Part 52 (1/2)

So the boys drew up their chairs, and Polly pushed the cook-book, with an affectionate little pat, into the center of the table. ”That's what we are going to study,” she said gleefully.

”Study?” echoed Pickering, with a very long face. ”I didn't come over here to study; I get enough of that at school,” and he glared in a very injured way at Jasper.

”Don't get upset,” said Jasper, patting him on the back; ”you'll like this, Pick, I tell you.”

”And it's a cook-book,” said Polly, laughing merrily.

”All right,” said Pickering, immensely relieved, and reaching out his long arm, he seized it, and whirled the leaves. ”'Lemon pie'--that sounds good.

'How to cook cabbage'--oh, dear me!”

”See here now”--Jasper seized the book and shut it up with a bang--”no one is going to look into that, until we write these notices. Why, we haven't even got a Cooking Club yet.”

”Give it back,” roared Pickering after him, as Jasper hopped out of his chair, carrying the book.

”No, sir,” cried Jasper, bearing off the book out of the room. ”There, you'll never find that,” he observed, coming back to slip into his seat with satisfaction.

”Well, now,” said Alexia sweetly, ”if you two boys are through sc.r.a.pping, we'll begin on these notices.” She picked an envelope off from the pile.

”Oh, dear me! who is the first one to ask?”

”I think Larry ought to have it,” said Polly.

”Oh, Polly Pepper!” exclaimed Alexia, ”Larry can't come for ever so long, with his collar bone all smashed and his leg hurt. The very idea!”

Polly gave a little s.h.i.+ver, ”Well, he would like to be asked,” she said.

”And I think so, too,” declared Jasper; ”a chap would enjoy it twice as much to get an invitation when he was abed and couldn't come.”

”Well, that's nice to say,” cried Alexia, bursting into a loud laugh, in which Pickering joined.

”You've done it now,” he said, clapping Jasper on the back. ”I'm glad of it, old chap, after the way you acted about that old cook-book.”

”So I have,” said Jasper grimly. Then he laughed as hard as the others.

”Well, you know what I mean, and we ought to give Larry the first attention.”

”I'm going to write the notice to him,” declared Alexia, dipping her pen in the ink-well and beginning with a flourish. But she threw it down before she had finished his first name. ”Polly, you ought to write the first notice,” she cried; ”you proposed the Club.”

”That's no matter,” said Polly, ”so long as we are going to have the Club.

Go ahead, Alexia.”

”No, I'm not going to,” said Alexia obstinately, and leaning back in her chair; ”you've just got to do it, Polly, so there!”

”There'll be no peace, Polly, for any of us until you do,” said Pickering, thrusting his hands lazily into his pockets.

”And I think people would do better to go to work and help,” said Alexia decidedly, ”than to set other people against--oh, dear me!” as she found herself hopelessly entangled.

”You would do better to get yourself out of that sentence, Alexia,” laughed Jasper, ”before you do anything else.”

”Well, I don't care,” said Alexia, joining in the general laugh; ”it's too mean for anything, Pickering, to say I fight, when everybody knows I suffer just everything before I say a word.”