Tom Beresford let him cry on, and thrust his hands in his pockets, to stalk up and down the room. He longed to whistle, to give vent to his feelings; but concluding that wouldn"t be understood, but be considered heartless, he held himself in check, and counted the slow minutes, for this was deadly tiresome, and beginning to get on his nerves. "I shall screech myself before long, I"m afraid."
At last Joel rolled over. "Come here, do, Tom," and when Tom got there, glad enough to be of use, Joel pulled him down beside the sofa, and gripped him as only Joel could. "Do you mind, Tom? I want to hang on to something."
"No, indeed," said Tom heartily, vastly pleased, although he was nearly choked. "Now you"re behaving better." He patted him on the back. "Hark, Joe! The doctor"s laughing!"
They could hear it distinctly now, and as long as he lived, Joel thought, he never heard a sweeter sound. He sprang to his feet, upsetting Tom, who rolled over on his back to the floor.
Just then in rushed Polly and Jasper, surrounding him, and in a minute, "Oh, is Tom sick?"
"No," said Tom, picking himself up grimly, "only Joe"s floored me, he was so glad to hear the doctor laugh."
"Oh, you poor, poor boy!" Polly was mothering Joel now, just as Mamsie would have done; and Tom looking on with all his eyes, as he thought of his own home, with neither mother nor sister, didn"t hear Jasper at first. So Jasper pulled his arm.
"See here, Beresford, you and I will go down to the library, I think."
"All right," said Tom, allowing himself to be led off, though he would much have preferred remaining.
"Now, Joel," said Polly, after they had gone, and the petting had continued for some minutes, "you must just be a brave boy, and please Mamsie, and stop crying," for Joel had been unable to stop the tears.
"I--I--didn"t--see--Phronsie coming," wailed Joel afresh.
"Of course you didn"t," said Polly, stroking his black curls. "Why, Joey Pepper, did you think for an instant that any one blamed you?" She leaned over and set some kisses, not disturbing Joel that some of them fell on his stubby nose.
"N-no," said Joel, through the rain of drops down his cheeks, "but it was Phronsie, Polly." It was no use to try to check him yet, for the boy"s heart was almost broken, and so Polly let him cry on. But she bestowed little rea.s.suring pats on his shaking shoulders, all the while saying the most comforting things she could think of.
"And just think, Joey," she cried suddenly, "you were the one who found Dr. Pennell. Oh, I should think you"d be so glad!"
"I am glad," said Joel, beginning to feel a ray of comfort.
"And how quickly you brought him, Joe!" said Polly, delighted at the effect of her last remark.
"Did I?" said Joel in a surprised way, and roused out of his crying; "I thought it was ever so long, Polly."
"I don"t see how you ever did it, Joel, in all this world," declared Polly positively.
Joel didn"t say that it was because he was a sprinter at school, he found himself equal to the job; nor did he think it of enough importance to mention how many people he had run into, leaving a great amount of vexation in his rear as he sped on.
"He was just going out of his door," he announced simply.
"Oh Joey!" gasped Polly. Then she hugged him rapturously. "But you caught him."
"Yes, I caught him, and we jumped into his carriage; and that"s all."
"But it was something to be always proud of," cried Polly, in a transport.
Joel, feeling very glad that there was something to be proud of at all in this evening"s transactions, sat up quite straight at this, and wiped his eyes.
"Now that"s a good boy," said Polly encouragingly. "Mamsie will be very glad." And she ran over to get a towel, dip it in the water basin, and bring it back.
"Oh, that feels so good!" said Joel, with a wintry smile, as she sopped his red eyelids and poor, swollen nose.
"So it must," said Polly pitifully, "and I"m going to bring the basin here, and do it some more." Which she did; so that by the time Phronsie was brought downstairs to sleep in Mrs. Fisher"s room, Joel was quite presentable.
"Here they come!" announced Polly radiantly, hearing the noise on the stairs, and running back to set the basin and towel in their places.
"Now, Joey, you can see for yourself that Phronsie is all right."
And there she was, perched on Dr. Pennell"s shoulder, to be sure, and Mamsie hurrying in to her boy, and everything was just as beautiful as it could be!
"See, Joel, I"m all fixed up nice," laughed Phronsie from her perch.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "SEE, JOEL, I"M ALL FIXED UP NICE," LAUGHED PHRONSIE FROM HER PERCH.]
Joel"s mouth worked dreadfully, but he saw Mamsie"s eyes, so he piped up bravely, "I"m so glad, Phronsie." It sounded very funnily, for it died away in his throat, and he couldn"t have said another word possibly; but Phronsie was sleepy, and didn"t notice. And then the doctor said they must go out; so with a last glance at Phronsie, to be sure that she was all right, Joel went off, Polly holding his hand.
The next evening they were all drawn up before the library fire; Polly on the big rug with Joel"s head in her lap, his eyes fixed on Phronsie, who was ensconced in an easy-chair, close to which Grandpapa was sitting.
"Tell stories, do, Polly," begged Van.
"Yes, do, Polly," said little d.i.c.k, who had spent most of the day in trying to get near to Phronsie, keeping other people very much occupied in driving him off, as she had to be very quiet. "Do, Polly," he begged.
"Oh, Polly"s tired," said Jasper, knowing that she had been with Phronsie all her spare time, and looking at the brown eyes which were drooping a bit in the firelight.
"Oh, no, I will," said Polly, rousing herself, and feeling that she ought not to be tired, when Phronsie was getting well so fast, and everything was so beautiful. "I"ll tell you one. Let me see, what shall it be about?" and she leant her head in her hands to think a bit.
"Let her off," said Jasper; "do, boys. I"ll tell you one instead," he said.
"No, we don"t want yours," said Van, not very politely. "We want Polly"s."
"For shame, Van!" said Percy, who dearly loved to reprove his brother, and never allowed the occasion to slip when he could do so.
"For shame yourself!" retorted Van, flinging himself down on the rug.
"You"re everlastingly teasing Polly to do things when she"s tired to death. So there, Percy Whitney."
"Oh, I"ll tell the story," Polly said, hastily bringing her brown head up, while Phronsie began to look troubled.
"I"d like to tell a story," said Tom Beresford slowly, where he sat just back of the big rug.
All the young folks turned to regard him, and Van was just going to say, "Oh, we don"t want yours, Tom," when Polly leaned forward, "Oh, will you--will you, Tom?" so eagerly that Van hadn"t the heart to object.
"Yes, I will," promised Tom, nodding at her.
"Well, get down on the rug, then," said Jasper, moving up; "the story-teller always has to have a place of honor here."
"That so?" cried Tom; "well, here goes," and he precipitated himself at once into the midst of things.
"Ow! get out," cried Van crossly, and giving him a push.
"Oh Vanny!" said Polly reprovingly.