The Imp's Christmas Dinner
Henry from the West should go to a store to have lunch, but he nodded.
"And a tree?" he asked.
Jenny shook her head. "I guess not a tree," she said regretfully. "Miss Murphy doesn't care for a tree."
The Imp disagreed with Miss Murphy and said as much. He was, nevertheless, interested in the great surprise in store for Mr. Henderson and Mr. Scott in the South, and though Jenny's explanations were extremely vague to his mind, he got a vivid picture of Mr. Henderson and "Wicks" running about in an empty store, trying to serve all the customers alone. He had a keen sense of humor, and this amused him greatly. He chuckled to himself as Jenny described their rage and despair, and he asked her what the great Miss Murphy would do then.
"Oh, she'll be all right," said Jenny, "she'll be all right. She knows what she'll do. She's got another place."
The little cash-girl felt very important and chattered all that she had heard, and the Imp listened vaguely, watching the clerks and the people, very interested in what he saw, and really paying atten-
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