Amid great pomp
and ceremony, he departed from the home of the many Bingles on a
bright, clear day in December, shortly after banking hours, attended
by his own mother and father.
CHAPTER XVI
ANOTHER CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas was drawing near. The Bingle children, accustomed to
manifold and expensive presents, were in a state of doubt and hope
combined. The older ones realised that while Santa would not pass them
by without a sign, there was every reason to believe that he would not
deliver the things for which they slyly petitioned, the things they
most desired. They had been brought up to receive all that they
expected and the prospect ahead for them was not reassuring from the
viewpoint their intelligence forced them to take. There were secret
lamentations and not a few surly discussions in the absence of Mr.
Bingle.
Melissa took the older boys to task for some of the things they said
about their foster father. Frederick was the chief offender. He knew
that Mr. Bingle's pocket-book was the real Santa Claus, and he wanted
a pair of skates and a hockey outfit.
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