Ben Pepper

by Margaret Sidney

  XI

  AN AFTERNOON CALL

  And so the real Christmas rang its joy-bells, passing over the Kinghousehold as if such a thing as a holiday was never thought of.

  Polly gave her presents to the girls of her set, and in every way sheand the other members of the household kept up all the delights of theseason, so far as it concerned people outside of their family. But whenall the little and big white-papered gifts for her began to pour intothe care of the butler who attended the door, they were carefullydeposited in a little room off from the main hall, set apart for thepurpose, there to lie untouched until "we have _our_ real Christmas,"she said.

  And as it was arranged with Polly's gifts, so it was to be the order ofproceedings in regard to the presents of every other member of thefamily; till the little room seemed fit to burst with richness, and evenHobson despaired of getting much more in.

  "We'll have to get some other place, and that's true enough," he said tohimself, with a sigh, and dumping down a huge box just left at the door.

  Joel, racing along the hall at the sound of the arrival, panted, "Whatis it? Oh, Hobson, who is it for?" all in the same breath.

  "Hold on, Master Joel!" cried Hobson, and feeling of his arm gingerly,after the eager pinch from Joel's fingers. "Well, it was for you, if youmust know," he said irritably. "But you can't go in," twitching the doorin alarm, and trying to turn the key.

  "Oh! I will too; it was mine!" cried Joel, very hot and red faced, andstruggling to squeeze by the portly figure of the butler. "You've noright to put me out," he fumed.

  "Mrs. Whitney gave me this key," said the butler, puffing from hisexertions to keep Joel off with one hand, and to adjust the implement inits lock with the other. "And I, O bless me," as it slipped from hisfingers and jingled to the floor.

  "There,--goody,--O jumbo!" exclaimed Joel, pouncing on it where it fellon the edge of the rug, then he slipped away from the big hand, and,prancing off, shook the key high in the air in derision. "Now I can goin whenever I like. Whoop it up! Yes-sir-ee!"

  Hobson, beyond answering, made a dive in his direction, which Joelquickly eluded, and, the bell ringing again, there could be no furtherattempt to rescue the key, and Joel danced off, chuckling triumphantly.And hopping through the back drawing-room on a short cut across to theside hall, he rushed up almost into the face of a big figure sitting upin state on one of the high-backed carved chairs.

  "O dear me!" exclaimed Joel, backing out summarily.

  "I am very glad to see you, Joel," said Madam Van Ruypen, with her bestsmile on, "for I'm going to wait until Mrs. Whitney gets home," andextending her hand.

  Joel, forgetting his key, put hand and all into her black glove.

  "Dear me," she said, looking at her palm, "what have we here, Joel?"

  "It's a key," blurted Joel, recovering it quickly, "and I can't stay,"feeling questions in the air, and he was for bolting out again.

  "Indeed, you will stay," declared Madam Van Ruypen, coolly; "a talk withyou is the very thing I want! Sit down," and she pointed a black-glovedfinger over to an opposite ottoman. And Joel sat down.

  "Now, my dear boy," she said as sweetly as if she had come expressly tosee him, and was quite sure of her welcome, "before your aunt comeshome, I want to talk with you."

  "Oh, I'll go and put it back," said Joel, supposing it was all about thekey, and beginning to slide off from his ottoman.

  "Put what back?" demanded the old lady with sharp eyes full on him.

  "The key," said Joel, fumbling it first in one set of fingers, then inthe other. "I'll--" and he was on his feet.

  "Sit down," said Madam Van Ruypen, pointing to the ottoman, and againJoel sat down with a decided conviction that he didn't like afternooncalls; and he gazed anxiously at the door to see if by any chance AuntyWhitney would appear.

  "You see, Joel, I depend on you," Madam Van Ruypen was saying.

  Joel, all his thoughts on the little room off from the hall, and thedesire which now possessed him to get back the key into the butler'shands before he could go with his story to Mother Fisher, sat and swunghis feet in dismal silence, every word of the old lady's falling onheedless ears.

  At last she stopped short and surveyed him with smart displeasure.

  "You haven't heard a word I've said," she declared sharply.

  "No'm," said Joel, promptly; and, coming to himself with an awfulconsciousness that here was something dreadful to add to the matter ofthe key that now began to quite weigh him down, he stopped swinging hisfeet and sat stiffly on the chair.

  "Well, do you come straight here," she demanded; and somehow Joel foundhimself off from his chair, and over by the old lady's side.

  "No, not there; I want you in front where I can look at you," and shesummarily arranged him to her liking. "There you are! Now, Joel,"--shesurveyed him as long as it suited her, Joel not taking his black eyesfrom her face,--"do you know what I want this talk with you for?"

  "No'm," said Joel.

  "Well, I'll tell you; listen, now."

  "Yes'm," said Joel, gripping his key tighter than ever.

  "You'd much better give me that key," said Madam Van Ruypen, with asudden sharp look down at his clenched hand; "you are not attending atall to what I am saying, Joel."

  "Oh, no, no," cried Joel, quite alarmed, and thrusting his fistful backof him. "O dear! Let me go, ma'am, _please do_!"

  Instead of this request being complied with, Madam Van Ruypen leanedover and calmly laid a black glove on his hot little fist. "Give it tome at once," she commanded; "I'll keep it for you until I've said mysay."

  "I can't," screamed Joel; "'tisn't mine. O dear me, I can't." Clappinghis other hand on his fist to hold it tighter yet, he wriggled away indistress to stand in the middle of the floor, the old lady viewing himwith fast-rising choler; at last she arrived at the height of herdispleasure.

  "Go away at once," she said coldly, "and send your brother David here.He's a boy of sense, and the best one, after all, to deal with, seeingBen isn't home."

  Joel, nearly blinded by the tears that now ran freely down his cheeks,stumbled out to do as he was bidden, forgetting in his misery the keystill doubled up in his fist. But search high and low as he might, Davidcould not be found. And at last Joel, quite gone in distress, rushedinto Mother Fisher's room. There was no one in it, and Joel flunghimself down on the wide old sofa, and cried as if his heart wouldbreak.

  Meantime Madam Van Ruypen, despairing of Mrs. Whitney's return, anddespite her summons to servants, unable to find a trace of Joel orDavid, swept out of the back drawing-room, got into her carriage, andwas driven off home in a very bad frame of mind.

  And Joel sobbed on until he could scarcely see out of his eyes, andstill Mother Fisher didn't come. And the butler crossly set the otherChristmas gifts that kept arriving, in a closet under the hall stairs,much too small a place for them, and everything was about as bad as itcould be.

  A smart clap on the back brought Joel up, but he hid his face behind hishands.

  "Phoh! What are you crying for?" It was Van; and he was so delighted tocatch Joel in this plight that he chortled over and over, "Joe Pepper'sbeen crying!" and he began to dance around the room.

  "I haven't," cried Joel, too wild to think of anything but Van's taunts,and dashing his hands aside.

  "Oh, what an _awful_ whopper!" exclaimed Van, coming quite close to peerup into Joel's face, "and you don't know how you look,--just like thatbaboon at the Zoo, with the little squinched-up eyes!" he addedpleasantly.

  "I don't care--go 'way!" said Joel, crossly, and flapping out his hands,regardless of anything but the wild desire to keep Van from a closeinspection. Something jingled as it fell to the floor.

  "What's that?" cried Van, dancing away from Joel, and peering withbright eyes on the carpet.

  "It's nothing," screamed Joel, flying down in front of the sofa, andpawing wildly along the carpet. "I tell you 'tisn't," he kept onscreaming. "Go 'way this minute."

  "Oh, now I know you've
got something that doesn't belong to you, andyou're keeping it secret from the rest of us." Van threw himself flat onthe floor and tried to crowd in between Joel and the old sofa.

  "I haven't; it's mine, it's--it's--Go right away!"

  But struggle and push as he might, Van somehow seemed to wedge himselfin; and Joel's poor eyes not allowing him to see much, it was just oneminute, when--"O goody!" The key was in Van's hand, and he was dancingagain in the middle of the room.

  Joel sprang to his feet and tossed his stubby black hair off from hisforehead, "You give that right straight back here, Van Whitney!" heshouted.

  "Catch me!" cried Van. Then he swung the key tauntingly over towardJoel. "Hoh, don't you wish you may get it, Joe Pepper, don't you, now?"

  For answer Joel made a blind rush at him, and there they were, flyingaround and around in Mother Fisher's room, Van now having all he coulddo to look out for himself and keep away from Joel's sturdy fists,without the care of keys. So he flung his captured prize as far as hecould over into the opposite corner. And hearing it land somewhere, Joelreleased him, and ran blindly over where it appeared to strike. And asVan followed quickly, there really didn't seem to be any chance ofrecovering it, at least in peace, with another on its trail who had asharp pair of eyes in his head.

  Joel turned suddenly, and before Van had the least idea what he wasabout, he was seized and hustled off to Mother Fisher's closet, bundledin, the door slammed to, the key turned in the lock, and there he was.

  "Now," said Joel, drawing the first long breath, "I'll get that key easyenough," and he rushed over to begin operations.

  "_Let me out!_" screamed Van, in muffled accents, and banging on thecloset door.

  "Don't you wish you may?" Joel, pawing and prowling frantically alongthe floor, found time to hurl him this over his shoulder. Then he rubbedhis smarting eyes and set to work with fresh vigor, not paying anyfurther attention to Van's entreaties. At last, when it really seemed asif that key had been possessed of little fairy legs and run off, Joelpushed aside Mother Fisher's big workstand, a thing he had done at leastthree times before, and there it was shining up at him where it hadhidden behind one of the legs!

  "I've got you now," cried Joel, jubilantly pouncing on it. And thistime, not daring to trust it in his hands, he thrust it deep within hispocket, and with never a thought of Van, who had stopped his cries tolisten to Joel, he tore out of the room, and down the stairs, three at atime.

  "Has any one seen Mamsie?" he cried of the first person he met, one ofthe under servants passing through the back hall.

  "Why, she's gone out with Mrs. Whitney," said the maid.

  "Bother!" exploded Joel, dancing impatiently from one foot to the other.

  "Yes, they've gone out making calls, I s'pose," said the maid, delightedto think she had any news to impart.

  Joel made a grimace at that, not having at any time a reason for likingcalls, and this afternoon with a positive aversion to them. And thatbrought back Madam Van Ruypen unpleasantly to his mind.

  "Has she gone?" he asked in a dreadful whisper; and clutching the maid'sarm, "has she, Hannah?"

  "Ow!" exclaimed Hannah, edging off quickly. "Yes, I told you she had;she and Mrs. Whitney, too. You don't need to pinch me to death, MasterJoel, to find out."

  "Oh, I don't mean Mamsie," cried Joel, impatiently. "I mean _she_,--has_she_ gone?" and pointing off toward the back drawing-room, "Say,Hannah, has she?"

  "Whoever do you mean?" demanded Hannah, glancing over her shoulder inthe direction indicated.

  "Why, _she_," repeated Joel, stamping impatiently to enforce his words,"Madam Van Ruypen, of course."

  "I didn't know she was there," said Hannah, "I'll go and see," and shestarted for the back drawing-room door.

  "Oh, no, no," cried Joel, in a lively terror, and running after her, helaid hold of her apron string; "I don't want to know, Hannah; I don't,really."

  "Why, you asked me," snapped Hannah, twitching away the apron string;"there, now, you've mussed it all up," she added in vexation, and nowquite determined, if for no other reason than to spite Joel, to explorethe back drawing-room, she opened the door and went in.

  Joel, seeing she had escaped him, fled precipitately and, not waiting torestore the key to Hobson, a thing he had intended to do if he couldn'tfind Mamsie, now considered out of doors to be the only safe place forhim. For of course Hannah would come for him to go back to Madam VanRuypen sitting in dreadful state to receive him. It sent cold chillsdown his spine just to think of it! And he rushed madly along down by across cut to the green wicket gate on his way over to Larry Keep's.

  "Hullo! Well, you needn't knock a chap down," as some one bumped intohim.

  "I didn't. 'Twas you knocked me."

  "No such thing," said Larry, recovering himself, "and I was going foryou; and Van, too."

  At mention of Van, Joel's face dropped, and all the color rushed out ofit. "O dear me, I forgot; he's in the closet."

  "_In the closet?_" repeated Larry, his blue eyes opening their widest.

  "Yes, I shut him up. Oh, come with me." In his distress he seizedLarry's arm, and together they raced, Joel far in advance, up to the bighouse.