"Have you had any Christmas presents yet?"
"No, I can't say that I have, not just yet, but--my goodness!" An idea occurred to me. "A most extraordinary thing; do you know, I was positively forgetting to give you two people your Christmas presents."
Both looked at me, their faces notes of exclamation. Marjorie spoke.
"You can't really have presents for us--not really. I daresay half an hour ago you didn't know we were in the world."
"Can't I? Such an observation simply shows the limitations of your knowledge."
I rose from the table; I left the room. When I returned I had a parcel in either arm.
"Now if those two parcels don't contain the very Christmas presents you want, then all I can say is, I have misjudged your wants entirely and beg to apologise."
You should have seen their countenances! their looks of wonder when inside each parcel was discovered a doll, the very finest and largest article of the kind that could be procured, although I say it. Of course they had been meant for Popham's girls, but more dolls could be bought for them and sent on afterwards. In the meantime those two young women were in a state of almost dangerous agitation.
"Why," cried Marjorie, "mine has black hair and blue eyes!"
"And mine has brown hair and brown eyes!"