Five Little Peppers at School Part 43

"Well, I'm her dearest friend," added Alexia, taking refuge in that well-worn statement, "so there now, Clem Forsythe."

"No, you're not," said Clem obstinately; "we're all her dearest friends, aren't we, Polly? Say, Polly, aren't we?"

"Hush!" said Jasper. "Father's coming."

"Well, I can't help it. I'm tired of hearing Alexia Rhys everlastingly saying that, and pushing us all away from Polly."

"Do hear them go on!" exclaimed Tom Beresford, off on the edge of the group. "Does she always have them carrying around like that?"

"Yes," said Joel, "a great deal worse. Oh, they're a lot of giggling girls; I hate girls!" he exploded.

"So do I," nodded Tom. "Let's keep clear of the whole lot, and walk by ourselves."

"Indeed, we will," declared Joel. "You won't catch me walking with girls when I can help it."

"Well, I wonder which of those two will get your sister, Polly, this time," said Tom, craning his long neck to see the contest.

"Oh, Alexia, of course," said Joel carelessly; "she always gets her in the end."

But Joel was wrong. Neither of the girls carried off Polly. Old Mr. King marched out of his reading-room. "Come, Polly, my child, you and I will walk together," and he waited on her handsomely out, and down the walk to the car.

Tom and Joel burst into a loud laugh, in which the others joined, at the crestfallen faces.

"Well, at least you didn't get her, Clem," said Alexia airily, coming out of her discomfiture.

"Neither did you," said Clem happily.

"And you are horrid boys to laugh," said Alexia, looking over at the two. "But then, all boys are horrid."

"Thank you," said Tom, with his best bow.

"Alexia Rhys, aren't you perfectly ashamed to be fighting with that new boy?" cried Clem.

"Come on, Alexia," said Jasper. "I shall have to walk with you to keep you in order," and the gay procession hurrying after old Mr. King and Polly, caught up with them turning out of the big stone gateway.

And then, what a merry walk they had to the car! and that being nearly full, they had to wait for the next one, which luckily had only three pa.s.sengers; and Mr. King and his party clambered on, to ride down through the poor quarters of the town, to the Corcoran house.

"Oh, misery me!" exclaimed Alexia, looking out at the tumble-down tenements, and garbage heaps up to the very doors. "Where _are_ we going?"

"Did you suppose Jim Corcoran lived in a palace?" asked Pickering lazily.

"Well, I didn't suppose anybody lived like that," said Alexia, wrinkling up her nose in scorn. "Dear me, look at all those children!"

"Interesting, aren't they?" said Pickering, with a pang for the swarm of ragged, dirty little creatures, but not showing it in the least on his impa.s.sive face.

"Oh, I don't want to see it," exclaimed Alexia, "and I'm not going to either," turning her back on it all.

"It goes on just the same," said Pickering.

"Then I am going to look." Alexia whirled around again, and gazed up and down the ugly thoroughfare, taking it all in.

"Ugh, how can you!" exclaimed Silvia Horne, in disgust. "I think it's very disagreeable to even know that such people live."

"Perhaps 'twould be better to kill 'em off," said Tom Beresford bluntly.

"Ugh, you dreadful boy!" cried Clem Forsythe.

"Who's fighting now with the new boy?" asked Alexia sweetly, tearing off her gaze from the street.

"Well, who wouldn't?" retorted Clem, "he's saying such perfectly terrible things."

Pickering Dodge gave a short laugh. "Beresford, you're in for it now,"

he said.

Tom shrugged his shoulders, and turned his back on them.

"What did you bring him home for, Joe?" asked Alexia, leaning over to twitch Joel's arm.

"To plague you, Alexia," said Joel, with a twinkle in his black eyes.

"Oh, he doesn't bother me," said Alexia serenely. "Clem is having all the trouble now. Well, we must put up with him, I suppose," she said with resignation.

"You don't need to," said Joel coolly, "you can let us alone, Alexia."

"But I don't want to let you alone," said Alexia; "that's all boys are good for, if they're in a party, to keep 'em stirred up. Goodness me, Mr. King and Polly are getting out!" as the car stopped, and Grandpapa led the way down the aisle.

When they arrived at the Corcoran house, which was achieved by dodging around groups of untidy women gossiping with their neighbors, and children playing on the dirty pavements, with the occasional detour caused by a heap of old tin cans, and other debris, Mr. King drew a long breath. "I don't know that I ought to have brought you young people down here. It didn't strike me so badly before."

"But it's no worse for us to see it than for the people to live here, father," said Jasper quickly.

"That's very true--but faugh!" and the old gentleman had great difficulty to contain himself. "Well, thank fortune, the Corcoran family are to move this week."

"Oh, Grandpapa," cried Polly, hopping up and down on the broken pavement, and "Oh, father!" from Jasper.

"Polly Pepper," exclaimed Alexia, twitching her away, "you came near stepping into that old mess of bones and things."

Polly didn't even glance at the garbage heap by the edge of the sidewalk, nor give it a thought. "Oh, how lovely, Alexia," she cried, "that they won't have but a day or two more here!"

"Well, we are going in," said Alexia, holding her tightly, "and I'm glad of it, Polly. Oh, misery me!" as they followed Mr. King into the poor little house that Jim the brakeman had called home.

The little widow, thanks to Mr. King and several others interested in the welfare of the brakeman's family, had smartened up considerably, so that neither she nor her dwelling presented such a dingy, woe-begone aspect as on the previous visit. And old Mr. King, being very glad to see this, still further heartened her up by exclaiming, "Well, Mrs.

Corcoran, you've accomplished wonders."

"I've tried to," cried the poor woman, "and I'm sure 'twas no more than I ought to do, and you being so kind to me and mine, sir."

"Well, I've brought some young people to see you," said the old gentleman abruptly, who never could bear to be thanked, and now felt much worse, as there were several spectators of his bounty; and he waved his hand toward the representatives of the two clubs.

They all huddled back, but he made them come forward. "No, it's your affair to-day; I only piloted you down here," laughing at their discomfiture.