Five Little Peppers And How They Grew

M >> Margaret Sidney >> Five Little Peppers And How They Grew

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"Papa--oh, papa!"

Polly, half way up the steps, turned around, and then, at the rush of
feeling that gathered at her heart, sat right down on the wet
slippery step.

"Why, Polly Pepper!" exclaimed Joel, not minding his own upset.
"You're right in all the slush--mother won't like it, I tell you!"

"Hush!" cried Polly, catching his arm, "he's come--oh, Joel --he's
come!"

"Who?" cried Joel, staring around blindly, "who, Polly?" Polly had
just opened her lips to explain, when Mr. King's portly, handsome
figure appeared in the doorway. "Do come in, children--why--good
gracious, Mason!"

"Yes," cried the stranger, lightly, dropping his big bundle and
umbrella as he passed in the door, with his little sons clinging to
him. "Where is Marian?"

"Why didn't you write?" asked the old gentleman, testily. "These
surprises aren't the right sort of things," and he began to feel
vigorously of his heart. "Here, Mrs. Pepper, be so good as to call
Mrs. Whitney."

"Pepper! Pepper!" repeated Mr. Whitney, perplexedly.

"She's coming--I hear her up-stairs," cried Van Whitney. "Oh, let
me tell her!" He struggled to get down from his father's arms as he
said this.

"No, I shall--I heard her first!" cried Percy. "Oh, dear me!
Grandpapa's going to!"

Mr. King advanced to the foot of the staircase as his daughter, all
unconscious, ran down with a light step, and a smile on her face.

"Has Polly come?" she asked, seeing only her father. "Yes," replied
the old gentleman, shortly, "and she's brought a big bundle,
Marian!"

"A big bundle?" she repeated wonderingly, and gazing at him.

"A very big bundle," he said, and taking hold of her shoulders he
turned her around on--her husband.

So Polly and Phronsie crept in unnoticed after all.

"I wish Ben was here," said little Davie, capering around the
Whitney group, "an' Jappy, I do!"

"Where are they!" asked Polly.

"Don't know," said Joel, tugging at his shoe-string. "See-- aren't
these prime!" He held up a shining black shoe, fairly bristling with
newness, for Polly to admire.

"Splendid," she cried heartily; "but where are the boys?"

"They went after you," said Davie, "after we came home with our
shoes."

"No, they didn't," contradicted Joel, flatly; and sitting down on the
floor he began to tie and untie his new possessions. "When we
came home Ben drew us pictures--lots of 'em--don't you know?"

"Oh, yes," said Davie, nodding his head, "so he did; that was when
we all cried 'cause you weren't home, Polly."

"He drawed me a be-yew-tiful one," cried Phronsie, holding up her
mangy bit; "see, Polly, see!"

"That's the little brown house," said Davie, looking over her
shoulder as Phronsie put it carefully into Polly's hand.

"It's all washed out," said Polly, smoothing it out, "when you staid
out in the rain."

Phronsie's face grew very grave at that.

"Bad, naughty old rain," she said, and then she began to cry as hard
as she could.

"Oh dear, don't!" cried Polly in dismay, trying her best to stop her,
"oh, Phronsie, do stop!" she implored, pointing into the next room
whence the sound of happy voices issued, "they'll all hear you!"

But Phronsie in her grief didn't care, but wailed on steadily.

"Who is it anyway?" cried Joel, tired of admiring his precious
shoes, and getting up to hear them squeak, "that great big man, you
know, Polly, that came in with you?"

"Why, I thought I told you," said Polly, at her wit's end over
Phronsie. "It's Percy and Van's father, Joey!"

"Whockeyl" cried Joel, completely stunned, "really and truly, Polly
Pepper?"

"Really and truly," cried Polly, bundling Phronsie up in her arms to
lay the little wet cheek against hers.

"Then I'm going to peek," cried Joel, squeaking across the floor to
carry his threat into execution.

"Oh, you mustn't, Joe!" cried Polly, frightened lest he should.
"Come right back, or I'll tell mamsie!"

"They're all comin' in, anyway," cried little Davie, delightedly, and
scuttling over to Polly's side.

"And here are the little friends I've heard so much about!" cried
Mr. Whitney coming in amongst them. "Oh, you needn't introduce
me to Polly--she brought me home!"

"They're all Pepperses," said Percy, waving his hand, and doing the
business up at one stroke.

"Only the best of 'em isn't here," observed Van, rather ungallantly,
"he draws perfectly elegant, papa!"

"1 like Polly best, I do!" cried little Dick, tumbling after.
"Peppers!" again repeated Mr. Whitney in a puzzled way. "And
here is Mrs. Pepper," said old Mr. King, pompously drawing her
forward, "the children's mother, and--"

But here Mrs. Pepper began to act in a very queer way, rubbing her
eyes and twisting one corner of her black apron in a decidedly
nervous manner that, as the old gentleman looked up, he saw with
astonishment presently communicated itself to the gentleman
opposite.

"Is it," said Mr. Whitney, putting out his hand and grasping the
hard, toil-worn one in the folds of the apron, "is it cousin Mary?"

"And aren't you cousin John?" she asked, the tears in her bright
black eyes.

"Of all things in this world!" cried the old gentleman, waving his
head helplessly from one to the other. "Will somebody have the
extreme goodness to tell us what all this means?"

At this the little Peppers crowded around their mother, and into all
the vacant places they could find, to get near the fascinating scene.

"Well," said Mr. Whitney, sitting down and drawing his wife to his
side, "it's a long story. You see, when I was a little youngster,
and--"

"You were John Whitney then," put in Mrs. Pepper, slyly. "That's
the reason I never knew when they were all talking of Mason
Whitney."

"John Whitney I was," said Mr. Whitney, laughing, "or rather,
Johnny and Jack. But Grandmother Mason, when I grew older,
wanted me called by my middle name to please grandfather. But to
go back--when I was a little shaver, about as big as Percy here--"

"Oh, papa!" began Percy, deprecatingly. To be called "a little
shaver" before all the others!

"He means, dearie," said his mamma, reassuringly, "when he was a
boy like you. Now hear what papa is going to say."

"Well, I was sent up into Vermont to stay at the old place. There
was a little girl there; a bright, black-eyed little girl. She was my
cousin, and her name was Mary Bartlett."

"Who's Mary Bartlett?" asked Joel, interrupting.

"There she is, sir," said Mr. Whitney, pointing to Mrs. Pepper, who
was laughing and crying together.

"Where?" said Joel, utterly bewildered. "I don't see any Mary
Bartlett. What does he mean, Polly?"

"I don't know," said Polly. "Wait, Joey," she whispered, "he's going
to tell us all about it."

"Well, this little cousin and I went to the district school, and had
many good times together. And then my parents sent for me, and I
went to Germany to school; and when I came back I lost sight of
her. All I could find out was that she had married an Englishman
by the name of Pepper."

"Oh!" cried all the children together.

"And I always supposed she had gone to England for despite all
my exertions, I could find no trace of her. Ah, Mary," he said
reproachfully, "why didn't you let me know where you were?"

"I heard," said Mrs. Pepper, "that you'd grown awfully rich, and I
couldn't."

"You always were a proud little thing," he said laughing. "Well,
but," broke in Mr. King, unable to keep silence any longer, "I'd like
to inquire, Mason, why you didn't find all this out before, in
Marian's letters, when she mentioned Mrs. Pepper?"

"She didn't ever mention her," said Mr. Whitney, turning around to
face his questioner, "not as Mrs. Pepper--never once by name. It
was always either 'Polly's mother,' or 'Phronsie's mother.' Just like a
woman," he added, with a mischievous glance at his wife, "not to
be explicit."

"And just like a man," she retorted, with a happy little laugh, "not
to ask for explanations."

"I hear Jappy," cried Polly, in a glad voice, "and Ben--oh, good!" as
a sound of rushing footsteps was heard over the veranda steps, and
down the long hall.

The door was thrown suddenly open, and Jasper plunged in, his
face flushed with excitement, and after him Ben, looking a little as
he did when Phronsie was lost, while Prince squeezed panting in
between the two boys.

"Has Polly got"--began Jasper.

"Oh, yes, I'm here," cried Polly, springing up to them; "oh, Ben!"

"She has," cried Joel, disentangling himself from the group, "don't
you see, Jappy?"

"She's all home," echoed Pbronsie, flying up. "Oh, Ben, do draw
me another little house!"

"And see--see!" cried the little Whitneys, pointing with jubilant
fingers to their papa, "see what she brought!"

Jasper turned around at that--and then rushed forward.

"Oh, brother Mason!"

"Well, Jasper," said Mr. Whitney, a whole wealth of affection
beaming on the boy, "how you have stretched up in six months!"

"Haven't I?" said Jasper, laughing, and drawing himself up to his
fullest height.

"He's a-standin' on tip-toe," said Joel critically, who was hovering
near. "I most know he is!" and he bent down to examine the
position of Jasper's heels.

"Not a bit of it, Joe!" cried Jasper, with a merry laugh, and setting
both feet with a convincing thud on the floor.

"Well, anyway, I'll be just as big," cried Joel, "when I'm thirteen,
so!"

Just then a loud and quick rap on the table made all the children
skip, and stopped everybody's tongue. It came from Mr. King.

"Phronsie," said he, "come here, child. I can't do anything without
you," and held out his hand. Phronsie immediately left Ben, who
was hanging over Polly as if he never meant to let her go out of his
sight again, and went directly over to the old gentleman's side.

"Now, then!" He swung her upon his shoulder, where she perched
like a little bird, gravely surveying the whole group. One little
hand stole around the old gentleman's neck, and patted his cheek
softly, which so pleased him that for a minute or two he stood
perfectly still so that everybody might see it.

"Now, Phronsie, yoti must tell all these children so that they'll
understand--say everything just as I tell you, mind!"

"I will," said Phronsie, shaking her small head wisely, "every
single thing."

"Well, then, now begin--"

"Well, then, now begin," said Phronsie, looking down on the faces
with an air as much like Mr. King's as was possible, and finishing
up with two or three little nods.

"Oh, no, dear, that isn't it," cried the old gentleman, "I'll tell you.
Say, Phronsie, 'you are all cousins--every one.'"

"You are all cousins--every one," repeated little Phronsie, simply,
shaking her yellow head into the very middle of the group.

"Does she mean it, grandpapa? Does she mean it?" cried Percy, in
the greatest excitement.

"As true as everything?" demanded Joel, crowding in between
them.

"As true as--truth!" said the old gentleman solemnly, patting the
child's little fat hand. "So make the most of it."

"Oh!" said Polly, with a long sigh. And then Jasper and she took
hold of hands and had a good spin!

Joel turned around with two big eyes on Percy.

"We're cousins!" he said.

"I know it," said Percy, "and so's Van!"

"Yes," said Van, flying up, "and I'm cousin to Polly, too-- that's
best!"

"Can't I be a Cousin?" cried little Dick, crowding up, with two red
cheeks. "Isn't anybody going to be a cousin to me, too?"

"Everybody but Jasper," said the old gentleman, laughing heartily
at them. "You and I, my boy," he turned to his son, "are left out in
the cold."

At this a scream, loud and terrible to hear, struck upon them all, as
Joel flung himself flat on the floor.

"Isn't Jappy--our---cousin? I--want --Jappy!"

"Goodness!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in the greatest alarm,
"what is the matter with the boy! Do somebody stop him!"

"Joel," said Jasper, leaning over him, and trying to help Polly lift
him up. "I'll tell you how we'll fix it! I'll be your brother .
That's best of all--brother to Polly, and Ben and the whole of
you--then we'll see!"

Joel bolted up at that, and began to smile through the tears running
down the rosy face.

"Will you, really?" he said, "just like Ben--and everything?"

"I can't be as good as Ben," said Jappy, laughing, "but I'll be a real
brother like him."

"Fhoo--phoo! Then I don't care!" cried Joel wiping off the last tear
on the back of his chubby hand. "Now I guess we're better'n you,"
he exclaimed with a triumphant glance over at the little Whitneys,
as he began to make the new shoes skip at a lively pace up and
down the long room.

"Oh, dear!" they both cried in great distress.

"Now, papa, Jappy's going to be Joey's brother--and he isn't
anything but our old uncle! Make him be ours more, papa, do!"

And then Polly sprang up.

"Oh! oh--deary me!" And she rushed out into the hall and began to
tug violently at the big bundle, tossed down in a corner. "Cherry'll
die--Cherry'll die!" she cried, "do somebody help me off with the
string!"

But Polly already had it off by the time Jasper's knife was half out
of his pocket, and was kneeling down on the floor scooping out a
big handful of the seed.

"Don't hurry so, Polly," said Jasper, as she jumped up to fly
up-stairs. "He's had some a perfect age--he's all right."

"What!" said Polly, stopping so suddenly that two or three little
seeds flew out of the outstretched hand and went dancing away to
the foot of the stairs by themselves.

"Oh, I heard him scolding away there when I first came home,"
said Jasper, "so I just ran down a block or two, and got him some."

"Is that all there is in that big bundle?" said Joel in a disappointed
tone, who had followed with extreme curiosity to see its contents.
"Phoo!--that's no fun--old bird-seed!"

"I know," said Polly with a gay little laugh, pointing with the
handful of seed into the library, "but I shouldn't have met the other
big bundle if it hadn't have been for this, Joe!"

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