Come with me." He took Gracie's hand again, and led them to a small, detached building, only a few yards distant,--a one-story frame, so prettily designed that it was quite an ornament to the grounds.
The children exclaimed in surprise; for, though it had been there on their former visit to Woodburn, it was so greatly changed that they failed to recognize it.
"It wasn't here before, papa, was it ?" asked Grace.

"I'm sure I didn't see it." "Yes, it was here," he said, as he ushered them in, "but I have had it altered and fitted up expressly for my children's use: you see, it is a little away from the house, so that the noise of saws and hammers will not be likely to prove an annoyance to your mamma and visitors.

See, this is a workroom furnished with fret and scroll saws, and every sort of tool that I know of which would be likely to prove useful to you, Max and Lulu." "Papa, thank you! how good and kind you are to us!" they both exclaimed, glancing about them, then up into his face, with sparkling eyes.
"You must have spent a great deal of money on us, sir," added Max thoughtfully.
"Yes, indeed," chimed in Lulu with a slight look of uneasiness.

"Papa, I do hope you won't have to go without any thing you want, because you've used up so much on these and other things for us." "No, my dears; and if you are only good and obedient, and make the best use of what I have provided, I shall never regret any thing of what I have done for you.
"See here, Gracie." He opened an inner door as he spoke, and showed a playroom as completely fitted up for its intended use as the room they were in.

It was about the same size as the workroom, the two occupying the whole of the small building.
A pretty carpet covered the floor, a few pictures hung on the delicately tinted walls; there were chairs and a sofa of suitable size for the comfort of the intended occupants, and smaller ones on which Gracie's numerous dolls were seated; a cupboard with glass doors showed sets of toy china dishes, and all the accessories for dinner and tea table; there were also a bureau, wash-stand, and table corresponding in size with the rest of the furniture; and the captain, pulling open the drawers of the first named, showed them well stocked with material of various kinds, suitable for making into new garments for the dolls, and with all the necessary implements,--needles, thread, thimbles, scissors, etc.
The two little girls were almost breathless with astonishment and delight.
"Papa!" cried Gracie, "you haven't left one single thing for Santa Claus to bring us on Christmas!" "Haven't I ?" he returned, laughing, and pinching her round, rosy cheek.
"Ah, well wouldn't you as soon have them as presents from your own papa ?" "Oh, yes, papa! I know he's just pretend, and it would be you or some of the folks that love me," she said, laying her cheek against his hand; "but I like to pretend it, 'cause it's such fun." "There are a good many weeks yet to Christmas-time," remarked Lulu; "and perhaps our Santa Claus folks will think up something else for you, Gracie." "Perhaps they may," said the captain, "if she is good: good children are not apt to be forgotten or neglected, and I hope mine are all going to be such." "I'm quite sure we all intend to try hard, papa," Max said, "not hoping to gain more presents by it, but because you've been so good to us already." "Indeed we do!" added his sisters..