Christmas At Red Butte
by
“Of course Santa Claus will come,” said Jimmy Martin confidently. Jimmy was ten, and at ten it is easy to be confident. “Why, he’s got to come because it is Christmas Eve, and he always has come. You know that, twins.”
Yes, the twins knew it and, cheered by Jimmy’s superior wisdom, their doubts passed away. There had been one terrible moment when Theodora had sighed and told them they mustn’t be too much disappointed if Santa Claus did not come this year because the crops had been poor, and he mightn’t have had enough presents to go around.
“That doesn’t make any difference to Santa Claus,” scoffed Jimmy. “You know as well as I do, Theodora Prentice, that Santa Claus is rich whether the crops fail or not. They failed three years ago, before Father died, but Santa Claus came all the same. Prob’bly you don’t remember it, twins, ’cause you were too little, but I do. Of course he’ll come, so don’t you worry a mite. And he’ll bring my skates and your dolls. He knows we’re expecting them, Theodora, ’cause we wrote him a letter last week, and threw it up the chimney. And there’ll be candy and nuts, of course, and Mother’s gone to town to buy a turkey. I tell you we’re going to have a ripping Christmas.”
“Well, don’t use such slangy words about it, Jimmy-boy,” sighed Theodora. She couldn’t bear to dampen their hopes any further, and perhaps Aunt Elizabeth might manage it if the colt sold well. But Theodora had her painful doubts, and she sighed again as she looked out of the window far down the trail that wound across the prairie, red-lighted by the declining sun of the short wintry afternoon.
“Do people always sigh like that when they get to be sixteen?” asked Jimmy curiously. “You didn’t sigh like that when you were only fifteen, Theodora. I wish you wouldn’t. It makes me feel funny–and it’s not a nice kind of funniness either.”
“It’s a bad habit I’ve got into lately,” said Theodora, trying to laugh. “Old folks are dull sometimes, you know, Jimmy-boy.”
“Sixteen is awful old, isn’t it?” said Jimmy reflectively. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do when I’m sixteen, Theodora. I’m going to pay off the mortgage, and buy mother a silk dress, and a piano for the twins. Won’t that be elegant? I’ll be able to do that ’cause I’m a man. Of course if I was only a girl I couldn’t.”
“I hope you’ll be a good kind brave man and a real help to your mother,” said Theodora softly, sitting down before the cosy fire and lifting the fat little twins into her lap.
“Oh, I’ll be good to her, never you fear,” assured Jimmy, squatting comfortably down on the little fur rug before the stove–the skin of the coyote his father had killed four years ago. “I believe in being good to your mother when you’ve only got the one. Now tell us a story, Theodora–a real jolly story, you know, with lots of fighting in it. Only please don’t kill anybody. I like to hear about fighting, but I like to have all the people come out alive.”
Theodora laughed, and began a story about the Riel Rebellion of ’85–a story which had the double merit of being true and exciting at the same time. It was quite dark when she finished, and the twins were nodding, but Jimmy’s eyes were wide open and sparkling.
“That was great,” he said, drawing a long breath. “Tell us another.”
“No, it’s bedtime for you all,” said Theodora firmly. “One story at a time is my rule, you know.”
“But I want to sit up till Mother comes home,” objected Jimmy.
“You can’t. She may be very late, for she would have to wait to see Mr. Porter. Besides, you don’t know what time Santa Claus might come–if he comes at all. If he were to drive along and see you children up instead of being sound asleep in bed, he might go right on and never call at all.”