Five Little Peppers at School Part 46

"What?" asked Cathie, hanging up her jacket in the closet, and putting her head around the door.

"Oh, what a lovely thing!" Polly held up a little carved box of Chinese workmanship.

"Isn't it?" cried Cathie, well pleased that she had anything worthy of notice. "My uncle brought that from China to my mother when she was a little girl, and she gave it to me."

"Well, it's too lovely for anything," declared Polly, running to put it on the toilet table. "I do think Chinese carvings are so pretty!"

"Do you?" cried Cathie, well pleased. "My mother has some really fine ones, I'll show you sometime, if you'd like to see them, Polly."

"Indeed, I should," said Polly warmly. So Cathie, delighted that she really had something that could interest Polly Pepper, hurried through her preparations; and then the two went downstairs arm in arm, and out to the greenhouse.

"Polly Pepper!" exclaimed Cathie on the threshold, "I don't think I should ever envy you living in that perfectly beautiful house, because it just scares me to set foot in it."

"Well, it needn't," said Polly, with a little laugh. "You must just forget all about its being big and splendid."

"But I can't," said Cathie, surprised at herself for being so communicative, "because, you see, I live in such a little, tucked-up place."

"Well, so did I," said Polly, with a bob of her brown head, "before we came here to Grandpapa's; but oh, you can't think how beautiful it was in the little brown house--you can't begin to think, Cathie Harrison!"

"I know," said Cathie, who had heard the story before. "I wish you'd tell it all to me now, Polly."

"I couldn't tell it all, if I talked a year, I guess," said Polly merrily, "and there is Turner waiting to speak to me. Come on, Cathie."

And she ran down the long aisle between the fragrant blossoms.

But Cathie stopped to look and exclaim so often to herself that she made slow progress.

"Shall I make her up a bunch, Miss Mary?" asked old Turner, touching his cap respectfully, and looking at the visitor.

"Oh, if you please," cried Polly radiantly; "and do put some heliotrope in, for Cathie is so fond of that. And please let her have a bunch every morning when I have mine, Turner, for she is to stay three days."

"It shall be as you wish, Miss Mary," said Turner, quite delighted at the order.

"And please let it be very nice, Turner," said Polly hastily.

"I will, Miss; don't fear, Miss Mary, I'll have it as nice as possible,"

as Polly ran off to meet Cathie.

"I should stay here every single minute I was at home if I lived here, Polly Pepper," declared Cathie. "Oh, oh!" sniffing at each discovery of a new blossom.

"Oh, no, you wouldn't, Cathie," contradicted Polly, with a laugh; "not if you had to get your lessons, and practise on the piano, and go out riding and driving, and play with the boys."

"Oh dear me!" cried Cathie, "I don't care very much for boys, because, you see, Polly, I never know what in this world to say to them."

"That's because you never had any brothers," said Polly, feeling how very dreadful such a state must be. "I can't imagine anything without Ben and Joel and Davie."

"And now you've such a lot of brothers, with Jasper and all those Whitney boys; oh, Polly, don't they scare you to death sometimes?"

Polly burst into such a merry peal of laughter, that they neither of them heard the rushing feet, until Cathie glanced up. "Oh dear me! there they are now!"

"Well, to be sure; we might have known you were here, Polly," cried Jasper, dashing up with Clare. "How do you do, Cathie?" putting out his hand cordially.

Clare gave her a careless nod, then turned to Polly. "It's to be fine,"

he said.

"What?" asked Polly wonderingly.

"Hold on, old chap." Jasper gave him a clap on the back. "Father is going to tell her himself. Come on, Polly and Cathie, to his room."

"Come, Cathie," cried Polly. "Let's beat those boys," she said, when once out of the greenhouse. "We're going to race," she cried over her shoulder.

"Is that so?" said Jasper. "Clare, we must beat them," and they dashed in pursuit.

But they couldn't; the two girls flew over the lawn, and reached the stone steps just a breathing s.p.a.ce before Jasper and Clare plunged up.

"Well done," cried Jasper, tossing back the hair from his forehead.

"I didn't know you could run so well," observed Clare, with some show of interest in Cathie.

"Oh, she runs splendidly," said Polly, with sparkling eyes. "Let's try a race sometime, Jasper; we four, down the Long Path, while Cathie's here."

"Capital! We will," a.s.sented Jasper, "but now for father's room."

There sat old Mr. King by his writing table. "Well, Polly--how do you do, Cathie? I am glad to see you," he said, putting out his hand kindly.

As well as she could for her terror at being actually in that stately Mr. King's presence, Cathie stumbled forward and laid her hand in his.

"Now, Polly," said the old gentleman, turning off to pick up a little envelope lying on the table, "I thought perhaps you would like to take your young friend to the play to-night, so I have the tickets for us five," with a sweep of his hand over to the two boys.

"Grandpapa!" cried Polly, precipitating herself into his arms, "oh, how good you are!" which pleased the old gentleman immensely.

"Isn't that no-end fine!" cried Jasper in delight. "Father, we can't thank you!"

"Say no more, my boy," cried the old gentleman. "I'm thanked enough. And so, Polly, my girl, you like it," patting her brown hair.

"Like it!" cried Polly, lifting her glowing cheeks,--"oh, Grandpapa!"

"Run along with you then, all of you. Clare, be over in time."

"Yes, sir," cried Clare. "Oh, thank you, Mr. King, ever so much!" as they all scampered off to get their lessons for the next day; for going to a play was always a special treat, on condition that no studies were neglected.

"Oh, Cathie," cried Polly, before she flew into the window-seat to curl up with her books, her favorite place for studying her lessons, "Grandpapa is taking us to the play because you are here."

"And I've never been to a play, Polly," said Cathie, perfectly overwhelmed with it all.

"Haven't you? Oh, I'm so glad--I mean, I'm glad you're going with us, and that Grandpapa is to take you to the first one. But, oh me!" and Polly rushed off to attack her books. "Now, don't let us speak a single word, Cathie Harrison," as Cathie picked out a low rocker for her choice of a seat; and pretty soon, if Miss Salisbury herself had come into the room, she would have been perfectly satisfied with the diligent attention the books were receiving.

But Miss Salisbury was not thinking of her pupils this afternoon. She was at this moment closeted with Miss Anstice, and going over a conversation that they frequently held, these past days, without much variation in the subject or treatment.

"If there were anything we could do to repay him, sister," said Miss Anstice mournfully, "I'd do it, and spend my last cent. But what is there?" Then she paced the floor with her mincing little steps, now quite nervous and flurried.