will be doing—(a conceited old father, amn’t I?)—well, just remember too that the months soon skip by, and we’ll be back, please God, in a few months, and that Kilbrannan is still ours, and we have only kindly and hospitably lent it to the Harrisons for a while! But there, am I preaching? And to my brave little Nell! Don’t I know she’ll be making herself and others see all the bright bits?" At breakfast Miss Kezia did not allude to her Christmas stocking. She was very amiable, and had had fish cakes added to the porridge. But in the middle of the meal Kate Kearney came into the room, looking seraphic, and carrying jauntily in her mouth a limp white muslin stocking. It was torn, and nothing remained in it now but a little wooden whistle, three or four pink and white sweets, and the china head of a doll. She carried it to Nell, and dropped it at her feet. Miss Kezia flushed a little, and drew down her upper lip. "I did not wish to allude to what I considered a foolish and disrespectful joke, as it is Christmas morning, but you see now what a disgraceful mess that dog must have made. I expect the stairs are strewn with sweets and toys—" "She’d eat the sweets," interposed Sheila Pat. "Please go and pick up the debris!" Joyfully they all rushed from the room, and crawled about the stairs, picking up splinters of wood, wool-stuffing, china legs and arms, but no sweets. Kate Kearney had eaten them. She brought the stocking, with its few little sweets rammed into the toe, and begged them to get them out for her. "Sweets," said Nell, "are bad for you, but ’tis Christmas morning!" After breakfast the chief event for which everyone was waiting was the advent of the postman. Miss Kezia exclaimed surprisedly:— "Surely there can be nothing else coming by post! The postman has been laden for you for this week past!" Before the postman came Ted appeared. He was surrounded in the hall, and a babel of noise enveloped him. Miss Kezia’s eyebrows went up, but she smiled a grim little smile of uncomprehending amiability. Ted was wearing his new tie, and valiantly flaunted the pin with which Sheila Pat had presented him. "Come up to the Stronghold." On the stairs he hung back and turned to Nell. "I say, Nell, I haven’t half thanked all of you—need I?" She laughed out. "You have—heaps and heaps!" He shook his head. She looked at him with a worried little frown. "You’ve no _business_ to be so grateful for silly little things!" He was mute. She laughed again. "Ted, I do think you’re nice!" "Er—awfully good of you—" His face was flushed, his eyebrows up. Nell tucked her hand under his arm. "Escort me up to the Stronghold, Mr. Lancaster." At the door of the Stronghold Denis pounced on him. "Here, what are you up to?" "I say, old man, it’s a gorgeous stocking, but—you might have given me a pair!" "Come and look at everything," Molly besought. "Fripperies and all," laughed Nell. He took out his watch with a hurried gesture.