Ben Pepper Part 42

Then she deserted the bath-tub, to fly over to the monkey. "Oh, you naughty, naughty--Oh, Ben, what has Jocko got in his mouth? He's choking!"

"Nonsense, he wouldn't choke," said Ben; yet he left fishing in the bath-tub for more articles of Jocko's depositing and went over to investigate.

Jocko, when he saw Ben coming, spit out a mouthful which proved to be pins, while he tucked with one paw a small article underneath him, and blinked up in Ben's face.

"Spit out the rest," commanded Ben, "or I'll get another switch. Do you hear?"

"Oh, he'll choke, he'll choke," cried Polly, in great alarm. "What shall we do? He has ever so many more in his cheeks. Oh, you bad Jocko!"

Jocko spit out a few more pins, then wrinkled up his eyebrows and grinned and chattered.

"Get the rest out, sir," said Ben, "or the switch, you know."

Fretting dismally, Jocko stuck his paw clear into his cheeks, and poked the pins out until none seemed to remain. Then he sat up quite straight, scolding frightfully.

"Where did he get the pins?" exclaimed Polly, wonderingly.

"Where did he get anything," said Ben, "you might as well ask."

"But he didn't have them when we found him," she went on.

"Oh, yes, he did; he must have," said Ben; "and he's hidden more somewhere about him now, you may depend. Get up there, Jocko!"

But Jocko, seeing no fun ahead of him if he lost that little cushion, sat still and glared, showing all his teeth at Ben.

"O mercy me!" exclaimed Jane, with her gown tucked up, busy with her mop and pail over the tub, "he'll bite you, Master Ben."

"Yes, he will," said Polly, in a terror. "Oh, Ben, do let him alone."

"I'll let him alone for a minute," said Ben, hurrying off. Presently back he appeared, flourishing Jasper's riding crop. At sight of this Jocko drew his teeth in, and slunk down into a little heap of abject misery.

"Get up," said Ben, flourishing the whip threateningly.

"Oh, Ben, don't strike him," pleaded Polly.

"And if you do, he'll jump at me, most likely," said Jane, with only a thought for her unprotected ankles. "Please don't, Master Ben."

"I'm not going to," said Ben, "only he must get up. He's sitting on something he's hiding. Now, then, will you get up?" he cried, swinging the whip in the air.

Jocko, who saw the riding crop going up, supposed naturally it was coming down. Not desiring to receive it on his body, he made a quick movement and leaped. Jane, who had followed all proceedings with extreme anxiety, saw no reason why he shouldn't come her way. And to leave the s.p.a.ce she had been occupying she decided without delay. But forgetting the pail, half full of water she had mopped up from the tub, she promptly fell over it, into the pool on the floor.

"What is it?" cried Polly, picking up a small object where Jocko had been sitting. "Why, Ben Pepper, it's Jasper's little pincushion, the one I made for him last Christmas!"

XX

REPAIRING DAMAGES

And that afternoon Jasper was sleeping (n.o.body had told him, of course, of the result of Jocko's pranks), so Polly and Ben could steal off for a bit of Christmas shopping on their own account.

"I shall pay for the Shakespeare, for it's all my fault that Jocko did those bad things," said Polly, as they hurried along.

"No, it isn't, any more than mine," said Ben. "I oughtn't to have let him up there."

"But you said we better not, all the time," said Polly, truthfully.

"Well, and then I let him up," said Ben, "so I'm just as bad as you, Polly."

"Well, you did it because Jasper wanted Jocko so much," persisted Polly.

"That's the only reason, Ben."

"Yes," said Ben, "but never mind what the reason is; I let him up all the same, so I'm going to pay for 'As You Like It.' You've got to buy a new pincushion, Polly."

"I know it," said Polly. "O dear me! How I wish there was time to make another one before Christmas."

"Well, there isn't. The very idea!" exclaimed Ben; "why, that is to-morrow. Besides, Jasper will want a new pincushion right away."

"I know," cried Polly, with a little sigh. "Well, let's buy that first.

Candace has some little cushions, so I'll get one of her," and they turned into Temple Place and ran into the small shop.

There was a bell over the door that jingled smartly whenever a customer stepped in. This had the effect now to bring Candace waddling in from the little room beyond, which was bedroom, kitchen, and all. She had been dressing a rag doll, and her blue checked ap.r.o.n still had some wisps of wool sticking to it, while she raised her black hands, one of the fingers still retaining its big horn thimble. "Fer de lan's sakes, Miss Polly--an' Mas'r Ben--I'm glad youse home again."

"Oh, Candace," cried Polly, beginning to unburden her woes, when the two were seated on some stools before the counter that ran along one side of the room, "you can't think what trouble we're in."

Candace, just reaching down from a shelf above a jar of peppermint and cinnamon sticks, with which she meant to regale her visitors and celebrate Ben's return, started so she nearly let the big gla.s.s jar fall.

"Fer de lan's sakes!" She could get no further as she turned to them a frightened face that seemed to suddenly grow gray.

"Don't scare her, Polly," whispered Ben. "Tell her at once what has happened."

"You know Jocko--"

"Hey?" said Candace, setting the jar down with a thump to rest both shaking hands on the counter.

"Jocko, our monkey. Oh, I forgot, Candace, you don't know about our present that Mr. Cabot gave to us all. Well, it's a monkey--the dearest, yes, he _is_ the dearest thing, even if he has been bad," said Polly, decidedly.

"A monkey!" screamed Candace, lifting both black hands. "An' Mr. Cabot gib you dat did he, fer a present?"

"Yes," said Polly. "Wasn't he kind, Candace?"

"Well, I dunno," said Candace, slowly. "Mr. Cabot's a bery nice gemman--a bery nice _gemman indeed_. He comes in here an' buys tings offen an' offen. But I should a-thought he'd gib ye a leetle purtier ting dan a monkey. Jus' a grain purtier," she added, unwilling to criticise any more sharply.

"Well, he couldn't have given us anything that was nicer," said Polly, loyal to both Mr. Cabot and to the monkey, "only you see, Jocko didn't know quite how to behave."

"I shouldn't think he did," observed Ben.