Part 46 (1/2)
”Joel--Joel,” said Polly.
”Here are some of them,” said Mrs. Sterling, ”that I told the boys this morning when they were in here. You might cut out the funny things in the magazines and newspapers, the pictures and the stories, and send him. It's so nice to have little reminders to pa.s.s away the time.”
”What else?”
”Well, I didn't tell them that, but there are letters you might write him.”
”Ugh!” Joel made a wry face. ”I don't like to write letters,” he said bluntly.
”Joel,” said Polly again.
”Perhaps that is the very reason it would be well for you to do it,” said Mrs. Sterling, with a smile. ”At any rate, it would please Lawrence, I think. Well, then there are conundrums; you can surely think up something of that sort that will amuse him, and puzzles.”
Now, strange to say, Jack had a good head for these things, and without thinking where he was, he blurted out:
”I know a lot of 'em.”
Joel whirled around on the carpet and stared at him, as did Polly from her cricket. But Mrs. Sterling only smiled.
”That's good,” she said in approval, ”now you see you can help us out a good deal”--nodding at him.
But Jack, with a wild glance at the door, as he came to himself, was beyond conundrums, as he thought of what he'd done.
”Tell some of 'em, Jack,” cried Joel eagerly, emerging from his surprise.
”What are they, Jack? Tell some.”
”Not now,” said Mrs. Sterling, interposing. ”Jack is going to write them out, and they will be sent in as his contribution to Lawrence.”
Sent in to Larry Keep's big house, almost as grand as the one Jack sat in now, by him, a little six-penny grocer's son, doing business over at the South End! He couldn't believe his ears, and to a.s.sist them, he lifted his eyes and stared at the person making the announcement. Evidently she meant it, and the more he gazed at her face, the better he liked it. But he didn't dare to stare long, so he concluded to transfer his attention from it to the carpet.
”We are getting on so well,” said Mrs. Sterling, and her tone was very cheery, ”that I am really quite hopeful that Lawrence may be amused by all that we are to do for him. And now, before we go any further in our plan, suppose we take a little comfort ourselves.” And she laughed a gay little laugh that wouldn't have sounded badly as Polly's own. ”Gibson,” she called.
Out came Gibson from the little room next.
”Will you bring us a tray of some of the nice things you always can get up, Gibson?” said her mistress. ”I am really hungry, and I know these young people must be, they run about so.”
”I am,” declared Joel, in great satisfaction at hearing the tray mentioned, and bobbing his black hair, ”awfully hungry.”
”Oh, Joel!” said Polly.
”If you knew, Polly,” said Mrs. Sterling, with a laugh, ”what a pleasure it is to me, to hear a hungry boy say so up here, you would be very glad to let him. You can't think”--looking around on the three--”what good you are doing me. Really your work as a comfort committee has begun already.”
XXII
RACHEL'S VISIT TO MISS PARROTT
Rachel ran blindly up the garret stairs of the parsonage and threw herself down on the top, her blue, checked ap.r.o.n over her head.