Ben Pepper Part 36

"Those boys who've just come," said Joel, "the washerwoman's boys. O dear!" He had great difficulty now in keeping the tears back; still, he managed it after a fas.h.i.+on.

"Whatever in the world are you talking of?" cried the old gentleman, helplessly. "Polly, come here, my child, and see if you can make any sense of what this boy is saying. I'm sure it is beyond me."

"Now, Joel," Polly was saying, and she had her hands on the ones hanging to the chair-arm, "you must just tell the whole thing so that we can understand what it is about, for you are making Grandpapa sick, and he has just come home," she added, reproachfully.

Joel gave one look into the face under the white hair, then he blurted out, "She sent for 'em, and they've come to-day--the washerwoman's boys.

And we went to the station, and they came from the mountains. And I promised to go and help her take care of 'em, and,--and I won't, so there!" and he glanced at the whole group, as if they were all against him.

"Joel, did you promise to go and help Madam Van Ruypen?" asked Grandpapa, quietly, with a keen glance into the flushed face.

"Yes, sir. But she said she only wanted me 'cause Ben wasn't here."

"Did you promise her?" asked old Mr. King, just as quietly, and not taking his eyes away.

"Yes, sir; and there's a girl come too. And she said she guessed Polly would help take care of her." Joel began to snivel now.

"Never mind what Mrs. Van Ruypen said about anybody else," said Grandpapa, firmly. "You must go anyway, Joe, my boy, and keep that promise."

"O dear, dear, dear!" wailed Joel, now clear gone in distress.

"See here," Ben had with the greatest difficulty all this while kept from crying out. "Is it? Can it be? Has Madam Van Ruypen really sent for those poor children up in the mountains?" At last he broke out, "Oh, Grandpapa, may we all go? Come, Polly, you'll come, won't you?" He threw his arm around her.

"Where are you going?" cried Alexia, raising her head, where she had been luxuriously awaiting their return to the rug. "Polly Pepper, where _are_ you going?"

"To Madam Van Ruypen's," said Polly, dancing off, her cheeks as red as two roses. "Come on, Alexia."

"Come on, yes. You lead the way and we'll follow," said Ben, bundling out of the room, Pip at his heels, followed closely by Pickering Dodge.

"Dear me!" exclaimed Alexia, getting up to her feet. "Percy--Van--what is it, do you know?" as they hopped up, and raced after the others.

"Come on," howled Joel, every tear gone, and smiles all over his round face. And looking back at her, for he wouldn't for the world have Alexia left behind. "It's a party over at that old woman's, Mad--" the rest was lost in his rush.

"Party?" repeated Alexia; "O dear me! Wait!" and she was off after them.

"She said there was an answer," repeated the butler, who hadn't stirred from his tracks.

"Er--oh," exclaimed the old gentleman. "Well, the answer will get there before a note could. That's all, Hobson. Now then, Phronsie, you and I will have a cosey time all to ourselves, child."

XVIII

TELLING ALL THE NEWS

"Here, Polly and Ben," little Doctor Fisher met them racing along the hall the next morning, "I want you both," and he led them into his office and closed the door. "Now then, I have some good news for you.

You are to go up to see Jasper!"

"Oh, Papa Fisher!" cried Polly, in a tremor of delight. She seized his hand and began to dance up and down, while Ben said, "Whew!" and stood quite still. But the color flew all over his round cheeks.

"I thought Jasper would have to rest all day," said Polly, still hopping about and clinging to the long fingers.

"So I thought," said Doctor Fisher, with a wise little nod. Then he set his big spectacles straighter on his nose, and took a sharp look first at one flushed face and then the other. "I can trust you both," he said.

"The truth is, Jasper wants you, and I don't believe it will hurt him."

"Can we go now?" cried Polly, impatiently. "Can we, Papa Fisher?"

"There, there," said the little doctor, "not so fast, Polly, my child.

You see, Jasper isn't really sick now, only I didn't want him to get about too fast after his journey. But it's dull for him alone, that's a fact, and he's been asking for you both. The fact is, he teased," and Doctor Fisher burst out laughing at the recollection of Jasper's face.

"So you can go up, but don't for goodness' sake let the children know.

If Joel were--" and he broke off, quite alarmed, and mopped his face with his big silk handkerchief.

"We'll creep up the back stairs," said Polly, tiptoeing to the door.

"Come, Ben. Oh, do hurry!"

"That isn't saying you are safe from Joel," said Doctor Fisher, grimly, "by any means. Well, go along and be careful."

So Polly and Ben, peering on either hand, hurried up the back stairs, softly. "There isn't so very much danger," said Ben, under his breath, "that Joel will hear us, because he's got Pip somewhere."

"We better be careful, though," whispered Polly, who knew by experience Joel's capacity for finding out things.

"Yes, that's so," said Ben, "you never can tell where Joe will pop up.

Well, here we are," as they hurried into Jasper's room.

"Well, I thought you never would come," cried Jasper, popping up his head from the pillows at the back of the big easy-chair, and beaming at them affectionately. "Oh, now it's good to be home, and have you, Polly.

Isn't it, Ben?"

"I should say so," said Ben, in huge satisfaction, dragging up a chair for Polly.

"Oh, I'm going to sit down here," said Polly, running after a ha.s.sock, to pull it up in front of Jasper's big chair.

"So will I get another," said Ben, discarding the chair.

"That's good," said Jasper, rubbing his hands together in delight. "O dear me! I wish I could get out of this old chair. I'm going to," and he threw back the sofa-blanket from his knees.

"Oh, don't, Jasper, you mustn't," cried Polly and Ben, deserting their ha.s.socks to run either side of the easy-chair, and lay a restraining hand on him. "You'll hurt yourself."

"And then Doctor Fisher will blame us," finished Ben.

"That's so," said Jasper, twitching the sofa-blanket up. "O dear me!"

and he leaned back against the pillow. "Well, do go on and tell me something. I suppose I've just got to stay here like an old log."

"Yes, you must stay here," said Polly, tucking the blanket in with deft little pats; "but you are not an old log, Jasper."

"Yes, I am," said Jasper, guilty of contradicting, and making a very wry face, "a stiff horrible old log," and he gave a little kick that sent one end of the sofa-blanket flying out again.

"I should call you a slippery eel," said Ben, while Polly ran around to the other side to tuck the blanket-end in again.