Five Little Peppers and their Friends

by Margaret Sidney

  XIV

  "CAN'T GO," SAID JOEL

  "Joel--where are you?" Frick Mason raced in, to encounter Polly in the widehall. "Oh, dear me!"--not pausing for an answer--"all the boys are waitingfor him outside. Please tell him to hurry, Polly," for Joel's friendsalways felt if they could only get Polly on their side, they were sure ofsuccess, and he shifted his feet in impatience.

  "I don't know in the least where Joel is," said Polly, pausing in her runthrough the hall. She had promised Alexia to be over at her house at nineo'clock, and there it was, the big clock in the corner stated plainly, fiveminutes of that hour. "Oh, dear me! I wish I could help you," and shewrinkled up her brows in distress.

  Frick sat down on one of the big, carved chairs and fairly whined:

  "I've chased and chased all about here, and no one knows where Joel is.Polly, do find him for me," and he began to sniffle.

  "Oh, I can't," began Polly impatiently, then she finished, "Dear me! Why, Idon't know in the very least where Joel is, Frick!--not the leastest bit inthe world."

  "Oh, yes, you can find him," said Frick, sniffling dreadfully, andbeginning to wheedle and beg. "Do, Polly." He seized her gown. "The boyscan't do anything without Joel, and they've sent me for him."

  "And I'm sure I can't do anything"--Polly shook her gown free--"so there'sno use in asking me to stand here and talk about it, Frick Mason. And justlook at that clock--two minutes of nine." She pointed tragically up to thebig clock. "And I promised to be at Alexia's--" The last words came back tohim as she disappeared out to the veranda and down the steps, racing off ashard as she could.

  Frick got off from his chair, took three or four steps hopelessly, thenstiffened up.

  "I'm going to find him," he announced to himself, and turning down theangle, he knocked at the first door on the left.

  "Hullo!" exclaimed Joel, unlocking the door and opening it.

  "Oh, you're here." Frick seized him on both sides, wishing he had twice thenumber of hands to employ; then he tried to run in, but Joel shook off thegrasp, pushed to the door, only leaving the scantiest space to allow ofconversation.

  "You can't come in," he said steadily.

  "Hold on! don't shut the door," cried Frick, pressing up closely and stillendeavoring to get a good grasp on some of Joel's clothing. "Ow! you 'mostsmashed my nose, Joel Pepper."

  "You must take your nose away then," said Joel decidedly, "for I'm going toshut the door if you scrouge so."

  "Well, let me come in," said Frick, struggling violently. "Say, Joel, don'tshut the door."

  For answer Joel slammed to the door, and the key clicked in the lock.

  "I said I'd do it, if you scrouged and pushed, and I must," he answered,with the air of a man performing his duty. "This is my Grandpapa'swriting-room, and you mustn't come in, Frick Mason."

  Frick slid down to the floor and laid his mouth alongside the crack, withthe feeling that his message would be more impressive delivered in thatway, since he was not to be admitted to the apartment to give it in dueform.

  "The boys want you, Joel; they're all waiting for us outside. Hurry up."Having delivered it, Frick got up to his feet in a hurry, confident thatthe door would be flung wide, to let Joel come hopping out in delight, andnot choosing to be run over in the process.

  "Can't go," said Joel, in muffled accents, on the other side of the door.

  "What?" roared Frick, not believing his ears.

  "Can't go," repeated Joel. "Go right away from this door."

  "What did you say?" Frick slid to the floor again and beat his hands on thepolished surface. "Say, Joel, we want you to come. We're all waiting foryou, don't you understand?" He kept saying it over and over, under theimpression that if he only repeated it enough, the door would open.

  "And I say I can't go," declared Joel, in a high, wrathful key. "If youdon't go away and let this door alone, I'll come out and pound you."

  "We're going to the pond," said Frick, exactly as if responding to the mostcordial request to furnish the plan. "We've got Larry's boat, and Webb isgoing to take his father's, and----"

  "Ow--go away!" roared Joel, in an awful voice.

  "And we're going to take our luncheon and stop at Egg Rock, and----"

  The door flew open wildly, and Joel leaped out over Frick, flattened on thefloor.

  "Didn't I tell you to let me alone?" cried Joel, on top of the messenger,and pommeling away briskly, "Say, didn't I tell? Say, didn't I tell you?"

  The noise all this made was sufficient to bring Jane, who didn't stop todrop her broom.

  "My goodness me, Master Joel!" she said, running down from thestair-landing, "what are you doing?"

  "Pommeling him," said Joel cheerfully, and not looking up.

  "Well, you stop it this minute," commanded Jane, waving her broom over thetwo figures, for by this time Frick had managed to roll over and was nowputting up quite a vigorous little fight in his own defense.

  "I can't," said Joel; "I promised him."

  "Oh, dear me!" cried Jane, bringing her broom down smartly on as much ofthe surface of either boy as was possible. "I'll scream for Mrs. Fisher ifyou don't stop, you two boys. I will, as true as anything!"

  "Oh, no, you mustn't, Jane," said Joel. His brown fists wavered in the airand described several circles before they fell at his side; seeing which,Frick slipped out from underneath him and began to belabor Joel to hisheart's content. "You mustn't, Jane," howled Joel.

  "Now will you come." he cried. "Say, hurry up, Joe, we're all waiting. Comeon!" His nose was quite bloody, and a dab here and there on his countenancegave him anything but a pleasing expression.

  "Ugh!" cried Jane, with a little shiver. "You boys get right straight upfrom this floor, or I'll tell Mrs. Fisher."

  Joel seized her apron string and howled:

  "Jane, don't!"

  "Yes, I will, too, Master Joel," declared Jane, twitching away the string;"for such carryings on, I never see. Oh, here's Mr. King; now he'll takecare of you both," and she skipped upstairs, broom and all.

  It was useless to try to slip away unperceived, for old Mr. King bore downupon them along the hall in his stateliest fashion.

  "Dear me! what have we here?" as both boys slunk down as small as possible."Why, Joel!"--it was impossible to convey greater astonishment in histone--"I thought you were steady at work."

  "So I was," cried Joel, stung to the quick; and jumping to his feet, hefairly beat the old gentleman's arm with two distressed little palms, "andhe made me come out. I said I would pound him, and I had to. Oh, Grandpapa,I had to," and he pranced wildly around the tall, stately figure.

  "Keep quiet, Joe," said the old gentleman, with a restraining hand; "and,Frick, get up. Oh, dear me!"--as Frick obeyed, bringing his interestingcountenance to view, by no means improved by his efforts to wipe off thesmears. "What have you boys been about?"

  "He wouldn't come out," said Frick, rubbing violently all over his roundcheeks, "and the boys sent me for him, and they're waiting now," hefinished, with a very injured air.

  "Eh--oh! and so they sent you for Joel?" said the old gentleman, a lightbreaking over his face.

  "Yes, sir," said Frick, with a final polish to his countenance on the cuffof his jacket sleeve, "and won't you please make Joel hurry up and comeout, sir? We've waited so long."

  "And is that the way you respond to your invitations, my boy?" saidGrandpapa, with a grim smile. "I shouldn't think you'd receive many at thisrate. So you fell upon him because he asked you to go somewhere, eh?"--witha keen glance into the black eyes.

  "No, sir." said Joel, "but he wouldn't go away, and I told him if hedidn't, I'd come out and pound him. So I had to."

  "Um--now let us see," said the old gentleman, reflecting a bit. "So youkept on at the door, eh, Frick?"

  "Yes, sir," said Frick, giving up his countenance as a bad job. "I had to,'cause the boys are waiting, you see, sir. Won't you please make Joe hurryup and come?"

  "Well, now, Frick, I really believe you better
go out and tell those boysthat when Joel gets ready to join them, he'll make his appearance.Good-bye, Frick." Grandpapa waved him off sociably, and Frick, not exactlyunderstanding how, or why, found himself on the other side of the big frontdoor, in the midst of the waiting company from which he had been picked outas messenger.

  "I wouldn't make such a promise again, if I were you, Joel," observed oldMr. King, gathering up the small, brown hand in one of his own; "it mightbe a little awkward to keep it, you know. Now, then, here we are,"--turningin at the writing-room. "Well, say no more, but fly at your task," and heseated himself in the big chair before the writing-table and took up hispen.

  Thus left to himself, Joel went slowly over to the set of shelves in thealcove, from which Frick's summons at the door had called him. There wereseveral volumes on the floor, and a blank book and some sheets of paper,showing clearly Joe's favorite method of setting to work on making lists,while sprawled on the carpet with all his paraphernalia around him. Hethrew himself down amongst it all, prowled around for his pencil, which,suddenly dropped when he had deserted his task, had taken the opportunityto roll off by itself. Now it added to his discomfiture by hiding.

  "Plague take it!" He scowled, a black little frown settling on his brow."Where is it?"--prowling around frantically on the carpet, with hastyhands.

  "What is it, Joe?" Old Mr. King, though apparently very busy over at thewriting-table, seemed to be quite well aware of everything that went on inthe alcove.

  "I've lost my pencil," announced Joe, in a dismal voice.

  "Oh, well, that's not so bad as it might be," said the old gentleman; "comeover and get another, and by and by you can find your own."

  Joel advanced to the writing-table and put out a hand for the pencil, whichthe old gentleman laid within it, but not before he had taken a good lookat the chubby face above it.

  "So Frick and the boys wanted you, eh?" asked Grandpapa carelessly. "Goingsomewhere, maybe?"

  "Yes," said Joel, not looking up, "they are going to the pond."

  "Oh, really?" said old Mr. King. "And you said no, eh, Joel?"

  "Yes," said Joel.

  "I suppose you didn't want to go, eh, Joel?" said the old gentlemancarelessly, and playing with his paper knife.

  Joel's black eyes flew wide open, and he raised his head to stare intoGrandpapa's face.

  "Oh, yes, I did, awfully."

  "Then why didn't you go?" asked Grandpapa, just as carelessly, and givingthe paper knife an extra twirl or two.

  Joel took his gaze off, to regard the pile of books over on the alcovefloor.

  "Oh, your work?--is that it, Joel?" asked the old gentleman. "So youthought you'd rather stay and finish your hour on it, eh, my boy?"

  Joel squirmed uneasily. "I hadn't rather," he said at last, "but I'd gotto."

  "Eh?" said old Mr. King.

  "I said I'd work an hour and not stop," said Joel, as something seemed tobe required of him, the old gentleman waiting for him to finish.

  "You mean you'd made the bargain to do this work and you couldn't backout?" said Grandpapa.

  Joel looked up and nodded quickly.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Oh, yes. Well, now, I mustn't hinder you from your work"--old Mr. Kingturned briskly to his writing again--"or I shall be as bad as Frick--eh,Joel?" and he laughed gayly. "Now trot back and go at your task again."

  So Joel, fortified with his pencil, marched back to sit on the floor in thealcove and take up his interrupted work, and Grandpapa's pen wentscratching busily over the paper, and nothing else was heard except thebuzzing of a big fly outside the window, venting his vexation at hisinability to get in.

  Meanwhile Frick and the knot of boys had drawn off in astonishment anddismay at the failure of their plan to get Joel Pepper into the delightfulexpedition.

  "What was he doing?" demanded more than one boy.

  "I don't know," said Frick; "I couldn't get in."

  "Oh, now I know; he's got some secret," said Larry Keep, and he whirledaround in vexation and snapped his fingers.

  "Maybe it's a flying-machine," suggested another boy.

  "Phoo! he couldn't make that in his grandfather's writing-room," saidLarry, in derision, yet he looked anxious. Suppose Joel Pepper were reallybusy over such a splendid thing as that and hadn't told him. "Guesssomething else."

  "I can't think what it is," said Frick, sitting down on the curbstone tobecome lost in thought--an example to be speedily followed by all the boys,till finally there was a dismal row of them, without a thought remaining ofhaving the expedition on the pond, since Joel Pepper wouldn't come withthem.