Part 22 (1/2)
At school the children made so much of him and of Joe, and delivered such eloquent ad in becoan to tell their adventures to hungry listeners--but they only began; it was not a thing likely to have an end, with iinations like theirs to furnish ot out their pipes and went serenely puffing around, the very sulory was reached
Tom decided that he could be independent of Becky Thatcher now Glory was sufficient He would live for glory Now that he was distinguished,to ”make up” Well, let her--she should see that he could be as indifferent as some other people Presently she arrived Toroup of boys and girls and began to talk Soon he observed that she was tripping gayly back and forth with flushed face and dancing eyes, pretending to be busy chasing schoolhter when she made a capture; but he noticed that she always made her captures in his vicinity, and that she seemed to cast a conscious eye in his direction at such tiratified all the vicious vanity that was in hi him, it only ”set hient to avoid betraying that he knew she was about Presently she gave over skylarking, andfurtively and wistfully toward To more particularly to Arew disturbed and uneasy at once She tried to go away, but her feet were treacherous, and carried her to the group instead She said to a girl almost at Tom's elboith shairl, why didn't you come to Sunday-school?”
”I did come--didn't you see me?”
”Why, no! Did you? Where did you sit?”
”I was in Miss Peters' class, where I always go I saw _you_”
”Did you? Why, it's funny I didn't see you I wanted to tell you about the picnic”
”Oh, that's jolly Who's going to give it?”
”My oody; I hope she'll let _me_ come”
”Well, she will The picnic's for me She'll let anybody come that I want, and I want you”
”That's ever so nice When is it going to be?”
”By and by Maybe about vacation”
”Oh, won't it be fun! You going to have all the girls and boys?”
”Yes, every one that's friends to lanced ever so furtively at To to Amy Lawrence about the terrible storreat syca within three feet of it”
”Oh, may I come?” said Grace Miller
”Yes”
”And ers
”Yes”
”And me, too?” said Susy Harper ”And Joe?”
”Yes”
And so on, with clapping of joyful hands till all the group had begged for invitations but To, and took Amy with him Becky's lips trens with a forced gayety and went on chattering, but the life had gone out of the picnic, now, and out of everything else; she got away as soon as she could and hid herself and had what her sex call ”a good cry” Then she satShe roused up, noith a vindictive cast in her eye, and gave her plaited tails a shake and said she knehat _she'd_ do
At recess Tom continued his flirtation with A about to find Becky and lacerate her with the perfor of hiscosily on a little bench behind the schoolhouse looking at a picture-book with Alfred Teether over the book, that they did not see in the world besides
Jealousy ran red-hot through To away the chance Becky had offered for a reconciliation He called himself a fool, and all the hard names he could think of He wanted to cry with vexation A, as they walked, for her heart was singing, but Toue had lost its function He did not hear what A, and whenever she paused expectantly he could only stammer an aard assent, which was as oftento the rear of the schoolhouse, again and again, to sear his eyeballs with the hateful spectacle there He could not help it And it ht he saw, that Becky Thatcher never once suspected that he was even in the land of the living But she did see, nevertheless; and she knew she inning her fight, too, and was glad to see him suffer as she had suffered
As he had to attend to; things that irl chirped on Toet rid of her?” At last he s--and she said artlessly that she would be ”around” when school let out And he hastened away, hating her for it