The man looked kindly at the two earnest faces, and at the toys in the little cold hands.
"Of course, I could," he said heartily, "how much of the top will you be wanting?"
"Oh, just a little piece," said Sadie. "We haven't very much to put on it."
"How will you carry it?" asked the man, when he had finished.
"On my sled," said Jimmy, exhibiting with pride a box on runners, made by himself.
"Wait a minute," said the man, after the balls had been carefully stowed away in the bottom on a soft bed of branches, and the tree placed on top. "I have something inside you will like," and going into the house, he reappeared with two bright cornucopias of candy, a nice red apple and an orange.
"Oh, thank you, thank you," cried the children. "What a Christmas Billy will have!"
"Who's Billy?" asked the man.
"He is the baby of our house, his mother rents the back room on the top floor. They're poor, too, and we love Billy."