The Adventures of Joel Pepper

by Margaret Sidney

  XX

  CIRCUS OR MENAGERIE?

  "You tell Joel," said Mrs. Beebe, standing in the doorway of thelittle shop, "that I've got some animals I'm goin' to send downto his circus this afternoon, if so be I can't come myself andbring 'em."

  "Yes'm," said Polly; "and oh, thank you, dear Mrs. Beebe."

  "Whatever can they be?" she cried to herself, racing home on thewings of the wind. "Dear me, won't Joe have the most splendidtime! and dear little Davie, it's good he's rested and well,"and Polly's mind was flying as busily as her feet, as she setall her wits to work to think up everything that could possiblybe achieved to help out the great event.

  When she got home Joel was in a great tribulation. "Polly,Polly," he mourned, "the tiger's run away."

  "Yes, she has," declared Davie, mournfully, "and she was thebest of the whole. Oh, Polly!" and he sat down on the step indespair.

  "Now that's too bad!" cried Polly; "but then, dear me, Joe,p'r'aps we can find her. Doesn't Sally know where she is?"

  "No--no," cried Joel, quite gone in distress, and twisting hischubby fingers to keep from crying; "and Mrs. Brown doesn't knoweither. She says that cat never ran away before in all her life,and I'd just got her tamed to carry Seraphina. O dear, dear!"

  "Joel," cried Polly, "I do believe that cat is up in a tree,maybe, near the Browns'. I just mean to run over and call herwith all my might."

  "We've called and called, and every one of the Browns hascalled," said Joel, "and she won't come."

  David's head sank, and he covered his face with both hands,unable to say a word.

  "Well now, Joel," said Polly, "I wouldn't care, if I were you;and oh," she cried suddenly, with delight at the comfort shecould give him, "Mrs. Beebe says she's going to send you someanimals, if she can't come and bring 'em herself. Think of that,Joe!"

  "Oh--oh!" screamed Joel, in an ecstasy. "Now I don't care ifthat old cat has run away. She bit me awfully yesterday," and heheld up his thumb; "and she's a mean old thing, and she wasn't avery good tiger, anyway."

  "Mrs. Beebe's animals will be a good deal nicer," said littleDavie, bringing up a shining face as his hands fell away. "Whatkinds are they, Polly?"

  "I don't know," said Polly; "that's all she told me."

  "And we've got the monkey left, 'cause I'm going to be themonkey," said Joel, with a bob of his black head; "and Dave'sgoing to be a kangaroo, only he don't jump as big as he oughtto."

  "I jump as high as I can, Polly," said little David, getting offfrom his step to go to her side, and look up into her faceanxiously.

  "Oh, I know you'll be a lovely kangaroo, Davie," said Polly,giving him a reassuring little hug, "and they don't always jumphigh, Joel."

  "Don't they?" asked Joel, in surprise.

  "No, indeed, not unless they want to," said Polly. "But whydon't you be the kangaroo, then, Joe, and let Davie be somethingelse? Give him the snake, then he won't have to jump, and it'seasier to wriggle."

  "Oh, no--no--no," cried Joel, in alarm, "I'm going to be thesnake myself, and slash around like everything. Dave can't bethe snake."

  "Well, something else that's as easy as the snake, then," saidPolly, laughing. "You mustn't tire him all out, Joel, for thenMamsie will have to stop the circus, and _that_ would be perfectlydreadful, you know."

  This made Joel decide at once that he would change his animalsround a bit; so he said, "I'll be the kangaroo myself, Dave. Seehere," and he executed such a remarkable series of leaps andhops, and long and short steps, that his audience of two werequite overcome with admiration.

  "Oh, I am so glad, Joel, that you'll be the kangaroo," saidDavie, with a long breath of relief, "for it tired me so to try,and I couldn't do him good."

  "No," said Joel, coming up bright and shining, as he finishedhis last hop, "you couldn't, Davie. Now you must take some ofthe others then, if you aren't to be the kangaroo." And he threwhimself on the grass at Polly's feet, as she and David now sat onthe step.

  "Only one," said Polly; "you mustn't give him but one, Joe, totake the place of the kangaroo."

  "Well, the kangaroo was a big one," said Joel; "he ought to taketwo others to make up."

  "No, only one," said Polly, decidedly.

  "I'd rather be a bird," said little Davie, timidly.

  "Pshaw! a bird!" exclaimed Joel, in high disdain. "I'm not goingto have any old birds. Folks don't have 'em in a circus."

  "Well, this is going to have a menag--menag--" said Polly, whosometimes found it hard to manage all the big words she wantedto use. "Anyway, what Ben called it the other night. He heard'em talking of it at the Blodgetts'."

  "I know," said Joel, steering clear of the word. "Do they havebirds in that thing that Ben told about?" he asked doubtfully.

  "Oh, yes--beautiful ones--trained to do anything, Joel Pepper,"cried Polly "Oh, your show wouldn't be anything without a bird!"

  "Then I'll have one, and Dave shall be it," decided Joel,veering around.

  "And I'll do things," cried little Davie, very much excited, andgetting off from his step to hop along the path. "I'll sing."

  "That's nothing!" said Joel, in scorn.

  "And I'll hop and pick up crumbs," added David, anxious toplease and do everything that a well-brought-up bird should do.

  "Hoh! that won't be anything!" exclaimed Joel, with a witheringlook.

  "I'll tell you, Joel, let's play that you trained Davie, who's abird, you know, to drag Seraphina around. We can tie her on aboard real nicely."

  "Oh, yes, that's prime!" cried Joel, seeing hope ahead forDavid's bird, if Polly only took hold of it.

  "And then you can tell the audience that the trained bird isgoing to ride on the monkey's back," cried Polly.

  "Oh, hooray!" shouted Joel, prancing off to hop with David downthe path and over the grass.

  "And then when you've got through showing him off, David mustsing a little song to show he is a bird. This way," and Pollythrew back her head and twittered twee-dee-ed, and chee-chee-ed,and trilled in a way she had, till the boys looked up in thebranches of the old scraggy apple tree to see if there reallywas any little bird there.

  "That's fine!" cried Joel, clapping his hands and drawing a longbreath.

  "Oh, I never can do it so nice as Polly," said David, in despair,growing quite sober.

  "Polly," cried Joel, suddenly, "couldn't you stay behind thebushes and sing? and folks will think it's Dave,--the bird--Imean."

  "Why, yes, Joel, if Davie doesn't want to sing," said Polly;"but he's the bird, you know, so it must be as he wants."

  "But he can't sing good, you know," said Joel, impatiently.

  "I'd rather you'd sing the bird, Polly," said little David,"'cause I can't do it good like you; and I'll _be_ the bird."And he repressed the sigh he felt like giving.

  "Then I will, gladly," said Polly, who loved dearly to sing.

  "And, Polly, will you play the band?" cried Joel, who had beenso busy getting his various animals planned for and ready, thatthe music was left out of the reckoning.

  "Dear me, Joe!" exclaimed Polly, in consternation. Yet she feltquite flattered. "We haven't any table out here, except the stoneone," glancing at it, "and my fingers won't make any noise onthat. So I don't see how we can have the band." Polly alwaysmade her fingers fly up and down on the kitchen table while shesang, pretending it was a piano and she was a great musician,for it was the dearest wish of her heart to learn to play on apiano.

  "Ben can get us a board, I know," cried Joel, confidently; so heran off to find him in the woodshed, for Ben was home to-day,chopping wood. And pretty soon Joel came running back, proclaimingthat Ben had said yes, if Polly would play, that the board should beall ready.

  "O dear me!" cried Polly. "Well, then, I must hurry and go inand practise," as she called drumming on the kitchen table; shesaid this with quite an important air, as she hurried into thehouse.

  "Ben's going to be the elephant, isn't he, Joel?" she asked,turning around in the doorway, for Joel changed his animalsabout s
o often it was difficult to keep track of them.

  "No," said Joel, "I'm going to be that."

  "Why, I thought you were to be the bear," said Polly, insurprise.

  "I am, and Mr. Tisbett's black horses, and--"

  "You can't be two horses, Joe," said Polly. "Dear me. Ben mustbe one of them."

  "Well, I'm going to be Bill, anyway," said Joel, in alarm. "Bencan be Jerry. And I'm going to be Mr. Tisbett and make 'em go."

  "You can't be Mr. Tisbett if you're Bill," said Polly, indistress. "Oh, Joel, some one else must be stage-driver."

  "This isn't stage-driver," corrected Joel, in a superior way."Hoh! don't you know anything, Polly Pepper! It's circus! Andthe horses do things. I saw 'em in the big picture."

  "Well, then, I can be Mr. Tisbett," said Polly, tingling to herfinger-tips at the prospect.

  "Mr. Tisbett isn't a girl," said Joel, in scorn.

  "But I can put on Ben's coat, and you can tell 'em I'm Mr. Tisbett,same's you introduce all the animals," persuasively said Polly,feeling as if nothing could be quite as nice as to be Mr. Tisbettand manage those black horses.

  "Yes, let Polly be Mr. Tisbett," begged little David, longing tobe that personage himself. "She'll make the circus splendid."

  "All right," said Joel. "Well, I'm going to jump through thepaper hoops, anyway, on Ben's back. Are they safe?" he askedanxiously.

  "Yes, indeed," said Polly, who had a terrible time in makingthem, Joel being the most critical of individuals, "as safe ascan be, in the bedroom cupboard;" and she ran off to get them,but not so fast as Joel, who rushed eagerly past her.

  "Take care, Joe, you mustn't get 'em," warned Polly, dashinginto the bedroom at his heels. But too late! Joel's hands wereon the paper rings, and he clutched them so tightly that, lo andbehold, one little brown fist went clear through one of them, tocome out on the other side!

  "Now, see," began Polly, desperately. Joel gave one look, thenburst into a flood of tears.

  "I've spoiled it! I've spoiled it! Oh, I can't jump through itnow!" he wailed, still holding them closely. "Oh, Polly, I'vespoiled--"

  "Well, it's your own fault!" Polly was just going to say,knowing that she would have to make a new one, and where shouldshe get the paper! Then her brow cleared, and she gave a sunnysmile. "Never mind, Joey!" she cried. "There, p'r'aps it isn'tmuch hurt," and she took the broken one, and began to smooth itout.

  "But it's bursted," cried Joel, trying to look through the rainof tears. "Oh, Polly! I was going to make the hole when I jumpedthrough."

  "Um!--" said Polly, busily considering. Then she sat down andrested her elbows on her knees, first setting up the poorbursted ring against the bureau; and, with her chin in her hands,looked at it steadily. "I tell you, Joel, what we'll do," atlast she cried; "those edges where it is torn can be pastedtogether, and--"

  "But it'll be a hole!" shouted Joel, who had stopped cryingwhile Polly was thinking, knowing that she would get over thetrouble some way. Now he cried worse than ever. "There wasn'tgoin' to be any hole, till I made one. O dear me!" and he flunghimself flat on the floor, to cry as if his heart would break.

  "Joe, Joe," cried Polly, running over to him to shake his arm,"you must stop crying this very minute. If you don't, I shallnot do anything for your circus. I won't be one of the animals,nor I won't play any music, nor anything."

  Joel gave a great gasp. "I'll stop," he promised.

  "Well, now, you must stop at once," said Polly, firmly, seeingthe advantage she had gained. "So sit up, Joe, that's a goodboy," as he very unwillingly brought himself up. "Now, then,I'll tell you what I'm going to do," and Polly seized the poorring, and, tossing back her brown hair, began to pat and to pullthe crooked edges together.

  "You see, Joey, I'm going to put a little border of red paperall around it," she said, patting and pulling away, "then it'llbe--"

  "Oh, now that's goin' to be better than the other one," declaredJoel, in huge delight, his round face wreathed in smiles. "AndI'm going to break and smash the other one," and he doubled uphis brown fist and dashed toward it.

  "No, you won't, Joe," cried Polly, in alarm. "I've only redpaper enough to go on the broken one, so if anything happens tothe other one, deary me! I don't know whatever in the world wecould do. Now run and get the cup of paste in the woodshed, andin the shake of a lobster's whisker I'll have it all done," sangPolly, gayly.

  "Lobsters don't have whiskers," said Joel, as he ran for thepaste cup. "Cats do, Polly, but lobsters don't," as he broughtit back.

  "Oh, yes, they do," contradicted Polly; "those long thin thingsthat stick out under their eyes. But never mind, anyway, anddon't talk about them, for I've got to put all my mind on thisdreadful ring."

  "Polly, I wish I'd had a lobster in my circus," said Joel, aftera minute's panic, in which Polly pinched and snipped and pastedand trimmed with red paper all around the hole, till any onelooking on would have said this was going to be the mostsplendid circus ring in the whole world.

  "Dear me, if you haven't enough animals and reptiles and thingsin your circus, Joey Pepper!" exclaimed Polly. "You wouldn't havehad room for the lobster, anyway."

  "But I wish I had him," repeated Joel, stolidly.

  "And you must leave something for next time," said Polly, takingup the big ring to whirl it around over her head, to watch theeffect of the red strip.

  "Oh, Polly!" screamed Joel, his black eyes sparkling withdelight, "that's perfectly splendid! and I'll come right smashthrough that red ring. Yes, sir-_ree!_" and he danced aroundthe bedroom, bumping into every object, as he was stretchinghis neck to look at the ring Polly was whirling so merrily.

  "Well, now that's done," said Polly, with a sigh of relief; "andI'm thankful, Joey Pepper. Yes, it does look nice, doesn't it?"and she surveyed the red border with pride. "Wasn't it good thatMamsie gave me those strips of paper? Whatever should we havedone without them! Well, now, says I, you've got to hurry to getall ready. Three o'clock comes pretty soon after dinner, andthere's ever and ever so much yet to do before you can have yourcircus, Joey Pepper."