It
had now been discovered that there never was any such
expedition, and the correspondent of the Associated Press
hoped that justice would be done.
The moment Bruce Kuypers read this he was anxious.
Before an hour passed he had determined to cross to the
Pacific train eastward. Before night he was in a
sleeping-car. Day by day as he met Eastern papers, he
searched for news of the investigation. Day by day he
met it, but thanks to his promptness he had arrived in
time. It was pathetic to hear him describe his
anxiety from point to point, and they were all hushed to
silence when he told how glad he was when he found he
should certainly appear on Christmas Day.
After the dinner, another procession, not wholly
unlike the rabble rout of the morning, moved from the
dining-room to the great front parlor, where the tree was
lighted, and parcels of gray and white and brown lay
round on mantel, on piano, on chairs, on tables, and on
the floor.
No; this tale is too long already. We will not tell
what all the presents were to all the ten,--to Venty,
Chloe, Diana, and all of their color. Only let it tell
that all the ten had presents. To Mr. Kuypers's
surprise, and to every one's surprise, indeed, there were
careful presents for him as for the rest, but it must be
confessed that Horace and Laura had spelled Chipah a
little wildly.
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