After the singing, Aunt Charlotte questioned Reginald.
"I started early, but I forgot my books, and going back for them made me late. I ran "most all the way; I meant to be here early."
"Being late for such a reason as that is excusable," said Aunt Charlotte.
"You, also, were late, Arabella."
"I had to help my Aunt Matilda," said Arabella, as glibly as if it had been true.
"Oh, oo! That"s a fib!" whispered Reginald, but Arabella did not hear him.
Aunt Charlotte said nothing, but she thought it strange that Arabella"s aunt should have detained her. Surely the maid could have given all necessary a.s.sistance, rather than force the little daughter of the house to be late at school.
Reginald had longed to peep over that wall, but he dared not linger.
What had Arabella been doing? He determined to wait until he had a fine chance, and then he would look over that wall. He believed that she had hidden something there. He would not tell the other girls, for they might tell Arabella.
At recess time he asked Aunt Charlotte if she had found his ball.
No, the ball was not in the room.
"I think you must have been mistaken," she said, "the ball must be at your home."
"Truly I had it here," the boy insisted, "I left it on my desk."
"It must have gone to find my red book which had our dialogue in it, for that has disappeared, and hunt as I will, I cannot find it. You have your parts carefully copied, and can be learning them, but I need the book to prompt you."
CHAPTER IV
AN ENTERTAINMENT
Reginald knew that the ball had been on his desk when he had left the schoolroom, and he could not think how it could have disappeared unless some one had helped it to do so.
Again he searched in his desk, but the ball was not there. He put away the books which he had taken out, and closed his desk, looking up just in time to see that Arabella was closely watching him. How queer she looked! She was not laughing, but she seemed to be amused.
"I b"lieve I know where my ball is," he whispered; "I just know Arabella took it, and p"r"aps that was what she dropped over the wall."
"What are you saying?" whispered Arabella, but Reginald only shook his head. "I guess I won"t tell her," he thought, "but right after school I"ll look."
When school was out he lingered, hoping that the girls would hurry off, and thus leave him free to search behind the wall where he believed Arabella had hidden his ball.
It was useless to wait. The girls sat upon the wall talking until Reginald was out of patience, and when at last they started for home, Katie insisted that he must go with her.
"You know mamma said that we were to hurry home from school," she said.
"You weren"t hurrying when you were sitting on this wall," said Reginald.
"But I forgot, so I"m hurrying now," Katie replied, and grasping his hand, she commenced to run very fast, laughing because he looked so unwilling.
That night there was a heavy shower that drenched the trees and left clear little puddles in the road.
Reginald reached the cottage just in time to avoid being late.
The lessons went smoothly until the readers were opened. It was a charming story, but there were many long words which puzzled the pupils.
"The water nymphs paused in the moonlight to watch the fountain spray,"
was the opening sentence of the paragraph which Reginald was to read, but the letters were s.p.a.ced so that the s and p were not close together in "spray." Reginald read it as it appeared:
""The water nymphs paused in the moonlight to watch the fountains pray.""
"Why, how could they?" he asked, "how could fountains _pray_?"
The cla.s.s was amused, but Arabella laughed long and loudly, and Aunt Charlotte was obliged to speak forcibly to her to check her merriment.
The small boy was angry.
"I"ll get even with her; see "f I don"t," he thought.
Indeed he could hardly wait to punish Arabella for her rudeness.
"May I leave the yard?" he asked at recess time, "I"ve thought of one place I"d like to hunt for my ball."
He was off like a flash, and the girls returned to their game.
"It"s your turn, Dorothy," Nancy said, and Dorothy entered the ring.
"From this ring that has no end You may choose a little friend,"
sang the merry voices, and Dorothy looked from one to another. She would have liked to choose Nancy, but she thought how few of the girls _ever_ chose Arabella, and she held out her hand to the playmate who seldom was favored.
If Arabella was pleased she did not show it. She took her place in the ring, however, and looked at the merry faces that circled around her.
"You are next the favored guest, Choose the friend you love the best."
"Choose?" How _could_ she choose? She never liked to do a pleasant thing for any one, and whomever she called into the ring would feel favored.
"Hurry, and choose some one, Arabella," called Mollie Merton, but still Arabella stood sullenly staring at her shoes.
Mollie was ready again to urge Arabella to choose, when the gate flew open, and Reginald, breathless and excited, rushed in. Aunt Charlotte was standing in the walk, watching the pretty game. Reginald ran to her, holding out something very wet and dripping.
"I didn"t find my ball, but I guess this is the di"logue book you couldn"t find," he said.
The red and gold cover was blistered, and its fine color had almost disappeared.
Aunt Charlotte looked her surprise.