Laurie and Ned had exchanged presents with each other and had received several from home, not the least welcome of which was a check from their father. And they had bought small gifts for George and Bob. Also, though you needn’t tell it around school, Laurie had purchased a most odoriferous and ornate bottle of perfume for Polly! So when, shortly after breakfast, Ned suggested that Laurie take Bob’s present over to him, Laurie evinced entire willingness to perform the errand. That he carried not one gift but two in his pockets was, however, beyond Ned’s knowledge. A cheerful whistling from the back of the house drew Laurie past the front entrance, and he found Bob, attired in any but festal garments, swinging open the bulkhead doors. A pair of old gray trousers and a disreputable brown sweater formed most of his costume. At sight of Laurie he gave a joyful whoop.
“Merry Christmas!” he called. “I was going over to see you in a minute. Thomas is in bed with a cold or something, and I’m furnace-man and general factotle—”
“Factotum, you mean,” laughed Laurie.
“All right! As you fellows say, what do I care? I don’t own it. Now you’re here, you can just give me a hand with this load of junk. Dad says it doesn’t look shipshape for Christmas.” Bob indicated more than a dozen paint-cans, empty, partly empty, or unopened, and a mess of brushes, paddles, and rags that they had set there last evening. “I suppose a lot of these might as well be thrown away, but we’ll dump the whole caboodle down in the cellar for now.”
“All right,” agreed Laurie. “First, though, here’s something that Ned and I thought you might like. It isn’t anything much, you know, Bob; just a—a trinket.”
“For me?” Bob took the little packet, and removed the paper and then the lid, disclosing a pair of silver cuff-links lying in a nest of cotton-wool. As Laurie said, they weren’t much, but they were neat and the jeweler had made a very good job of the three plain block letters, R. D. S., that he had engraved on them. “Gee, they’re corking!” exclaimed Bob, with unmistakable sincerity. “I needed them, too, Nod. I lost one of a pair just the other day, and—”
“I know you did. That’s why we got those.”
“Well, I’m awfully much obliged. They’re great. I’ve got a couple of little things upstairs for you chaps. They aren’t nearly so nice as these, but I’ll get ’em—”
“Wait till we finish this job,” said Laurie. “Grab a handful and come on. Is Thomas very sick?”
“I guess not,” replied Bob, as he followed the other down the steps. “He ate some breakfast, but aunt thought he’d better stay in bed. I had a great time with the furnace this morning. Got up at half-past six and shoveled coal to beat the band!”