Sube Cane Part 45

"Ah! Then he cut it himself, did he?"

"Yes, ma'am. He cut it all right! He likes to cut Chris'mus trees. He says most people don't know a good Chris'mus tree when they see one."

"One could scarce say that about him."

This delicate compliment brought forth no response from Sube except a dark scowl, but it terminated Mrs. Hotchkiss-Harger's part of the conversation, and she yielded to her sister's earnest solicitation that she lie down for a while.

Left alone with Nancy for a moment Sube began to look around for his cap. "I gotta be goin' home," he whispered huskily.

"Going home!" cried Nancy. "Why, you just got here! And besides, we haven't put a thing on the tree yet!"

"I know it," muttered Sube, "but my mother tole me I could only stay a couple of minutes--"

"Why, it isn't late at all! What time do you have to go?"

"What time is it now?"

Nancy stepped to the door and looked at the big clock in the hall. "Why, it's only twenty-five minutes after seven!" she announced joyfully.

"I gotta go at ha'-past," said Sube, as he struggled to extricate his cap from his coat-pocket where he had finally located it.

"That's _mean_!" cried Nancy petulantly. "It's just as mean as it can be! Why didn't you come earlier?"

"Well, I did come right after supper--"

"Then what you got to go so soon for?"

"Why--why, my mother's got to go to see a sick lady."

"A sick lady? Who's sick that your mother's got to go and see, I'd like to know?"

"I guess you don't know everybody that's sick!"

"I guess I know everybody that's sick that your mother's got to go and see! Now, who is it?"

"It's Auntie Emma! Yah, you didn't know she was sick at all! Did you?"

"Well, it must have been awful sudden, because I saw her go by just yesterday."

"Sudden! I guess it was sudden. She was sittin' at the supper table jus'

well as you are, and _Bingo!_ she fell right out of her chair onto the floor sick abed!"

Nancy was deeply moved. "Oh, isn't that awful! What made it?"

"Huh?--What made it?--Why, I can't think what they call it. It's an awful funny name."

"Was it heart disease?" ventured Nancy.

"Aw, it was a million times worse'n that!"

Nancy gasped. "She isn't going to die, is she?"

"Well, I dunno," he replied dubiously. "She was still alive when I come away, but--"

"I'm sorry," murmured Nancy. "Awful sorry. I hope--"

"Well, I gotto be goin'. They might need me any minute!"

"I'm so sorry about it. Do you s'pose you'll be able to--to come to my party?"

This was a new phase of the matter that Sube had not considered. "Well, you can't tell," he replied. "It's a funny disease. Doc Richards says she may be dead one minute, or may be well the next."

"Oh, I do hope she'll be well," said Nancy earnestly; and as Sube pa.s.sed out of the door she called after him, "I'm going right in and tell mamma about it."

Sube stopped in his tracks. But the heavy front door had slammed behind him. Oh, well, he'd tell them to-morrow that she was sick one minute, and well the next. That would be easy to fix up. But he was not going to stay round there all the evening and have that big tall woman in black keep asking _him_ questions. Probably she'd forget all about the Christmas tree by to-morrow anyway. And besides, n.o.body would ever suspect his father of hooking a Christmas tree from a cemetery lot.

Evergreen trees were so much alike that n.o.body could tell one from another, for that matter. And dismissing these trivial matters from his mind he paid an unexpected call on his friend Gizzard. He reached home shortly after nine o'clock.

"You oughta see that Chris'mus tree!" he cried as he entered the house.

"It's a pippin! We got it all covered with gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s and nickel-plated shavings and red and green candles, about a million of 'em!"

"When did you do all this?" asked his mother.

"Jus' got through!"

"You did?" she asked incredulously. "Why, I understood Mrs. Guilford to say that you had already left there when she telephoned me over an hour ago."

"Well,--you see--you see, I did leave there, but I jus' went outdoors, and then came right back again."

"But what did you mean by telling her that Auntie Emma was desperately ill and that you had to come home--"

"Did she 'phone you that?" cried Sube eagerly. "Did she honest?"

"Of course she did; and I want to know--"

"Oh, I guess I didn't fool _her_ all right!" he laughed boisterously.

"Oh, no! Guess not!"

"But I want to know what you meant--"

"Why, she said she bet I couldn't fool her, so in a little while, I tole her Auntie Emma was sick and I had to go home, and jus' to fool her I went outdoors and stayed a while; but I didn't know I fooled her so much that she 'phoned--"

"Then what did Nancy mean when she called up and asked for you about half an hour later?"

"Oh, ho!" cried Sube gleefully. "Then I fooled her, too! Did she call me up, honest? You see I was outdoors again and I didn't know it!"

"You must not fool so much, my boy. You'll get the reputation of being very untruthful--"

"_Get_ it!" interjected Mr. Cane. "_Get_ it! If he could get any more of a repu--"