"Yes," she said, "and he was very kind and--" Tom fumbled his tickets
all the while, and broke in abruptly.

"I didn't know as you'd like it, but it made him sick not to do it, and
so the thing went. Glad it didn't make you mad," he ended suddenly.

"He meant it all right, I'm sure," said Jasper, seeing that Polly
couldn't speak.

"Didn't he though!" exclaimed Tom.

"And it didn't come till the day we left Heidelberg," said Polly,
finding her tongue, and speaking rapidly to explain the delay; "that
was a week ago."

"Whew!" whistled Tom; "oh, beg pardon!" for several people turned
around and stared; so he ducked his head, and was mostly lost to view
for a breathing space. When he thought they had forgotten him, he
bobbed it up. "Why, Grandfather picked it out--had a bushel of things
sent up from London to choose from, you know, weeks and weeks ago, as
soon as he got up to London. That's no end queer."

"No," said Polly, "it didn't come till then. And I wrote to your
grandfather the next morning and thanked him."

"Now you did!" exclaimed Tom, in huge delight, and slapping his knee
with one long hand. "That's no end good of you." He couldn't conceal
how glad he was, and grinned all over his face.