"Well, read them letters," said Grandma mournfully, when she could control her speech enough to say anything; "maybe they"ll tell more about the accident," and she put her hand again behind her best ear.
""Tain"t in the letters," said Peletiah, "it"s only just happened." But Grandma didn"t hear, so he picked up Polly"s letter, which was open, and began in a singsong tone:
""Dear Mrs. Henderson--""
"Hey?"
""Dear Mrs. Henderson,"" cried Peletiah, in a shrill, high key.
"Do move up closer; I"m a little hard o" hearin"--jist a mite," said Grandma. So Peletiah shoved his chair nearer, and began again:
""Dear Mrs. Henderson, we are going to have the very loveliest thing happen, and I want to write to you now, because next week there won"t be any time at all, we shall be so very busy.""
It was impossible to stop Peletiah until he had rounded a sentence, as he considered it his duty to pay strict attention to a period. So, although Grandma screamed, and even twitched his jacket sleeve, she couldn"t get him to stop. The consequence was that he had to shout this over till at last she understood it, and then she turned a bewildered face upon him, but as he was deep in his second sentence, he didn"t see it, but plodded patiently on.
""Grandpapa is going to let us have a garden party; there are tickets to be sold, for we are going to raise money to send poor children out into the country. And Jasper is getting up the post office, which Grandpapa says we may have in the Wistaria arbor. And we girls are all making fancy work, and oh, Phronsie is making a pin-cushion which Mr. Hamilton Dyce has bought already. Just think, and oh, I do believe we shall make lots and lots of money! Give my love to dear, dear Grandma Bascom, and please read this letter to her. From your loving little friend, Polly.""
Peletiah, considering it better to read this all as one sentence, had droned it out without a break, to look up and find Grandma sunken back against her chair, her cap frills trembling with indignation.
"I hain"t heard a single word," she said, "an" there"s that blessed child got hurt, an" I can"t seem to sense it at all."
"She ain"t hurt, Polly ain"t," said Peletiah, stoutly defending himself.
"They"re going to have a garden party."
"A what?" screamed Grandma.
"A _garden_ party."
"Oh, then she fell in the garding, an" you said cellar stairs," she cried reproachfully.
Peletiah looked at her long; then he got out of his chair and leaned over her.
"My Aunt Jerusha fell," he screamed, so loud that Grandma started.
"Oh, an" the Pepper children ain"t hurt?" she cried, in great relief.
"No, they"re going to have a party." He wisely left out the garden this time.
"You don"t say so!" exclaimed Grandma, greatly pleased at the hint of any festivities, no matter how distant, and the smiles began to run all over her wrinkled face again. "I wonder now," she said, "if they don"t want my receet for Cousin Mirandy"s weddin" cake; it"s in th" Bible there"--nodding over to the little stand.
Peletiah, seeing her so absorbed, waited patiently till the second letter was called for. He never for an instant thought of sliding off; so he pulled it out of its envelope, and got ready.
At last Grandma pulled herself out of the charms of Cousin Mirandy"s receet, and set her spectacles straight.
"Who writ that one?" she asked.
"Joel," said Peletiah, finding it quite to his liking to read this one, for Joel never wasted any time in preliminaries, but came to the point at once, in big, sprawly letters.
""Dear Misses Henderson."" Somebody must have corrected him then, for he scratched out the "Misses," and wrote on top "Mrs." ""You tell Grandma Bascom, please, that it"s just prime here, but I like her peppermints, too, and I won"t chase her old hens when I come back. Joel.""
When Grandma really got this letter by heart, she laughed and said it had done her good, and she wished Joel was there this minute, in which Peletiah hardly concurred, being unable to satisfy Joel"s athletic demands. And then she looked over at the little mahogany stand, and the tears rolled down her withered old cheeks.
"I"d give anythin" to see him comin" in at that door, Peletiah," she said, "an" he may chase th" hens all he wants to when he comes back"; for Grandma always cherished the conviction that the "Five Little Peppers" were to make life merry again in their "little brown house," and she went on so long in this way that Peletiah, who had glanced up at the clock many times, said at last, in a stolid way, "There"s another letter." And Grandma, looking down, saw a little wad in his hand.
"Now I do believe that"s from the blessed little creeter," she exclaimed, very much excited; "that must be Phronsie"s."
"Yes, it is," said Peletiah.
"Why didn"t you tell me that before?" cried Grandma. "You should "a" read it first of all." She leaned forward in her chair, unable to lose a word.
"You didn"t tell me to," said Peletiah, in a matter-of-fact way.
"Well, read it now," said Grandma, quavering with excitement.
"There ain"t nothin" to read," said Peletiah, unfolding the paper, many times creased.
"Hey?"
"There ain"t nothin" to read," repeated Peletiah; "you can see for yourself." He held it up before her. There were many pencil marks going this way and that, by which Phronsie felt perfectly sure that her friends would understand what she was telling them. And once in a while came the great achievement of a big capital letter laboriously printed. But for these occasional slips into intelligible language, the letter presented a medium of communication peculiar to itself.
"Ain"t it sweet!" said Grandma admiringly, when she had looked it all over.
"The little precious creeter, to think of her writin" that, and all by herself too!"
"You can read it as well upside down," observed Peletiah.
"I know it." Grandma beamed at him.
"Just think of that child a-writin" that! Who"d ever b"lieve it?"
"I must go now," announced Peletiah, getting out of his chair and beginning to stretch slowly.
"Well, now tell your ma I thank her for comin", and for them letters from them precious childern. An" see here." Grandma leaned over and pulled out the under drawer of the little stand. It wasn"t like giving peppermints to Joel Pepper, and it sent a pang through her at the remembrance, but Peletiah had been good to read those letters.
"I"m a-goin" to give you these," she said, beginning to shake therefrom into her hand three big, white peppermints and two red ones.
"No, I thank you, ma"am," said Peletiah stiffly, and standing quite still.
"Yes, you take "em," said Grandma decidedly. "You"ve been real good to read them letters. Here, Peletiah."
"No, I thank you, ma"am," said Peletiah again, not offering to stir. "Well, I must be going," and he went slowly out of the kitchen, leaving Grandma with the big peppermints in her hand.
That evening, after everything was quiet at the parsonage, the minister called his wife into the study.
"We will look that letter over from Mrs. Fisher, now, my dear."
Mrs. Henderson sat down on the end of the well-worn sofa.
"Lie down, dear," he said, "and let me tuck a pillow under your head. You are all tired out."