"The gentleman had two wee darlings of his own; he knew they were at this very moment tucked away, rosy and warm, in their snowy bed in the nursery, and he wished these tired young folks were as happily placed.
"'Shameful!' said he to himself; 'every one of you ought to have been in bed four hours ago. Something ought to be done—something shall be!'
"Just by the merest chance I went into that very store this afternoon, and what do you think I saw? The tiniest, prettiest little railroad you could imagine."
"A toy railroad?" queried Bert.
"Not at all; a veritable railroad running all around the store, filled with freight, passengers, and—money."
"Oh, aunty, 'upon your word and honor,' honest, now, was it a real true railroad with cars on it?" cried Harry.
"Yes, it is a real, wide-awake, lively, business, working road, as true as I sit here."
"Oh!" chorussed all the little Thorntons, in amazement.
"What made it go?" asked Harry.
"Who were the passengers?" chimed in Nellie.