Meanwhile the whole Corcoran brood had all gathered about the visitors, to rivet their gaze upon them, and wait patiently for further developments.
"Polly, you tell her," cried Alexia.
"Yes, Polly, do," cried the other girls.
"Yes, Polly," said Pickering, "you can tell it the best."
"Oh, I never could," said Polly in dismay. "Jasper, you, please."
"No, no, Polly," said Van; "she"s the best."
"But Polly doesn"t wish to," said Jasper in a low voice.
"All right, then, j.a.ppy, go ahead," said Percy.
There was a little pause, Mrs. Corcoran filling it up by saying, "I can"t ask you to sit down, for there ain"t chairs enough," beginning to wipe off one with her ap.r.o.n. "Here, sir, if you"d please to sit," taking it over to Mr. King.
"Thank you," said the old gentleman, accepting it with his best air.
"Now then, Jasper"--he had handed a small parcel to him under cover of the chair-wiping--"go ahead, my boy."
So Jasper, seeing that there was no help for it, but that he was really to be the spokesman, plunged in quite bravely.
"Mrs. Corcoran, some of us girls and boys--we belong to two clubs, you know,"--waving his hand over to the representatives--"wanted to show your boys and girls, that we were grateful to their father for being so good and kind to the pa.s.sengers that night of the accident."
Here the little widow put the corner of her ap.r.o.n up to her eye, so Jasper hurried on: "And we wanted to help them to get an education. And so we had a little entertainment, and sold the tickets and here is our gift!" Jasper ended desperately, thrusting the package out.
"Take it, Arethusa," was all Mrs. Corcoran could say; "and may the Lord bless you all!" Then she put the ap.r.o.n over her head and sobbed aloud.
"Bless me!" exclaimed old Mr. King, fumbling for his handkerchief, "don"t, my good woman, I beg of you."
"And, oh, I do hope you"ll learn to play on the piano," breathed Polly, as Arethusa took the package from Jasper, and slid back to lay it in her mother"s hand.
"Oh me! I"m going to cry," exclaimed Alexia, backing off toward the door.
"If you do, I"ll throw you out," said Joel savagely.
"Well, I shall; I feel so sniffly and queer. Oh, Joel, what shall I do?
I shall be disgraced for life if I cry here."
"Hang on to me," said Joel stoutly, thrusting out his st.u.r.dy arm.
So Alexia hung on to it, and managed to get along very well. And one of the children, the littlest one next to the baby, created a diversion by bringing up a mangy cat, and laying it on Mr. King"s knees. This saved the situation as far as crying went, and brought safely away those who were perilously near the brink of tears.
"Oh dear me!" exclaimed Polly, starting forward, knowing how Grandpapa detested cats. But Jasper was before her.
"Let me take it, father," and he dexterously brought it off.
"Give it to me," said Polly. "Oh, what is its name?"
The little thing who seemed to own the cat toddled over, well pleased, and stuck his finger in his mouth, which was the extent to which he could go in conversation. But the other children, finding the ice now broken, all came up at this point, to gather around Polly and the cat.
"It"s lucky enough that Phronsie isn"t here," said Jasper in a low voice, "for she would never want to leave that cat."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "AND SO WE HAD A LITTLE ENTERTAINMENT, AND SOLD THE TICKETS, AND HERE IS OUR GIFT!"]
"Just see Polly Pepper!" exclaimed Alexia, with a grimace. "Why doesn"t she drop that dirty old cat?"
"Because she ought not to," howled Joel st.u.r.dily. Then he rushed over to Polly; and although he had small love for cats in general, this particular one, being extremely ill-favored and lean, met with his favor. He stroked her poor back.
Arethusa drew near and gazed into Polly"s face; seeing which, the cat was safely transferred to Joel, and Polly turned around to the girl.
"Oh, do you want to learn to play on the piano?" asked Polly breathlessly, under cover of the noise going on, for all the other members of the two clubs now took a hand in it. Even Percy unbent enough to interview one of the Corcoran boys.
"Yes, I do," said Arethusa, clasping her small red hands tightly.
Her eyes widened, and her little thin face, which wasn"t a bit pretty, lightened up now in a way that Polly thought was perfectly beautiful.
"Well, I did, when I was a little girl like you"--Polly bent her rosy face very close to Arethusa"s--"oh, _dreadfully_; and I used to drum on the table to make believe I could play."
"So do I," cried Arethusa, creeping up close to Polly"s neck, "an" th"
boys laugh at me. But I keep doin" it."
"And now, Arethusa, you are really going to learn to play on the piano."
Polly thrilled all over at the announcement, just as she had done when told that she was to take music lessons.
"Not a really and truly piano?" exclaimed Arethusa, lost in amazement.
"Yes, a really and truly piano," declared Polly positively. "Just think, Arethusa, you can give music lessons and help to take care of your mother."
And just then Grandpapa, who had been talking to Mrs. Corcoran, was saying, "Well, well, it"s time to be going, young people." And Joel put the cat down, that immediately ran between his legs, tripping him up as he turned, thereby making everybody laugh; and so the exit was made merrily.
"Wasn"t that fun!" cried Alexia, dancing off down the broken pavement.
"Oh, I forgot, I"m going to walk home with Polly," and she flew back.
"You take yourself away," cried old Mr. King, with a laugh. "I"m to have Polly to myself on this expedition."
"Well, at any rate, Clem, you haven"t Polly," announced Alexia as before, running up to her.
"Neither have you," retorted Clem, in the same way.
"So we will walk together," said Alexia, coolly possessing herself of Clem"s arm. "Those two boys can walk with each other; they"re just dying to."
"How do you know I want to walk with you?" asked Clem abruptly.
"Oh, but do, you sweet thing you! Come on!" and Alexia dragged her off at a smart pace.
"Grandpapa," cried Polly, hopping up and down by his side, too happy to keep still, while she clung to his hand just as Phronsie would have done, "you are going to have the piano put into the house the very first thing after it is cleaned and ready--the _very_ first thing?" She peered around into his face anxiously.
"The _very_ first thing," declared the old gentleman. "Take my word for it, Polly Pepper, there sha"n"t another article get in before it."