ThatafternoonthestoreofHamiltonandCompanywasvisitedbyagoodlynumberofSouthHarnissresidents。Thateveningthereweremore。ThenewsthatMary-’GustaLathropwasathomeandwas“tendin’store“forherunclesspreadandwasmuchdiscussed。Themajorityofthosewhocamedidsonotbecausetheycontemplatedpurchasingextensively，butbecausetheywishedtoseewhateffectthefashionablefinishingschoolhadhaduponthegirl。Thegeneralopinionseemedtobethatit“hadn’tchangedheramite。“Thisresult，however，wasconsideredadesirableonebythemajority，butwasbysomecriticized。AmongthecriticswasMrs。RebeccaMullet，whosedaughterIrenealsowasawayatschoolundergoingthefinishingprocess。
　　“Well！“declaredMrs。Mullet，withdecision，assheandherhusbandemergedfromthestoretogether。“Well！IfTHAT’Sasampleofwhattheschoolshegoestodoesforthemthatspendtheirmoneyonit，I’mmightygladwedidn’tsendourRenathere，ain’tyou，Christopher？“
　　Mr。ChrisMullet，whohadreceivedthatveryweekabillforhisdaughter’s“extras，“utteredaferventassent。
　　“Youbetyou！“hesaid。“ItcostsenoughwhereRenais，withoutsendin’hertonomoreexpensiveplace。“
　　Thiswasnotexactlythereplyhiswifehadexpected。
　　“Umph！“shegrunted，impatiently。“Idowishyoucouldgetalongfortwominuteswithoutputtin’onpoormouth。Isupposelikelyyoutelleverybodythatyoucan’taffordanewovercoataccountofRena’sgoin’awaytoschool。You’doughttobeprouderofyourdaughterthanyouareofanovercoat，Ishouldthink。“
　　Mr。Mulletmutteredsomethingtotheeffectthathewasdumsurehewasnotproudofhispresentovercoat。Hiswifeignoredthecomplaint。
　　“Andyou’llbeproudofIrenewhenshecomeshome，“shedeclared。
　　“Shewon’tbelikethatMary-’Gusta，standin’upbehindthecounterandsellin’goods。“
　　“Why，now，Becky，what’sthematterwithherdoin’that？Shealwaysusedtosellgoods，andbehindthatverycounter，too。AndshecertainlycanSELL’em！“withareminiscentchuckle。
　　Mrs。Mulletglaredathim。“Yes，“shedrawled，withsarcasm，“soshecan——tosomefolks。Lookatyou，withallthatChristmasjunkunderyourarm！Youdidn’tneedtobuythatstuffanymore’nyouneededtofly。Whatdidyoubuyitfor？Tellmethat。“
　　Chrisshookhishead。“BlessedifIknow，“headmitted。“Ihadn’tanyideaofbuyin’it，butsheandmegottotalkin’，andshekeptshowin’thethingstome，andIkeptlookin’at’emand——“
　　“Yes，andkeptlookin’ather，too！Don’ttalktoME！There’snofoollikeanoldfool——andanoldmanfoolistheworstofall。“
　　Herhusband，usuallymeekandlong-sufferingunderwifelydiscipline，evincedunwontedspirit。
　　“Well，Itellyouthis，Becky，“hesaid。“Fur’sIcansee，Mary-
　　’Gusta’sallright。She’sasprettyasapicture，tobeginwith；
　　she’sgotmoneyofherowntospend；andshe’sbeenawayamongfolksthathavegotalotmore。Allthemthingstogetherareenoughtospoil’mostanygirl，buttheyhaven’tspoiledher。She’scomehomeherenotamitestuck-up，notflirtynorsillynortop-lofty，butjustassensibleandcapableandcommon-folksyasevershewas，andthat’ssayin’somethin’。IfourRenaturnsouttobethegirlMary-
　　’GustaLathropisIWILLbeproudofher，anddon’tyouforgetit！“
　　WhichterminatedconversationintheMulletfamilyforthatevening。
　　Butifthefew，likeMrs。Mullet，wereinclinedtocriticize，themany，likeherhusband，unitedindeclaringMarytobe“allright。“
　　AndherrearranginganddisplayingoftheChristmasgoodshelpedherandherunclestodisposeofthem。Infact，forthethreedaysbeforeChristmasitbecamenecessarytocallintheservicesofAnnabelasassistantsaleslady。Thestorewascrowded，particularlyintheevenings，andZoethandCaptainShadexperiencedforthefirsttimeinmonthsthesensationofbeingtheheadsofaprosperousbusiness。
　　“Looksgoodtoseesomanyyoungfolksinhere，don’tit，Zoeth？“
　　observedtheCaptain。“Andnotonlygirls，butfellers，too。Don’tknowwhenI’veseensomanyyoungfellersinhere。Who’sthatyoungsquirtMary’-Gusta’swaitin’onnow？Theonewiththewhittled-inbacktohisovercoat。Say，Solomoninallhisglorywasn’tarrayedlikeoneofhim！Mustbesomecityfeller，eh？NobodyIknow。“
　　Zoethlookedathisnieceandhercustomer。
　　“Humph！“hesaid。“Guessyouain’trubbedyourglasseslately，Shadrach。That’sDanHiggins。“
　　Mr。Higginsitwas，homeforafewdays’relaxationfromthefatiguesofcoffinselling，andgarbedasusualincityclothesthesplendorofwhich，asCaptainShadsaidafterwards，“wouldhavegivenablindmaneyestrain。“Daniel’sarmswerefilledwithpurchasesandheandMarywerestandingbesidethetablewherethetoysandgamesweredisplayed。Marywasgazingatthetoys；Mr。
　　Higginswas——not。
　　Thepartnersregardedthepairforamoment。Shadrachfrowned。
　　“Humph！“hegrunted。
　　“Daniel’stryin’tofindsomethin’hislittlebrother’lllike，“
　　explainedZoeth。
　　“Yes，“observedtheCaptain，dryly。“Well，helooksasifhe’dfoundsomethin’HElikedprettywell。Here，Mary-’Gusta，I’llfinishwaitin’onDan。YoujustseewhatMrs。Nickersonwants，willyou，please？“
　　ChristmasEveendedtherushofbusinessforHamiltonandCompany。
　　Thefollowingweek，thelastofMary’svacation，wascertaintobedullenough。“Nothin’todobutchangepresentsforfolks，“
　　prophesiedCaptainShad。“Givethemsomethin’theywantandtakebacksomethin’wedon’twant。Thatkindoftradeislikeshovelin’
　　foguphill，moreexercisethanprofit。“
　　Christmaswasahappydayatthewhitehousebytheshore，adayofsurprises。Tobeginwith，therewerethepresentswhichwerebesidetheplatesatbreakfast。Maryhadbroughtgiftsforall，CaptainShadrach，Zoeth，andIsaiah。Therewasnothingexpensive，ofcourse，buteachhadbeenchosentofitthetasteandlikingoftherecipientandtherewasnodoubtthateachchoicewasasuccess。
　　Isaiahproudlydisplayedajacknifewhichwasasmalltoolchest，havingfourblades，acorkscrew，ascrewdriver，achisel，abutton-
　　hookandgoodnessknowswhatelsebesides。
　　“Lookatthat！“crowedIsaiah，exhibitingtheknife，bristlinglikeaporcupine，onhisopenpalm。“Lookatit！Bytime，thereain’tnothin’Ican’tdowiththatknife！EverytimeIlookatitIfindsomethin’new。Now，Iwonderwhatthatis，“pointingtoaparticularlylargeandferocious-lookingimplementwhichprojectedfromthesteeltangle。“Ical’lateI’vesizedupabouteverythingelse，butIcan’tseemtomakeoutwhatthat’sfor。Whatdoyoucal’late’tis，Cap’nShad？“
　　Shadrachlooked。
　　“Why，that’ssimple，“hesaid，gravely。“That’sacrustcrowbar。“
　　“Awhat？“
　　“Acrustcrowbar。Foropenin’oneofthemcast-ironpiessameasyoumadeforuslastweek。Youdrillaholeinthecrustnightheedgeoftheplateandthenputthatthinginandprytheupperdeckloose。Goodidea，Isaiah！I——“
　　“Aw，gotograss！“interruptedtheindignantMr。Chase。“Inoticeyoualwayseatenoughofmypies，decks——yes，andhullandriggin’，too。“
　　ThentherewasTHEgreatsurprise，thatwhichthepartnershadpreparedfortheiridolizedniece。Maryfoundbesideherplateasmall，oblongpackage，wrappedintissuepaperandlabeled，“ToMary-’Gusta，fromUncleShadrachandUncleZoeth，withaMerryChristmas。“Insidethepaperwasapasteboardbox，insidethataleathercase，andinsideTHATahandsomegoldwatchandchain。ThentherewasmuchexcitedexclaiminganddelightedthanksonMary’spart，andexplanationsandbroadgrinsonthatofthegivers。
　　“Butyoushouldn’thavedoneit！Ofcourseyoushouldn’t！“
　　protestedMary。“It’sperfectlylovelyandIwantedawatchmorethananything；butIKNOWthismusthavecostagreatdeal。“
　　“Never，neither，“protestedtheCaptain。“Wegotitwholesale。
　　EdgarEmery’snephewisinthebusinessuptoProvidenceandhepickeditoutforus。Didn’tbegintocostwhatwecal’lated’twould，didit，Zoeth？Whenyoubuythingswholesalethatwayyoucan’mostalwayscal’latetoget’emlowerthanyoucal’lateto。“
　　Marysmiledatthissomewhatinvolvedstatement，butsheshookherhead。
　　“I’msureitcostagreatdealmorethanyoushouldhavespent，“shesaid。
　　“Butyoulikeit，don’tyou？“queriedZoeth，hopefully。
　　“Likeit！Oh，UncleZoeth，don’tyouKNOWIlikeit！Whocouldhelplikingsuchabeautifulthing？“
　　“How’sitshowupalongsidethewatchestheothergirlshaveuptothatBostonschool？“askedShadrach，withill-concealedanxiety。
　　“Wewouldn’twantourgirl’swatchtobeanycheaper’ntheirs，youknow。“
　　TheanswerwasenthusiasticenoughtosatisfyeventheCaptainandMr。Hamilton。
　　“I’msurethereisn’tanothergirlintheschoolwhosewatchmeanstoherwhatthiswillmeantome，“declaredMary。“Ishallkeepitandloveitallmylife。“
　　Thepartnersheavedasighofrelief。WhetherornotthewatchwasfineenoughfortheirMary-’Gustahadbeenasourceofworrimentandmuchdiscussion。AndthenIsaiah，withhiscustomaryknackofsayingthewrongthing，tossedabrickbatintothepuddleofgeneralsatisfaction。
　　“That’sso，“hesaid；“that’sso，Mary-’Gusta。Youcankeepitallyourlife，andwhenyougettobeanoldwomanandmarriedandhavegrandchildrenthenyoucangiveittothem。“
　　CaptainShadrach，whohadtakenuphisnapkinpreparatorytotuckingitunderhischin，turnedinhischairandglaredattheunconscioussteward。
　　“Well，bythejumpin’fire！“heexclaimed，withconviction。“Thefellerissartinlypossessed。He’slovesick，that’swhat’sthematterwithhim。Allhecantalkaboutissomebody’sgettin’
　　married。AreYOUcal’latin’togetmarried，Isaiah？“
　　“Me？Whatkindoffooltalkisthat？“
　　“Who’stheluckywoman？“
　　“Thereain’tnoluckywoman。Don’ttalksoridic’lous！AllIsaidwasthatwhenMary-’Gustawasoldandmarriedandhad——“
　　“Thereyougoagain！Marriedandchildren！Say，diditeverrunacrostyourmindthatyouwasalittlemiteprevious？“