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“No,” said Captain Eli.”I don’t suppose there’s any child in this village that ain’t goin’ to be provided with a Christmas tree or a Christmas stockin’, or perhaps both–except, now I come to think of it, that little gal that was brought down here with her mother last summer, and has been kept by Mrs. Crumley sence her mother died.”

“And won’t be kept much longer,” said Captain Cephas, “fer I’ve hearn Mrs. Crumley say she couldn’t afford it.”

“That’s so,” said Captain Eli.”If she can’t afford to keep the little gal, she can’t afford to give no Christmas trees nor stockin’s, and so it seems to me, cap’n, that that little gal would be a pretty good child to help us keep Christmas.”

“You’re all the time forgettin’,” said the other, “that nuther of us can keep a child all night.”

Captain Eli seated himself, and looked ponderingly into the fire.”You’re right, cap’n,” said he.”We’d have to ship some woman to take care of her. Of course, it wouldn’t be no use to ask Mrs. Crumley?”

Captain Cephas laughed.”I should say not.”

“And there doesn’t seem to be anybody else,” said his companion.”Can you think of anybody, cap’n?”

“There ain’t anybody to think of,” replied Captain Cephas, “unless it might be Eliza Trimmer. She’s generally ready enough to do anything that turns up. But she wouldn’t be no good–her house is too far away for either you or me to hail her in case a croup came up suddint.”

“That’s so,” said Captain Eli.”She does live a long way off.”

“So that settles the whole business,” said Captain Cephas. “She’s too far away to come if wanted, and nuther of us couldn’t keep no child without somebody to come if they was wanted, and it’s no use to have a Christmas tree without a child. A Christmas without a Christmas tree don’t seem agreeable to you, cap’n, so I guess we’d better get along just the same as we’ve been in the habit of doin’, and eat our Christmas dinner, as we do our other meals in our own houses.”

Captain Eli looked into the fire.”I don’t like to give up things if I can help it. That was always my way. If wind and tide’s ag’in’ me, I can wait till one or the other, or both of them, serve.”

“Yes,” said Captain Cephas, “you was always that kind of a man.”

“That’s so. But it does ‘pear to me as if I’d have to give up this time, though it’s a pity to do it, on account of the little gal, fer she ain’t likely to have any Christmas this year.

She’s a nice little gal, and takes as natural to navigation as if she’d been born at sea. I’ve given her two or three things because she’s so pretty, but there’s nothing she likes so much as a little ship I gave her.”

“Perhaps she was born at sea,” remarked Captain Cephas.

“Perhaps she was,” said the other; “and that makes it the bigger pity.”

For a few moments nothing was said. Then Captain Eli suddenly exclaimed, “I’ll tell you what we might do, cap’n!We might ask Mrs. Trimmer to lend a hand in givin’ the little gal a Christmas. She ain’t got nobody in her house but herself, and I guess she’d be glad enough to help give that little gal a regular Christmas. She could go and get the child, and bring her to your house or to my house, or wherever we’re goin’ to keep Christmas, and–“

“Well,” said Captain Cephas, with an air of scrutinizing inquiry, “what?”

“Well,” replied the other, a little hesitatingly, “so far as I’m concerned,–that is, I don’t mind one way or the other,–she might take her Christmas dinner along with us and the little gal, and then she could fix her stockin’ to be hung up, and help with the Christmas tree, and–“