Ben Pepper Part 4

"I'm not going to stay by myself," cried Joel, in the greatest distress, "need I, Polly?" and he flew over to her. "I don't want to stay by myself, I don't."

But Ben answered instead of Polly.

"Hush now, Joel, we're to walk along quietly, else you'll have to go home. And we'll vote now, and all who don't want to get Grandpapa one big, nice present, can just stay out of the plan. Polly and I are going together in it, anyway."

Which was just the same as saying the plan would be carried out. If Polly and Ben were to join in it, all the remainder of the "Five Little Peppers" would consider it the greatest calamity to be left out, so Joel pushed as near to Ben as he could get as the whole group drew off to the curbstone to vote on the question.

"I'm in it,--I'm in it," screamed Joel, making more than one pa.s.ser-by turn the head to look back at the busy little group. "Come on, Dave,"

twitching that individual's jacket to get him into the centre of things.

"He's in it, too, Ben," he added, anxious to have that settled beyond a doubt. "David is."

"Everybody is looking at us," said Polly, whose greatest pride was to have the children appear well, and she looked quite mortified. "O dear me!" and this was only the beginning of the Christmas shopping!

"Now you must just understand, Joe," Ben laid hold of him; "we aren't going to have such carryings on. Look at Polly, how you're making her feel."

All the children now regarded Polly anxiously, Phronsie standing on tiptoe to achieve the best result. "Oh, I won't make her feel," cried Joel, much alarmed, "I won't. Please don't, Polly; I'll be good," he promised. His face worked, and he had hard work not to burst out crying.

"All right, Joey," said Polly, trying to smile, and the little pucker between her eyebrows straightened itself out at once. And she leaned over and set a kiss on the chubby cheek.

"You kissed me on the street!" said Joel, quite astounded. "Why, Polly Pepper, and you said the other--"

"Never mind," broke in Ben, hastily.

"And I couldn't help it," said Polly, happily, yet with a backward glance to see if any one saw it, for Polly deeply loved to be fine on all occasions.

"And if we are going shopping for Christmas presents," said Ben, "we must hurry up. Hush, Joe, don't say a word. Now how many want to put in their money to buy one big, nice present for Grandpapa instead of little bits of ones? Put up your hands."

Joel's hand shot up as high as he could raise it, while he stood on tiptoe, and of course Polly's went up, and so did David's. But Phronsie stood looking down at her money-bag dangling from her arm, while she patted it lovingly and crooned softly to herself.

"She doesn't understand," said Polly, so she got down until she could look into the face within the fur-trimmed bonnet. "Look up, pet; now don't you want to buy Grandpapa a big, big present with all of us?"

"I'm going to buy my dear Grandpapa a present," cried Phronsie, in a happy little voice, and, taking her gaze from the money-bag, "I am, Polly," she declared, dreadfully excited. Then she put her mouth close to Polly's rosy cheek; "I'm going to buy him a cat," she whispered.

"O dear me!" exclaimed Polly, nearly tumbling over backward.

"Yes, I am," said Phronsie, decidedly, "a dear sweet little cat, and Grandpapa will like it, he will."

"Well, now," said Polly, recovering herself, "don't you want to put the rest of your money you were going to spend for Grandpapa's present into something big? We're all going to do that, Phronsie, and give him a nice Christmas present."

"My present will be nice," said Phronsie, gravely.

"Yes, yes, I know," said Polly, quickly, and giving the boys a look that told them to keep away from this conference; "but don't you want to help to buy this big present, too? I would, Phronsie pet, if I were you!"

"I shall give him the cat," said Phronsie, decidedly and bobbing her head.

"Yes, of course. But you can help to buy the other, too," said Polly.

"I'll help to buy the other," hummed Phronsie. Then she hopped away from Polly and made a little cheese right on the sidewalk. The fur-trimmed coat flew out as well as it could, and the money-bag also.

"Oh, Phronsie!" exclaimed Polly, in dismay, getting her up as quickly as possible.

"I'm going to buy a cat and a big thing, too, for my dear Grandpapa,"

announced Phronsie to all the bunch, as Polly got her straight and smoothed down her coat and settled her bonnet.

All this proceeding took so much time that Ben now hurried them off, and they walked briskly along till presently they turned into the main street where the most of the holiday shoppers were out in full force.

And as Joel wanted to stop at each window that presented a smart display, and that was furnished at nearly every step of the way, they didn't make so very much progress after all.

"We shan't get anywhere at this rate," said Ben, at last, in despair, and, hauling Joel away from a fascinating window against which he had set his chubby face, quite lost to the delightful show within, he struck off at a smart pace, threading his way quickly in and out of the crowd of shoppers, so that Polly and Phronsie, clinging to her hand, had great difficulty to keep track of him at all. David was pattering along in front as close to Ben as he could get.

At last they stopped before a big toy-shop, and Ben drew breath.

"O dear me!" cried Polly, hurrying up. Phronsie's bonnet was pushed awry where an excited shopper had knocked a big bundle against it, so she couldn't see anything till Polly had set it straight.

All this took a little time; meanwhile the bunch of shoppers was stopping the crowd.

"Get out of the way," roared an expressman at them. He was so crowded up with bundles that only his head was to be seen above the pile; there was another heap on the pavement and a man loading up, as fast as he could, the already well-filled wagon, and he gave Joel a punch with something, not his hand, for that was full.

"Stop that!" Joel squared up at him and doubled up his little fist.

"Joe, Joe!" cried Ben, suddenly.

"That man pushed me with an old bundle," said Joel, his eyes flashing.

"Well, come on," said Ben, picking his sleeve. Polly, busy with Phronsie, had heard nothing of it.

"O dear, dear!" David was wailing.

"And I'll give you something more'n a push if you don't get out of the way," declared the expressman, trying to look over his shoulder as he edged his way to the wagon, "you saucy cub, you!"

"And he's calling me names," cried Joel, wildly; "let me go back and make him stop," and he shook his small fists in the air. "He's a bad old man and he hasn't any right. Let me go, Ben."

But Ben by this time had Joel well within the shop, and, the others following, they were soon lost in the important business of choosing Christmas presents.

"Let Phronsie buy hers first," said Polly. And the others, even Joel, saying, "Yes, let Phronsie buy hers first," they edged their way along, Phronsie proclaiming in a high key, as they threaded their course down a long aisle, that she was going to buy Grandpapa a cat, so that everybody turned and smiled, until at last they found a saleswoman, who seemed to be willing and able to wait on them.

"So you want a cat?" she said to Phronsie, who could just manage to see over the counter by standing on her tiptoes.

"Yes," said Phronsie, "I do, a really and truly cat for my dear Grandpapa."

"Oh, we haven't any real cats," said the woman, turning back from the shelf she was looking over with a pair of sharp eyes. "We don't keep live cats in a shop. n.o.body does," she added.

"She means that it must have fur on," explained Polly, while the younger boys never took their eyes from the transaction. This was quite one of the most important events of the afternoon for Phronsie to choose her own present. Just at this juncture a stout old lady, with a stiff black silk coat that made her bigger than ever, as it had a trick of flying open, and the sides blowing off seemed ready to engulf all unfortunate pa.s.sers-by, swept past Phronsie, and she disappeared from view for a moment.

"Stop that!" roared Joel, looking up into the soft white puffs above the woman's nose; "you 'most knocked my sister over."

The stately old woman looked down into the chubby face. "You impertinent boy!" she exclaimed, then set her profile disdainfully in the opposite direction and sailed on.

"Oh, Ben!" cried Polly, in consternation, all the color gone out of her face; "what shall we do?"