Besides these were two boxes of tin soldiers, cannon,
tents, swords, a fully equipped lead army, a mechanical fish, and a
small zinc steamboat, suitable for a cruise in a bath-tub.
Carraway looked at the children, and the children looked at Carraway.
"Why," said he, as soon as he could recover his equanimity, "there must
be some mistake."
"No," said Mollie. "We picked 'em out for you ourselves. We thought
you'd need 'em."
Mrs. Carraway turned away to cough slightly.
"Need them?" demanded Carraway with a perplexed frown. "When?"
"Oh--to-morrow," said Tommie.
"What for?" demanded Carraway.
"_Why, to give to us, of course_" said the children in chorus.
* * * * *
"My dear," said Carraway, two hours later, after the children had
retired, "I've been thinking this thing over."
"Yes?" said Mrs. Carraway.
"Yes," said Carraway; "and I've made up my mind that those children of
ours are born geniuses. I don't believe, after all, they could have
selected anything which would be more satisfactorily useful in the
present emergency."
"Well," observed Mrs. Carraway, quietly, "I don't either. I thought so
at the time when they asked my permission to do their shopping at the
International Toy Bazar."
"It's a solar-plexus retort, just the same," said Carraway, as he shook
his head and went to bed. "I think on the 1st of January, if you have no
objections, Mrs.
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