"Luckily I can take care of that," said Santa Claus. "It was partly my fault, I reckon. Gave her a start, naturally--seeing me in this rig. That's why I came out here to try it on. I knew it would look sort of silly to anybody who didn't understand. I'm terrible sorry."
"But why are you dressed up this way?" asked Arden. Terry was just about able to stand and, resting with her head on her chum's shoulder, her face showed she was suffering. Really the ankle was very painful.
"It's easy explained," said the little man, pulling at his luxuriant beard, a thing he never would have dared to do had he been wearing a masquerade whiskers. "My name is Janson Henshot, I live over at Bayley Corners, and I'm superintendent of the Sunday-school there. Up to this year we always had, for the Sunday-school children, the little ones, you know, a Santa Claus with a false beard. The part was played, off and on, by Jake Heller or Sam Bendon.
"But last year one of the little boys gave the beard of Santa Claus a pull when he was handing out the presents, and the beard came off, and it sort of spoiled things. So, when Christmas was talked of this year, somebody said I'd do fine for Santa Claus, as my beard's real and it'll stand a lot of pulling and won't come off!" He demonstrated, laughing.
Even Terry smiled now, for she was listening and had opened her eyes. This, truly, was a comical experience, to find a real Santa Claus in a real wood.
"So I said I'd be Santa Claus," went on Mr. Henshot. "All I needed was the uniform, and my wife made this one. Not bad," and he looked proudly at his red coat and trousers, trimmed with real white rabbit fur, and at his glossy black boots.
"Glad you like it! Well, after I got the uniform and I didn't have to raise any beard, I decided I needed some practice to act right as Santa Claus, me never having played the part before, though I've watched the others. So I put the uniform in my old flivver and came out here in the woods to rehearse, as you might say. This is the second time I've done it. I act like I think the old fellow would act with a lot of happy children around him--sort of skipping and prancing. Am I keeping you too long? I wanted to get it down right before I went out into that Sunday-school crowd. And that's what I was doing--rehearsing--when you saw me. Guess you must have thought it sort of odd."