CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA. 31

‘‘Squammaney’s eyes again swept the room. Then he bent
forward to push back some coals that had rolled out upon the
floor. a
«Go call the men,’ again whispered my grandmother to

Silas: this time sharply.

 

“¢ Ba-b-b-b-ba!’ His mouth looked like a sheep’s. His
hands again opened, and his eyes fairly protruded. His form
was tall and thin, and he really looked like one of the imaginary
spectres about whom he delighted to tell stories on less perilous
occasions.

“Squammaney heard grandmother’s whisper, and became
suspicious. He rose, his dark form towering in the light of the