MORE TROUBLE
"Oh, dear," said Polly to herself, the next morning, trying to get abreakfast for the sick ones out of the inevitable mush; "everything'sjust as bad as it can be! they can't ever eat this; I wish I had anocean of toast!"
"Toast some of the bread in the pail, Polly," said Mrs. Pepper.
She looked worn and worried; she had been up nearly all night, back andforth from Ben's bed in the loft to restless, fretful little Phronsie inthe big four-poster in the bedroom; for Phronsie wouldn't get into thecrib. Polly had tried her best to help her, and had rubbed her eyesdiligently to keep awake, but she was wholly unaccustomed to it, and herhealthy, tired little body succumbed--and then when she awoke, shame andremorse filled her very heart.
"That isn't nice, ma," she said, glancing at the poor old pail, whichshe had brought out of the "Provision Room." "Old brown bread! I want tofix 'em something nice."
"Well, you can't, you know," said Mrs. Pepper, with a sigh; "but you'vegot butter now; that'll be splendid!"
"I know it," said Polly, running to the corner cupboard where theprecious morsel in the blue bowl remained; "whatever should we dowithout it, mammy?"
"Do without it!" said Mrs. Pepper; "same's we have done."
"Well, 'twas splendid in Mrs. Henderson to give it to us, anyway," saidPolly, longing for just one taste; "seems as if 'twas a year since Iwas there--oh, ma!" and here Polly took up the thread that had been sorudely snapped; "don't you think, she's got ten of the prettiest--yes,the sweetest little chickens you ever saw! Why can't we have some,mammy?"
"Costs money," replied Mrs. Pepper. "We've got too many in the house tohave any outside."
"Oh, dear," said Polly, with a red face that was toasting about as muchas the bread she was holding on the point of an old fork; "we never havehad anything. There," she added at last; "that's the best I can do; nowI'll put the butter on this little blue plate; ain't that cunning, ma?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Pepper, approvingly; "it takes you, Polly." So Pollytrotted first to Ben, up the crooked, low stairs to the loft; and whileshe regaled him with the brown toast and butter, she kept her tongueflying on the subject of the little chicks, and all that she saw on thefamous Henderson visit. Poor Ben pretended hard to eat, but ate nothingreally; and Polly saw it all, and it cut her to the heart--so she talkedfaster than ever.
"Now," she said, starting to go back to Phronsie; "Ben Pepper, just assoon as you get well, we'll have some chickens--so there!"
"Guess we sha'n't get 'em very soon," said Ben, despondently, "if I'vegot to lie here; and, besides, Polly, you know every bit we can save hasgot to go for the new stove."
"Oh, dear," said Polly, "I forgot that; so it has; seems to meeverything's giving out!"
"You can't bake any longer in the old thing," said Ben, turning over andlooking at her; "poor girl, I don't see how you've stood it so long."
"And we've been stuffing it," cried Polly merrily, "till 'twon't stuffany more."
"No," said Ben, turning back again, "that's all worn out."
"Well, you must go to sleep," said Polly, "or mammy'll be up here; andPhronsie hasn't had her breakfast either."
Phronsie was wailing away dismally, sitting up in the middle of the oldbed. Her face pricked, she said, and she was rubbing it vigorously withboth fat little hands, and then crying worse than ever.
"Oh me! oh my!" cried Polly; "how you look, Phronsie!"
"I want my mammy!" cried poor Phronsie.
"Mammy can't come now, Phronsie dear; she's sewing. See what Polly's gotfor you--butter: isn't that splendid!"
Phronsie stopped for just one moment, and took a mouthful; but the toastwas hard and dry, and she cried harder than before.
"Now," said Polly, curling up on the bed beside her, "if you'll stopcrying, Phronsie Pepper, I'll tell you about the cunningest, yes, thevery cunningest little chickens you ever saw. One was white, and helooked just like this," said Polly, tumbling over on the bed in a heap;"he couldn't stand up straight, he was so fat."
"Did he bite?" asked Phronsie, full of interest.
"No, he didn't bite me," said Polly; "but his mother put a bug in hismouth--just as I'm doing you know," and she broke off a small piece ofthe toast, put on a generous bit of butter, and held it over Phronsie'smouth.
"Did he swallow it?" asked the child, obediently opening her little redlips.
"Oh, snapped it," answered Polly, "quick as ever he could, I tell you;but 'twasn't good like this, Phronsie."
"Did he have two bugs?" asked Phronsie, eying suspiciously the secondmorsel of dry toast that Polly was conveying to her mouth.
"Well, he would have had," replied Polly, "if there'd been bugs enough;but there were nine other chicks, Phronsie."
"Poor chickies," said Phronsie, and looked lovingly at the rest of thetoast and butter on the plate; and while Polly fed it to her, listenedwith absorbed interest to all the particulars concerning each and everychick in the Henderson hen-coop.
"Mother," said Polly, towards evening, "I'm going to sit up with Bento-night; say I may, do, mother."
"Oh no, you can't," replied Mrs. Pepper; "you'll get worn out; and thenwhat shall I do? Joel can hand him his medicine."
"Oh, Joe would tumble to sleep, mammy," said Polly, "the firstthing--let me."
"Perhaps Phronsie'll let me go to-night," said Mrs. Pepper,reflectively.
"Oh, no she won't, I know," replied Polly, decisively; "she wants youall the time."
"I will, Polly," said Davie, coming in with an armful of wood, in timeto hear the conversation. "I'll give him his medicine, mayn't I, mammy?"and David let down his load, and came over where his mother and Pollysat sewing, to urge his rights.
"I don't know," said his mother, smiling on him. "Can you, do youthink?"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Davie, straightening himself up.
When they told Ben, he said he knew a better way than for Davie towatch; he'd have a string tied to Davie's arm, and the end he'd hold inbed, and when 'twas time for medicine, he'd pull the string, and thatwould wake Davie up!
Polly didn't sleep much more on her shake-down on the floor than if shehad watched with Ben; for Phronsie cried and moaned, and wanted a drinkof water every two minutes, it seemed to her. As she went back into hernest after one of these travels, Polly thought: "Well, I don't care, ifnobody else gets sick; if Ben'll only get well. To-morrow I'm goin' todo mammy's sack she's begun for Mr. Jackson; it's all plain sew-in',just like a bag; and I can do it, I know--" and so she fell into atroubled sleep, only to be awakened by Phronsie's fretful little voice:"I want a drink of water, Polly, I do."
"Don't she drink awfully, mammy?" asked Polly, after one of theseexcursions out to the kitchen after the necessary draught.
"Yes," said Mrs. Pepper; "and she mustn't have any more; 'twill hurther." But Phronsie fell into a delicious sleep after that, and didn'twant any more, luckily.
"Here, Joe," said Mrs. Pepper, the next morning, "take this coat up toMr. Peterses; and be sure you get the money for it."
"How'll I get it?" asked Joe, who didn't relish the long, hot walk.
"Why, tell 'em we're sick--Ben's sick," added Mrs. Pepper, as the mostdecisive thing; "and we must have it; and then wait for it."
"Tisn't pleasant up at the Peterses," grumbled Joel, taking the parceland moving slowly off.
"No, no, Polly," said Mrs. Pepper, "you needn't do that," seeingPolly take up some sewing after doing up the room and finishing thesemi-weekly bake; "you're all beat out with that tussle over the stove;that sack'll have to go till next week."
"It can't, mammy," said Polly, snipping off a basting thread; "we've gotto have the money; how much'll he give you for it?"
"Thirty cents," replied Mrs. Pepper.
"Well," said Polly, "we've got to get all the thirty centses we can,mammy dear; and I know I can do it, truly--try me once," she implored.
"Well." Mrs. Pepper relented, slowly.
"Don't feel bad, mammy dear," comforted Polly, sewing away
briskly;"Ben'll get well pretty soon, and then we'll be all right."
"Maybe," said Mrs. Pepper; and went back to Phronsie, who could scarcelylet her out of her sight.
Polly stitched away bravely. "Now if I do this good, mammy'll let me doit other times," she said to herself.
Davie, too, worked patiently out of doors, trying to do Ben's chores.The little fellow blundered over things that Ben would have accomplishedin half the time, and he had to sit down often on the steps of thelittle old shed where the tools were kept, to wipe his hot face andrest.
"Polly," said Mrs. Pepper, "hadn't you better stop a little? Dear me!how fast you sew, child!"
Polly gave a delighted little hum at her mother's evident approval.
"I'm going to do 'em all next week, mammy," she said; "then Mr. Atkinswon't take 'em away from us, I guess."
Mr. Atkins kept the store, and gave out coats and sacks of coarse linenand homespun to Mrs. Pepper to make; and it was the fear of losing thework that had made the mother's heart sink.
"I don't believe anybody's got such children as I have," she said; andshe gave Polly a motherly little pat that the little daughter felt clearto the tips of her toes with a thrill of delight.
About half-past two, long after dinner, Joe came walking in, hungry as abeaver, but flushed and triumphant.
"Why, where have you been all this time?" asked his mother.
"Oh, Joe, you didn't stop to play?" asked Polly, from her perch whereshe sat sewing, giving him a reproachful glance.
"Stop to play!" retorted Joe, indignantly; "no, I guess I didn't! I'vebeen to Old Peterses."
"Not all this time!" exclaimed Mrs. Pepper.
"Yes, I have too," replied Joel, sturdily marching up to her. "Andthere's your money, mother;" and he counted out a quarter of a dollarin silver pieces and pennies, which he took from a dingy wad of paper,stowed away in the depths of his pocket.
"Oh, Joe," said Mrs. Pepper, sinking back in her chair and looking athim; "what do you mean?"
Polly put her work in her lap, and waited to hear.
"Where's my dinner, Polly?" asked Joel; "I hope it's a big one.
"Yes, 'tis," said Polly; "you've got lots to-day, it's in the corner ofthe cupboard, covered up with the plate--so tell on, Joe."
"That's elegant!" said Joel, coming back with the well-filled plate,Ben's and his own share.
"Do tell us, Joey," implored Polly; "mother's waiting."
"Well," said Joel, his mouth half full, "I waited--and he said the coatwas all right;--and--and--Mrs. Peters said 'twas all right;--and MirandyPeters said 'twas all right; but they didn't any of 'em say anythin'about payin', so I didn't think 'twas all right--and--and--can't I havesome more butter, Polly?"
"No," said Polly, sorry to refuse him, he'd been so good about themoney; "the butter's got to be saved for Ben and Phronsie."
"Oh," said Joe, "I wish Miss Henderson would send us some more, I do! Ithink she might!"
"For shame, Joe," said Mrs. Pepper; "she was very good to send this, Ithink; now what else did you say?" she asked.
"Well," said Joel, taking another mouthful of bread, "so I waited; youtold me to, mother, you know--and they all went to work; and they didn'tmind me at all, and--there wasn't anything to look at, so I sat--andsat--Polly, can't I have some gingerbread?"
"No," said Polly, "it's all gone; I gave the last piece to Phronsie theday she was taken sick."
"Oh, dear," said Joel, "everything's gone."
"Well, do go on, Joe, do."
"And--then they had dinner; and Mr. Peters said, 'Hasn't that boy gonehome yet?' and Mrs. Peters said, 'no'--and he called me in, and asked mewhy I didn't run along home; and I said, Phronsie was sick, and Ben hadthe squeezles--"
"The what?" said Polly.
"The squeezles," repeated Joel, irritably; "that's what you said."
"It's measles, Joey," corrected Mrs. Pepper; "never mind, I wouldn'tfeel bad."
"Well, they all laughed, and laughed, and then I said you told me towait till I did get the money."
"Oh, Joe," began Mrs. Pepper, "you shouldn't have told 'em so--what didhe say?"
"Well, he laughed, and said I was a smart boy, and he'd see; and Mirandysaid, 'do pay him, pa, he must be tired to death'--and don't you think,he went to a big desk in the corner, and took out a box, and 'twas fullmost of money--lots! oh! and he gave me mine--and--that's all; and I'mtired to death." And Joel flung himself down on the floor, expanded hislegs as only Joel could, and took a comfortable roll.
"So you must be," said Polly, pityingly, "waiting at those Peterses."
"Don't ever want to see any more Peterses," said Joel; never, never,never!
"Oh, dear," thought Polly, as she sewed on into the afternoon, "I wonderwhat does all my eyes! feels just like sand in 'em;" and she rubbed andrubbed to thread her needle. But she was afraid her mother would see,so she kept at her sewing. Once in awhile the bad feeling would go away,and then she would forget all about it. "There now, who says I can't doit! that's most done," she cried, jumping up, and spinning across theroom, to stretch herself a bit, "and to-morrow I'll finish it."
"Well," said Mrs. Pepper, "if you can do that, Polly, you'll be thegreatest help I've had yet."
So Polly tucked herself into the old shake-down with a thankful heartthat night, hoping for morning.
Alas! when morning did come, Polly could hardly move. The measles! whatshould she do! A faint hope of driving them off made her tumble outof bed, and stagger across the room to look in the old crackedlooking-glass. All hope was gone as the red reflection met her gaze.Polly was on the sick list now!
"I won't be sick," she said; "at any rate, I'll keep around." An awfulfeeling made her clutch the back of a chair, but she managed somehow toget into her clothes, and go groping blindly into the kitchen. Somehow,Polly couldn't see very well. She tried to set the table, but 'twas nouse. "Oh, dear," she thought, "whatever'll mammy do?"
"Hulloa!" said Joel, coming in, "what's the matter, Polly?" Pollystarted at his sudden entrance, and, wavering a minute, fell over in aheap.
"Oh ma! ma!" screamed Joel, running to the foot of the stairs leading tothe loft, where Mrs. Pepper was with Ben; "something's taken Polly! andshe fell; and I guess she's in the wood-box!"
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Page 5