She shook out her skirts, straightened her hat, and came forward to meet Philip, who took her into his arms and kissed her repeatedly.  Then he passed her along to Freckles and the Angel to whom her greetings were mingled with scolding and laughter over her wind-blown hair.

“No doubt I’m a precious spectacle!” she said to the Angel.  “I saw your pa a little before I started, and he sent you a note.  It’s in my satchel.  He said he was coming up next week.  What a lot of people there are in this world!  And what on earth are all of them laughing about?  Did none of them ever hear of sickness, or sorrow, or death?  Billy, don’t you go to playing Indian or chasing woodchucks until you get out of those clothes.  I promised Margaret I’d bring back that suit good as new.”

Then the O’More children came crowding to meet Elnora’s mother.

“Merry Christmas!” cried Mrs. Comstock, gathering them in.  “Got everything right here but the tree, and there seems to be plenty of them a little higher up.  If this wind would stiffen just enough more to blow away the people, so one could see this place, I believe it would be right decent looking.”

“See here,” whispered Elnora to Philip.  “You must fix this with Billy.  I can’t have his trip spoiled.”

“Now, here is where I dust the rest of ’em!” complacently remarked Mrs. Comstock, as she climbed into the motor car for her first ride, in company with Philip and Little Brother.  “I have been the one to trudge the roads and hop out of the way of these things for quite a spell.”

She sat very erect as the car rolled into the broad main avenue, where only stray couples were walking.  Her eyes began to twinkle and gleam.  Suddenly she leaned forward and touched the driver on the shoulder.

“Young man,” she said, “just you toot that horn suddenly and shave close enough a few of those people, so that I can see how I look when I leap for ragweed and snake fences.”

The amazed chauffeur glanced questioningly at Philip who slightly nodded.  A second later there was a quick “honk!” and a swerve at a corner.  A man engrossed in conversation grabbed the woman to whom he was talking and dashed for the safety of a lawn.  The woman tripped in her skirts, and as she fell the man caught and dragged her.  Both of them turned red faces to the car and berated the driver.  Mrs. Comstock laughed in unrestrained enjoyment.  Then she touched the chauffeur again.

“That’s enough,” she said.  “It seems a mite risky.”  A minute later she added to Philip, “If only they had been carrying six pounds of butter and ten dozen eggs apiece, wouldn’t that have been just perfect?”