Ben Pepper

rsely. "Oh, Ben, I know there is!" She rush

eyes, usually so steady, didn't look at her. If Polly

a telegram come,-and, oh, Ben, can it be Jasper?" With that Polly held so tightly to the sturdy arm she ha

gly, yet his knees knocked together and everyth

saying, between little sobs that cut Ben through and through

ld her fast, "don't let us act like this until we know for sure. I'm going to find out" With that he rushed off,

on up to her eyes, and mumbling something behind it to herself. Ben precipitated himself so suddenly upon her that ther

tened at the sight of the two she m

because we know some bad news came. Now, what is it?" If Polly had pinched his arm in her fright, it was nothing

o way out of it but to tell, so she added, twisting he

Jasper," said

ent, remembering how she had become possessed of the n

n, sharply. "Be quick now, Jane; you

wring her hands desperately, "I wish I hadn't

ng to him, "you've just got to tell us, so you might as well be

time to look up in surprise at his face, and th

t let 'em blame me 'cause

blamed," promis

the school, and Master Jasper'

ce rang thro

uster, which implement she had been wielding when the fatal

such a key, and she was actually running down the hall, her pretty face all streaked with tears. "Oh, B

e Polly stuffed her fingers into

any surprise, but her face looked

ain," she hurried on, her voice

ve Polly one kiss, then pulle

an go, and she is getti

Polly, blindly staggering off aft

and Polly, I need you so badly." She opened her arms and Polly ran into them,

a mad rush to make the train. And it was all done in such bewildering haste that the group in the hall scarcely knew or understood anything until the big front door

arly this morning. Your son

A. Pr

e being able so well as herself to stop the howls of the former, who, on hearing the news, threw himself flat on the floor in a corner of

tle nurse, sitting upon the bed most of the time, and smoothing t

y," every once in a while Mrs. Whitney would say,

l not to let the tears dro

dn't let anything happen to our Jasper. He wouldn't, Polly." But Mrs. Whitney clutched the pil

old, gayly laughing and chattering away. She had been told that Grandpapa had gone away and that she must not go into his room; so she hadn't seen Joel and David. But Moth

into her lap. How often had Jasper sat on this old sofa and told her his boyish confidences the same as

in gentle surprise, and lifting a so

w Phronsie quickly to her bre

here, Mamsie," and Phronsie

Now I must tell you, you canno

hronsie, regarding her mot

nnot have her just to-day. Mot

queeze the tears back. But despite all her efforts the

she cries," went on Mrs. Fisher, "for Aunty Whitney needs Polly

es flying open at once. For any one to be sick was to enlist her symp

does not stay with her," said Mother Fisher; "so

p, and folding her hands. "I will be good." She bobbed her yellow

ect on his chair, gazing straight before him at the flying landscape, and with never a word for his companion. Then he su

randpapa! He hadn't gotten over wondering what had given him this hono

ndpapa was saying, his hand slipping down until it rested on B

g lacking. And so, on and on; the revolutions of the wheels, the flashing in and out of strange cities, the long, steady, tireless plunge of the heavily laden express, by river and la

the valet rushed into the Pullman from another car, gathered up the luggage, and out a

ched Mr. King's side; and, without waiting for a word, for he sa

t Dr. Presbrey sprang back into the station, wrote it, sent it off, and was with them once more; and then it was

dvance, a medical man and one or two teachers coming out of the house to meet the party. "Don't go i

d the white-haired old gentleman ahead, and trying

Old Mr. King was just at the moment being ushered into the front parlor, and the medical man followed

ell you?" said the

first boy, who hadn't relinquished

" sai

and the rest of you. King talked

ut up his hand; everything

nd by a speedy movement he had rescued Ben from the first grasp. "Now, then, come over

easily pushed off. "That's no f

and he clutched Ben again, determin

es took it up in a subdued tone, it is tru

, Ben soon found himself sitting down in the midst of Jasper'

here," one of the boys was saying, "and when a

-O dear!" said a stout, chubby-cheeked boy, who didn

loded Tim, who, being on the outskirts of the

t Tim. Then, as he remembered how little prospect there might be of Jasper's ever being

is further duty to do the right thing by Ben. "We ought to tell him

had run out of the little brown house with him at such fortunate times when their mother had let them sit up; and the moon had beamed down on them too, so sociably that Polly made up little stories about their

s how it did begin," Grayson was rus

mptuously. "Beggins never got off the handl

n't any of us know how. It doesn't signify. What we do know is that in about five minutes from the first alarm it got too hot for us in there." He hopped to his feet and pointed to th

et that yell that Toddy sent up. He's the teacher on our hall, Todd

ther boy; "Christopher Columbus, I

dn't find m

ed the boy the other side of Grayson. "There wasn't a rag

any mouth that might be intending to explain, "so we just vamosed the ranch. I tell you, there was some tall sprinting.

seemed to be glued to the roof of hi

d; "his own was so ridiculously long,-Cornelius Leffingwell,-only think, for such a mite of a chap,-so we had

ogether in a grip that would have

out, 'Come a

so di

ces took it up,

our own; it was as much as your life was worth to turn

nly, and a teacher's head appeared, making them al

sk this quite comfortably, still holding to Ben, while the other b

h you!" The teacher waved hi

is teeth, and, dragging Ben to a convenient angle, where the other bo

might as soon try to ho

ayson pulled himself up short. "See here, I w

is having any sort of a grasp on Ben, it was the visitor who held his coat collar in a wool

you know! I can't wai

ne, Grayson made all possible haste to answer, "Oh, I will, I will

asty little beggar,-and there King found him, and dragged him out. He told us all about it,-Pip, I mean,-and King slung him on his back, and by that time it was no use to try for the stairs; the flames were roaring up like mad, so King tried for the

ale. And the tall, dark-haired boy they had cal

tory, of course, I mean-waver, and then fall, and we screamed to King to look out; it wouldn't have done any good if he

e jacket collar to his side,

." Somebody reached through the crow