"Oh, Jasper," she cried, "can we all get into your den?"
"I think so," said Jasper, who had already settled all that with Polly, counting every member as coming, in order to make no mistake, "we"re to have the business-meeting in there, Alexia; and after that, father has invited us in to the drawing-room."
"What richness!" exclaimed Alexia, sinking into one of the library chairs to pull out her skirts and play with her rings. "Oh, Jasper King, I shouldn"t think you"d ever in all this world get used to living in this perfectly exquisite house."
"Well, I"ve always lived here, Alexia," said Jasper with a laugh, "so I suppose that is the reason I"m not overwhelmed now. Oh, here comes Clare. All right, old fellow, glad you"ve come. Now I"ll call the meeting to order." For Clare was the secretary.
And the rest of the boys and girls a.s.sembling, the business-meeting was soon begun in the "den," Jasper who was the president of the boys" club, flourishing his gavel in great style.
"Now we"ve come together," announced the president after the regular business was disposed of, "to get up a plan by which we can accomplish something more than merely to have a good time."
"Nonsense!" interrupted Clare, "we want a good time."
"For shame!" Jasper pounded his gavel to restore order. "And to begin with, it is as well to announce at once that all unruly members will be put out," with a stern glance at the secretary.
"Oh, dear me!" exclaimed Clare, huddling down into his big chair.
"Go along, Prex," said Pickering, coming over from the other side of the room, "I"ll sit on that old secretary if he makes any more trouble."
"Get away!" laughed Clare; "that"s worse than being put out."
"Oh, I"ll sit on you first, and then I"ll carry out the pieces afterward. Sail on, Prexy, they all want the plan."
"Well"--the president cleared his throat--"hem! And in order to do good work, why we had to ask the girls" club to come to this meeting, and--"
"Not necessarily," put in Clare.
Pickering pounced for him, but instead of sitting on him, his long figure doubled up in the big chair, while the secretary slipped neatly out.
"Ha, ha! did you ever get left?" giggled Clare, at a safe distance.
"Many a time, my dear child," said Pickering coolly, leaning back restfully, "but never in such a good seat. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Proceed, Prexy."
"Good for you, Pickering," cried Alexia, while the laugh went around.
"Order!" cried Jasper, pounding away. "Now that our troublesome secretary is quieted, I will proceed to say that as we want the plan to succeed, we invited the Salisbury Club this evening."
"Thank you, Mr. President," the girls clapped vigorously.
"So now after I tell you of the object, I want you to express your minds about the various plans that will be laid before you." Then Jasper told the story of Jim, the brakeman; and how Grandpapa and Polly and he had gone to the poor home, thanks to the little clerk; and how the three boys who were waiting for education and the girl who was crazy to take music-lessons, to say nothing of the two mites of children toddling around, made the poor widow almost frantic as she thought of their support; until some of the girls were sniffling and hunting for their handkerchiefs, and the boys considerately turned away and wouldn"t look at them.
"Now you tell the rest, Polly," cried Jasper, quite tired out.
"Oh, no, you tell," said Polly, who dearly loved to hear Jasper talk.
"Do, Polly," and he pushed the hair off from his forehead. So, as she saw he really wanted her to, Polly began with shining eyes, and glowing cheeks, to finish the story.
And she told how Grandpapa had ordered provisions and coal for the poor widow enough for many months to come; and how--oh, wasn"t that perfectly splendid in dear Grandpapa?--he had promised that the little girl (Arethusa was her name) should take music-lessons from one of the teachers in the city. And Polly clasped her hands and sighed, quite unable to do more.
"And what do you want us to do?" cried the secretary forgetting all about losing his seat, to crowd up to the table. "Say, if that family has got all that richness, what do you want the club to do?"
"Oh," said Polly turning her shining eyes on him, "there are ever and ever so many things the boys and that girl will need, and Grandpapa says that they"ll think a great deal more of help, if some young people take hold of it. And so I"m sure I should," she added.
"It strikes me that I should, too," declared Pickering, all his laziness gone. And getting his long figure out of the chair, he cried, "I move, Mr. President, that we,"--here he waved his hands in a sweeping gesture,--"the Salisbury Club and our club, unite in a plan to do something for that family."
"I second the motion," the secretary cried out, much to everybody"s surprise, for Polly was all ready to do it if no one else offered to. So the vote was carried unanimously amid the greatest enthusiasm.
"Now what shall we do?" cried the president, jumping to his feet. "Let us strike while the iron is hot. What shall we do to raise money?"
"You said you had plans," cried one of the girls.
"Yes--tell on," cried several boys.
"Well, one is, that we have a play," began Jasper.
"Oh--oh!"
Old Mr. King, over his evening paper off in the library, laid it down, and smiled at the merry din that reached him even at such a distance.
"And another," cried the president, doing his best to make himself heard.
"Oh, we don"t want another," cried Clare, in which the united clubs joined.
"Don"t you want to hear any other plans?" shouted the president.
"No, no--the play! Put it to vote, do, Jasper--I mean, Mr. President,"
cried Alexia.
So the vote was taken, and everybody said, "Aye," and as there wasn"t a single "No," why the "ayes" had it of course. And after that they talked so long over the general plan, that old Mr. King at last had to send a very special invitation to come out to the dining-room. And there was Mother Fisher and Mrs. Whitney and the little doctor and a most splendid collation! And then off to the big drawing-room to top off with a dance, with one or two musicians tucked up by the grand piano, and Grandpapa smiling in great satisfaction upon them all.
XII SOME EVERY-DAY FUN
"It can"t rain," cried Polly Pepper, "and it isn"t going to. Don"t think it, girls."
"But it looks just like it," said Alexia obstinately, and wrinkling up her brows; "see those awful, horrid clouds, girls." She pointed tragically up to the sky.
"Don"t look at them," advised Polly. "Come on, girls. I challenge you to a race as far as the wicket gate."
Away she dashed, with a bevy at her heels. Alexia, not to be left behind staring at the sky, went racing after.
"Wait," she screamed. The racers, however, spent no time attending to laggards, but ran on.
Polly dashed ahead, and touched the green wicket gate. "Oh, Polly got there first!" Almost immediately came another girl"s fingers on it.