Fisher went over and closed the door, then came to his side.
"I thought, my boy," she said, "that I should find you here. Now then, tell mother all about it," and lifting his head, she sat down and took it into her lap.
"O dear!" cried Joel, burrowing deep in the comfortable lap, "O dear--O dear!"
"Now, that is silly, Joey," said Mother Fisher, "tell me at once what all this trouble is about," pa.s.sing her firm hands over his hot forehead, and trying to look in his face. But he struggled to turn it away from her.
"In the first place I just hate school!" he exploded.
XXII
JOEL
"Hate school?" cried Mother Fisher. "Oh, Joey! think how Ben wanted more schooling, only he wouldn"t take the chance when Mr. King offered it to him because he felt that he must be earning money as soon as possible. Oh, Joey!"
That "Oh, Joey!" cut deeply. Joel winced and burrowed deeper under his mother"s fingers.
"That"s just it," he cried. "Ben wanted it, and I don"t. I hate it, and I don"t want to go back."
"Don"t want to go back?" repeated Mrs. Fisher in dismay.
"No, I don"t. The fellows are always twitting me, and every one gets ahead of me, and I"m everlastingly staying in from ballgames to make up lessons, and I"d like to fire the books, I would," cried Joel with venom.
Mrs. Fisher said nothing, but the hands still stroked the brown stubby head in her lap.
"And n.o.body cares for me because I won"t be smart like the others, but I can"t help it, I just hate school!" finished Joel in the same strain.
"Joel," said Mrs. Fisher slowly, "if that is the case, I shall go down to Mr. King and tell him that we, Father Fisher and I, Polly and Phronsie, will not go abroad with him."
Joel bolted upright and, putting down his two hands, brought his black eyes to bear on her.
"What?"
"I shall go directly downstairs and tell Mr. King that Father Fisher and I, Polly and Phronsie, will not go abroad with him," repeated his mother slowly and distinctly while she looked him fully in the face.
"You can"t do that," said Joel in amazement. "He"s engaged the state-rooms."
"That makes no difference," said Mrs. Fisher, "when a woman has a boy who needs her, nothing should stand in the way. And I must stay at home and take care of you, Joel."
Joel sprang to his feet and began to prance up and down the floor. "I"m big enough to take care of myself, mother," he declared, coming up to her, to prance off again.
"So I thought," said Mrs. Fisher composedly, "or I shouldn"t have placed you at Mr. Marks"s school."
"The idea, Mamsie, of your staying at home to take care of me," said Joel excitedly. "Why, feel of that." He bared his arm, and coming up, thrust it out for inspection. "Isn"t that splendid? I do verily believe I could whip any fellow in school, I do," he cried, regarding his muscles affectionately. "If you don"t believe it, just pinch them hard.
You don"t mean it really, Mamsie, what you said, of course. The idea of staying at home to take care of me," and he began to prance again.
"I don"t care how many boys you can whip," observed Mother Fisher coolly, "as long as you can"t whip your own self when you"re naughty, you"re too weak to go alone, and I must stay at home."
Joel stopped suddenly and looked at her.
"And before I"d give up, a boy of thirteen, and beg to be taken away from school because the lessons were hard, and I didn"t like to study, I"d work myself to skin and bone but I"d go through creditably." Mrs.
Fisher sat straight now as an arrow in her corner of the sofa. "I"ve said my say, Joel," she finished after a pause, "and now I shall go down and tell Mr. King."
"Mother," howled Joel, dashing across the room to her, "don"t go! I"ll stay, I will. Don"t say that again, about my having to be taken care of like a baby. I"ll be good, mother, and study."
"Study doesn"t amount to much unless you are glad of the chance," said Mrs. Fisher sharply. "I wouldn"t give a fig for it, being driven to it," and her lips curled scornfully.
Joel wilted miserably. "I do care for the chance," he cried; "just try me, and see."
Mrs. Fisher took his sunburnt face between her two hands. "Do you really wish to go back to school, and put your mind on your books? Be honest, now."
"Yes, I do," said Joel, without winking.
"Well, you never told me a lie, and I know you won"t begin now," said Mother Fisher, slowly releasing him. "You may go back, Joe; I"ll trust you."
"Phronsie," said Jasper, as the sound of the two voices could be heard in Mother Fisher"s room, "don"t you want to come into my den? I"ve some new bugs in the cabinet--found a regular beauty to-day."
Phronsie stood quite still just where Joel had left her; her hands were clasped and tears were rolling slowly down her cheeks. "No," she said, without looking at him, "Jasper, I don"t."
"Do come, Phronsie," he begged, going over to her, and holding out his hand. "You can"t think how nice the new one is, with yellow stripes and two long horns. Come and see it, Phronsie."
"No, Jasper," said the child quietly. Then in the next breath, "I think Joey must be very sick."
"Oh! Mamsie is taking care of him, and he"ll soon be all right," broke in Polly cheerily. "Do go with Jasper, Phronsie, do, dear." She took hold of the clasped hands, and smiled up into the drooping face.
But Phronsie shook her head and said "No."
"If Grandpapa should come in and find her so "twould be very dreadful!"
exclaimed Polly, looking over at the five boys, who in this sudden emergency were knocked speechless. "Do let us all play some game. Can"t some one think of one?"
"Let us play "Twenty Questions,"" proposed Jasper brightly. "I"ll begin it, I"ve thought of something."
"That"s horrid," cried Van, finding his tongue, "none of us want to play that, I"m sure."
"I do," said David. "I think "Twenty Questions" is always nice. Is it animal, vegetable or mineral, Jasper?"
"I"m sick of it. Do play something not quite as old as the hills, I beg."
"Well, you think of something yourself, old man," said Jasper, nodding furiously at him. "Hurry up."
"I"d rather have Polly tell a story than any game you could possibly think of," said Van, going over to her, where she sat on the rug at Phronsie"s feet. "Polly, will you?" he asked wheedlingly.
"Don"t ask her to-night," interposed Jasper.
"Yes, I shall. It"s the only time we shall have," said Van, "before we go back to school. Do, Polly, will you?" he begged again.