tree over there, but I must say it's a pretty lean tree," commented James. "It has pretty lights and a bag of candy apiece for the kids, and they stand around and sing carols before they're allowed to take a suck of the candy, and that's all there is to it."
"The Young Ladies' Guild has an awfully good time dressing it," testified Margaret.
"So did I winding up Dicky's mechanical toys last Christmas," said Roger rather shamefacedly. "I'm afraid the poor kid didn't get much of a look-in until I got tired of them."
"In view of these revelations, Madam President," began Tom, "I move that whatever we do for the orphans shall be something that they can join in themselves, and not just look at. Anybody got an idea?"
"Our minds have been so full of the Christmas Ship that it has squeezed everything else out, I'm afraid," admitted Della, with a delicate frown drawing her eyebrows.
"Why can't we continue to make the Christmas Ship useful somehow?" inquired Dorothy.
"Meaning?"
"I hardly know. Perhaps we could have our presents for the children in a Christmas Ship instead of on a tree."
"That's good. They'll have one tree anyway; this will be a novelty, and it can be made pretty."
"Can we get enough stuff to fill a ship?"