“I’m so sorry, if you are sorry about it too,” said Kate. “But you see, when mamma thought Harry was coming to live at our house, she fitted up a room on purpose, and bought this furniture to put in it; but now, as he is going to live here, and nobody ever uses that room, and he wouldn’t take the corn, you know, and everybody says he is such a good boy, why papa and mamma said he might have it, and so Frank and I give it to him. Dear me, what a long talk that was!” and Kate dropped half exhausted into one of the chairs.
“Why, I’m ever so much happier than I should be to have it all mine,” said Mrs. Dobson, “and when I saw how pretty your room looked, it made me sorry for Harry, for his chamber upstairs does look dreary enough—only I try to keep it clean for him.”
Just then Mrs. Hallock arrived, with many apologies to Mrs. Dobson for not sending her word before, and said she had come to help arrange the room.
“But it is very cold up there,” said Mrs. Dobson.
“It’ll be such good fun to make a fire on the hearth,” said Kate, and she did enjoy every bit of the labor of making that fire.
Hugo carried up the new furniture, and carried out the old. The bed did look a little bit lost in its new frame, but Mrs. Hallock said that could easily be made all right. They had worked very fast for fear that Harry would get home before it was all done, and Kate was just spreading two fresh, home-made towels on the new towel rack, when in came Frank and Harry.
“Grandma!” said Harry, for she was downstairs, “I’m sure I saw smoke in the front chimney as we came up the lane.”
“I shouldn’t wonder one mite—it’s Christmas, you know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, and let me build the fire before I went?”
Harry opened the door into one of the front rooms; there was no sign of fire on the hearth. His room was just above it; he heard a mysterious tread.