Thomas Nelson Page

“ Just then Sate began to nose among some little brownish-gray dogs, and so, Tommy called, “Here—come here—come along,” and out walked not only Sate, but six other dogs, and stood in a line just as though they were hitched to a sled, the six finest Eskimo dogs Tommy had ever seen.
“Aren’t they beauties!” said Santa Claus. “I never saw a finer lot; big-boned, broad-backed, husky fellows. They’ll scale an ice-mountain like my reindeer. And if 65 they ever get in sight of a bear!” ”

“ We are apt to overlook those little houses. So you are Tommy Trot?” he said. “Glad to see you,” and he turned and held out his hand to Tommy. “I sent my reindeer to fetch you and I am glad you made that sled, for it is only a sled made for others that can get up here. You see, everything here, except the North Pole, is made for some one else, and that’s the reason we have such a good time up here. If you like, I’ll take you around and show you and Johnny our shops.” This was exactly what Tommy wanted, so he thanked him politely. ”

“ The houses on the roadside did not seem to have any front-walls at all, and everywhere the people within were working like beavers; some sewing, some cutting out, some sawing and hammering, all making something, all laughing or smiling. ”

“ Having packed everything on the sled carefully, with the sealskin coat on top of the pack and the bear’s fur on top of that, and having bid their Eskimo friend good-by, they turned their backs on the North Pole and struck out for home.
They had hardly started, however, when the sound of sleigh-bells reached them, coming from far over the snow, and before they could tell where it was, who should 91 appear, sailing along over the ice-peaks, but Santa Claus himself, in his own sleigh, all packed with Christmas things, his eight reindeer shining in the moonlight and his bells jingling merrily. ”

“ Suddenly the snow around began to move, and 74 out from under the snow appeared first the head of one dog and then of another, until every one—Buster and Muster and Fluster and the rest—had come up and stood shaking himself to get the snow out of his coat. Then Tommy remembered that his father had told him that that was the way the Eskimo dogs often kept themselves warm when they slept, by boring down deep in the snow. Never were two boys more delighted. In a jiffy they had uncovered the sled, eaten breakfast, fed the dogs and hitched them up again, and were once more on their way. ”

“ In fact, no sooner had Johnny gone down than Tommy forgot all about himself and his own safety, and thought only of Johnny and how he could save him. And, oh, how sorry he was that he had let Johnny carry all the ammunition, even though it was heavy! For his gun was empty and Johnny had every cartridge. Tommy was never so scared in all his life. He tried to cry out, but his throat was parched, so he began to say his prayers, and remembering what Santa Claus had said about boys who 84 asked only for themselves, he tried to pray for Johnny. ”

“ The coast was clear and the snow was up to the top of the fences. The moon made it as light as day and never again would there be such a chance. It came to him, too, that on the map all the lines ran together at the North Pole, so that one could hardly miss his way, and if he should, there were Eskimos to guide him. So when Johnny said, “Let’s go and try,” he agreed, 41 for if they once got there, Santa Claus, himself, might bring them back with him. ”

“ Trying is better than crying.”
This was two days before Christmas. And the next afternoon Tommy went again with his father to the coasting-hill to see the boys and once more take a coast with Johnny. But no Johnny was there and no other boy asked Tommy if he wanted a ride. So, they returned home much disappointed, his father telling him more about the Eskimos and the polar bears. But, just as they were turning the corner before reaching the gate which led into their grounds, they came on Johnny struggling along through the snow, under the weight of a big basket full of bundles. ”

“ I wish I had some harness for them.” 66
“Pooh! wishing doesn’t do anything by itself,” said Santa Claus.
“Oh! I tell you. I’ve a lot of string that came off some Christmas things my mother got for some poor people. I put it in my pocket to give it to Johnny to mend his goat-harness with, and I never thought of it when I saw him last night.”
“So,” said Santa Claus. “That’s better. Let’s see it.”
Tommy felt in his pocket, and at first he could not find it. “I’ve lost it,” he said sorrowfully.
“Try again,” said Santa Claus. ”

“ And, above all, stand your ground.”
“Now, if I only had some dogs!” thought Tommy, looking around at a case full of all sorts of animals; ponies and cows; and dogs and cats; some big, some little, and some middle-sized. “I wish those were real dogs.”
“Where’s Sate?” asked Santa Claus.
“Sate can’t pull a sled,” said Tommy. “He’s too little. Besides, he ain’t an Eskimo dog—I mean he isn’t,” he corrected quickly, seeing Santa Claus look at him. “But he’s awful bad after cats.” Just then, to his horror, he saw Sate in the show-case with his eye on a big, white cat. ”

“ They were mostly dressed like grown-up people, but when they turned their faces they all looked young. Tommy was wondering why this was, when Santa Claus said that was because they were “Working for others. They grow young 59 every Christmas. This is Christmas Land and Kindness Town.” They turned another corner and were whisking by a little house, inside of which was some one sewing for dear life on a jacket. Tommy knew the place by the little backyard.
“Stop, stop!” he cried, pointing. “That’s Johnny’s home and that’s Johnny’s mother sewing. She’s laughing. ”

“ They had not gone far, though it seemed to Tommy a long, long way, when the ice in the distance seemed to Tommy to turn to great mountain-like icebergs. “That’s where they are,” said Tommy. “They are always on icebergs in the pictures.” Feeling sure that they 75 must be near them, they tied their dogs to the biggest blocks of ice they could find, and even tied Sate, and taking each his gun and a bag of extra ammunition, they started forward on foot. As Tommy’s ammunition was very heavy, he was glad when Johnny offered to carry it for him. ”

“ When the heavy snow fell just before Christmas he began to be sorry that he had broken up the sled Santa Claus had given him the Christmas before. In fact, Tommy had never wanted a sled so much as he did the afternoon two days before Christmas, when he persuaded his father to take him out again to the coasting hill to see the boys coasting. ”

“ So he and his father went together, Tommy dragging the sled and, while his father waited at the gate, Tommy took the sled and put it in the yard at the little side-door of Johnny’s home. As they were going along, he said, pointing to a small shed-like out-building at the end of the little yard, “That’s the cow-house. He keeps his goats there, too. Don’t you wish Santa Claus would bring his mother a cow? ”

“ A real gun that will shoot. A big one—so big.” Tommy measured with his arms out 19 straight. “Bigger than that. And I tell you what I would do. I would get Johnny and we would hitch his goats to the sled and drive all the way up there and hunt polar bears, and I’d hunt for sealskins, too, so you could give mother a coat. I heard her say she wanted you to give her one. Wouldn’t it be fine if I could get a great big bearskin and a sealskin, too! I wish I had Johnny’s goats!” ”

“ At first they had some little difficulty in making a fire, as their matches, warranted water-proof, had all got damp when Tommy fell into the water—an incident I forgot to mention; but after trying and trying, the tinder caught from the flint and they quickly had a fine fire crackling in a 89 corner of the cave, and here they cooked bear-steak and had the finest dinner they had had since they came into the Arctic Regions. ”