Five Little Peppers at School

by Margaret Sidney

  XII SOME EVERY-DAY FUN

  "It can't rain," cried Polly Pepper, "and it isn't going to. Don't thinkit, girls."

  "But it looks just like it," said Alexia obstinately, and wrinkling upher brows; "see those awful, horrid clouds, girls." She pointedtragically up to the sky.

  "Don't look at them," advised Polly. "Come on, girls. I challenge you toa race as far as the wicket gate."

  Away she dashed, with a bevy at her heels. Alexia, not to be left behindstaring at the sky, went racing after.

  "Wait," she screamed. The racers, however, spent no time attending tolaggards, but ran on.

  Polly dashed ahead, and touched the green wicket gate. "Oh, Polly gotthere first!" Almost immediately came another girl's fingers on it.

  "No--I don't think so," panted Polly. "Philena got there just about assoon."

  "No, you were first," said the girl who plunged up next; "I saw itdistinctly."

  "Well, it was so near that we ought to have another race to decide it,"declared Polly, with a little laugh, pushing back the damp rings of hairfrom her forehead. "Girls, isn't it lovely that we have this splendidplace where we can run, and nobody see us?"

  "Yes," said Alexia, throwing herself down on the grass; which examplewas immediately followed by all the other girls. "I just love thisavenue down to the wicket gate, Polly Pepper."

  "So do I," chimed in the others.

  "Oh dear me! I'm just toasted and fried," declared Alexia. "I never_was_ so hot in all my life."

  "You shouldn' have run so, Alexia," said Polly reproachfully, pattingthe arm still in its sling. "Oh, how could you!"

  "Well, did you suppose I was going to see you all sprinting off andhaving such fun, and not try it too? No, indeed; that's asking too much,Polly."

  Then she threw herself at full length on the grass, and gazed at hermeditatively.

  "Well, we mustn't have the second race, Philena," said Polly; "becauseif Alexia runs again, it surely will hurt her."

  "_Ow!_" exclaimed Alexia, flouncing up so suddenly that she nearlyoverthrew Amy Garrett, who was sitting next, and who violently protestedagainst such treatment, "now I won't keep you back, Polly. Oh dear me!it can't hurt me a single bit. I'm all ready to take off this horribleold thing, you know I am, only Dr. Fisher thought--"

  "He thought it would be safer to keep it on till after the picnic,"Polly was guilty of interrupting. "You know he said so, Alexia. No, wewon't run again, girls," Polly brought up quite decidedly.

  "Polly, you shall; I won't run--I really won't; I'll shut my eyes," andAlexia squinted up her pale eyes till her face was drawn up in a knot."I'll turn my back, I'll do anything if you'll only race; _please_ tryit again, Polly."

  So Polly, seeing that Alexia really wished it, dropped a kiss on each ofthe closed eyes. "Put your hand over them, and untwist your face fromthat funny knot," she laughed. "Come on, girls," and the race began.

  Alexia twisted and wriggled, as the pattering feet and quick breath ofthe girls when they neared her resting place, plunged her in dreadfuldistress not to look. "Oh dear--um! if I could just see once; um--_um_!I know Polly will win; oh dear! She _must_."

  But she didn't. It was Cathie Harrison, the new girl; that is, new tothem, as they hadn't drawn her into their set, but a few weeks. She wasa tall, thin girl, who got over the ground amazingly, to touch the greenwicket gate certainly three seconds before Polly Pepper came flying up.

  "You did that just splendidly, Cathie," cried Polly breathlessly. "Ohdear me, that _was_ a race!"

  "Goodness me!" cried Alexia, her eyes flying open, "my face never'll getout of that knot in all this world. My! I feel as if my jaws were alltied up. Well, Polly, this time you beat for sure," she addedconfidently, as the girls came running up to throw themselves on thegrass again.

  "But I didn't," said Polly merrily. "Oh dear! I _am_ so hot."

  "Yes, you did," declared Alexia stubbornly.

  "Why, Alexia Rhys! I didn't beat, any such a thing," correctedPolly--"not a single bit of it."

  "Well, who did, then?" demanded Alexia, quite angry to have Pollydefeated.

  "Why, Cathie did," said Polly, smiling over at her.

  "What, that old--" then Alexia pulled herself up; but it was too late.

  A dull red mounted to Cathie's sallow cheek, that hadn't changed colorduring all the two races. She drew a long breath, then got up slowly toher feet.

  "I'm going to play bean-bags," announced Polly briskly. "Come on, girls.See who'll get to the house first."

  "I'm going home," said Cathie, hurrying up to wedge herself into thegroup, and speaking to Polly. "Good-bye."

  "No," said Polly, "we're going to play bean-bags. Come on, Cathie." Shetried to draw Cathie's hand within her arm, but the girl pulled herselfaway. "I must go home--" and she started off.

  "Cathie--_Cathie_, wait," but again Cathie beat her on a swift run downthe avenue.

  Alexia stuffed her fingers, regardless of arm in the sling, oranything, into her mouth, and rolled over in dreadful distress, facedownward on the grass. The other girls stood in a frightened littleknot, just where they were, without moving, as Polly came slowly backdown the avenue. She was quite white now. "Oh dear!" groaned Philena,"look at Polly!"

  Alexia heard it, and stuffed her fingers worse than ever into her mouthto keep herself from screaming outright, and wriggled dreadfully. But noone paid any attention to her. She knew that Polly had joined the girlsnow; she could hear them talking, and Polly was saying, in a sad littlevoice, "Yes, I'm afraid she won't ever come with us again."

  "She must, she shall!" howled Alexia, rolling over, and sitting upstraight. "Oh Polly, she shall!" and she wrung her long hands as well asshe could for the arm in the sling.

  "Oh, no, I am afraid not, Alexia," and her head drooped; no one wouldhave thought for a moment that it was Polly Pepper speaking.

  And then Amy Garrett said the very worst thing possible: "And just thinkof that picnic!" And after that remark, the whole knot of girls wasplunged into the depths of gloom.

  Jasper, running down the avenue with Pickering Dodge at his heels, foundthem so, and was transfixed with astonishment. "Well, I declare!" Heburst into a merry laugh.

  "You look like a lot of wax figures," said Pickering pleasantly; "justabout as interesting." Then they saw Polly Pepper's face.

  "Oh, what is it?" cried Jasper, starting forward.

  Polly tried to speak cheerfully, but the lump in her throat wouldn't lether say a word.

  "If you boys must know," said Alexia, flouncing up to her feet, "I'vebeen bad and perfectly horrid to that Harrison girl; and I've upseteverything; and--and--do go right straight away, both of you, and notstand there staring. I don't think it's very polite."

  "Oh Polly," cried Jasper, gaining her side, "can't we help?" He wasdreadfully distressed. "Do let us."

  Polly shook her head. "No, Jasper, there isn't anything you can do," shesaid brokenly.

  Pickering thrust his hands in his pockets, and whistled softly. "Girlsalways get into such rows," he observed.

  "Well, I guess we don't get into worse ones than you boys do, nor halfas bad," cried Alexia crossly, perfectly wild to quarrel with somebody."And, besides, this isn't the other girls' fault. It's all my fight frombeginning to end."

  "Then you ought to be perfectly ashamed of yourself, Alexia," declaredPickering, not intending to mince matters in the slightest.

  "Well, I am," said Alexia, "just as ashamed as I can be. Oh dear me! Iwish I could cry. But I'm too bad to cry. Polly Pepper, I'm going to runafter that horrible Harrison girl. Oh misery! I wish she never had cometo the Salisbury School." Alexia made a mad rush down the avenue.

  "Don't, Alexia, you'll hurt your arm," warned Polly.

  "I don't care--I hope I shall," cried Alexia recklessly.

  "It's no use to try to stop her," said Jasper, "so let us go up to thehouse, Polly."

  So they started dismally enough, the girls, all except Polly, going overin sorry fashion how Cathie Harriso
n would probably make a fuss aboutthe little affair--she was doubtless on her way to Miss Salisbury'snow--and then perhaps there wouldn't be any picnic at all on themorrow. At this, Philena stopped short. "Girls, that would be toodreadful," she gasped, "for anything!"

  "Well, it would be just like her," said Silvia Horne, "and I wish wenever had taken her into our set. She's an old moping thing, and can'tbear a word."

  "I wish so too," declared Amy Garrett positively; "she doesn't belongwith us; and she's always going to make trouble. And I hope she won't goto the picnic anyway, if we do have it, so there."

  "I don't think that is the way to mend the matter, Amy," said Jaspergravely.

  "Hoh, hoh!" exclaimed Pickering, "how you girls can go on so, I don'tsee; talking forever about one thing, instead of just settling it with afew fisticuffs. That would be comfortable now."

  The girls, one and all, turned a cold shoulder to him after this speech.

  "Well, we sha'n't get the picnic now, I know," said Philena tragically;"and think of all our nice things ready. Dear me! our cook made me thesweetest chocolate cakes, because we were going to start so early in themorning. Now we'll have them for dinner, and eat them up ourselves. Wemight as well."

  "You better not," advised Pickering. "Take my advice; you'll get yourpicnic all right; then where would you be with your cakes all eaten up?"

  "You don't know Miss Salisbury," said Sally Moore gloomily; "nothingwould make her so mad as to have us get up a fuss with a new scholar.She was so pleased when Polly Pepper invited that Harrison girl to cometo our bee for that poor family down South."

  "And now, just think how we've initiated her into our club!" said LucyBennett, with a sigh. "Oh my goodness--look!"

  She pointed off down the avenue. All the girls whirled around to stare.There were Alexia and Cathie, coming toward them arm in arm.

  "Jasper"--Polly turned to him with shining eyes--"see!" Then she brokeaway from them all, and rushed to meet the two girls.

  "There isn't anybody going to say a word," announced Alexia, as thethree girls came up to the group, Polly Pepper in the middle, "because,as I told you, it was all my fight, anyway. So, Pickering, you needn'tget ready to be disagreeable," she flashed over at him saucily.

  "I shall say just what I think," declared Pickering flatly.

  "No doubt," said Alexia sweetly, "but it won't make a bit of difference.Well, now, Polly, what shall we do? Do start us on something."

  "We came, Pick and I," announced Jasper, "to ask you girls to have agame of bean-bags. There's just time before dinner--on the south lawn,Polly."

  "Oh, good--good!" cried the girls, clapping their hands. "Come on,Cathie," said Philena awkwardly, determined to break the ice at once.

  "Yes, Cathie, come on," said Amy and Silvia, trying to be very nice.

  Cathie just got her mouth ready to say, "No, I thank you," primly,thought better of it, and before she quite realized it herself, thereshe was, hurrying by a short cut across the grass to the south lawn.

  "I'm going to stay with Alexia," said Polly, when they all reachedthere, and Jasper flew over to pull out the bean-bags from their boxunder the piazza. "Come on, Alexia, let's you and I sit in the hammockand watch it."

  "Oh Polly, come and play," begged Jasper, pausing with his arms full."Here, Pick, you lazy dog. Help with these bags."

  "Can't," said Polly, shaking her head. So Alexia and she curled up inone of the hammocks.

  "I'm just dying to tell you all about it, Polly Pepper," said Alexia,pulling Polly's cheek down to her own.

  "Yes," said Polly happily, "and I can't wait to hear it; and besides,you can't play bean-bags, Alexia, with that arm. Well, do go on," andPolly was in quite a twitter for the story to begin.

  "You see," said Alexia, "I knew something desperate had got to be done,Polly, for she was crying all over her best silk waist."

  "Oh dear me!" exclaimed Polly, aghast.

  "Yes; she had sat down on the kitchen step."

  "The kitchen step," repeated Polly faintly.

  "Yes. I suppose she got beyond caring whether the cook saw or not, shewas feeling so very badly. Well, there she was, and she didn't hear me,so I just rushed up, or rather down upon her, and then I screamed 'Ow!'And she jumped up, and said, 'Oh, have you hurt your arm?' And I held onto it hard, and made up an awful face, oh, as bad as I could, anddoubled up; and the cook came to the door, and said could she get meanything, and she was going to call Mrs. Fisher. That would have beenterrible." Alexia broke off short, and drew a long breath at herremembrance of the fright this suggestion had given her. "And Cathiefell right on my neck with, 'Oh, do forgive me,' and I said 'twas myfault, and she said, no, she oughtn't to have got mad, and I said shemust hold her tongue."

  "Oh Alexia!" cried Polly reprovingly.

  "I had to," said Alexia serenely, "or we should have gotten into anotherfight. And she said she would, and I just took hold of her arm, anddragged her down here. And I'm tired to death," finished Alexiaplaintively.

  "Alexia," exclaimed Polly, cuddling up the long figure in a way to giveperfect satisfaction, "we must make Cathie Harrison have the best timethat she ever had, at the picnic to-morrow."

  "I suppose so," said Alexia resignedly. "Well, but don't let's think ofit now, for I've got you, Polly, and I want to rest."