Part 83

Polly looked at the dangling lace, evidently just torn, with dismay; seeing which, Mrs. Chatterton broke out sharply, "Get the basket, girl, over there on the table, and sew it as well as you can."

"Polly!" called Jasper over the stairs, "where are you?"

Polly trembled all over as she hurried across the room to get the sewing basket. Grandpapa was not ready, she knew; but she always ran down a little ahead for the fun of the last moments waiting with Jasper, when old Mr. King was going to take them out of an evening. And in the turmoil in her mind, she didn't observe that Hortense had misplaced the basket, putting it on the low bookcase, and was still searching all over the table as directed, when Mrs. Chatterton's sharp voice filled her with greater dismay.

"Stupid! if you would put heart into your search, it would be easy enough to find it."

"Polly, where are you!" Polly, in her haste not to displease Mrs. Chatterton by replying to Jasper before finding the basket, knocked over one of the small silver-topped bottles with which the dressing table seemed to be full, and before she could rescue it, it fell to the floor.

"Go out of this room," commanded Mrs. Chatterton, with blazing eyes. "I ought to have known better than to call upon a heavy-handed, low-born country girl, to do a delicate service."

"I didn't mean--" began poor Polly.

"Go out of this room!" Mrs. Chatterton, now thoroughly out of temper, so far forgot herself as to stamp her foot; and Polly, feeling as if she had lost all chance in her future encounters with Mrs. Chatterton, of atoning for past short-comings, went sadly out, to meet, just beside the door, Jasper, with amazement on his face.

"Oh, Polly, I thought you were never coming." Then he saw her face.

"That old--" he said under his breath. "Polly, don't ever go into her room again. I wouldn't," as they hurried off downstairs.

"She won't let me," said Polly, her head drooping, and the brightness all gone from her face. "She won't ever let me go again, I know."

"Won't let you? Well, I guess you'll not give her a chance," cried Jasper hotly. "Polly, I do really wish that father would tell her to go away."

"Oh, Jasper," cried Polly, in alarm, "don't say one word to Grandpapa. Promise me you won't, Jasper."

"Well, father is tired of her. She wears on him terribly, Polly," said Jasper gloomily.

"I know," said Polly sadly. "And oh, Jasper, if you say one word, he will really have her go. And I was so bad to her, you know," and the tears came into Polly's brown eyes.

"Well, she must have been perfectly terrible to you," said Jasper.

"Polly--Jasper--where are you?" came in old Mr. King's voice.

"Here, father," and "Here, Grandpapa," and Clare running up the steps, the little party was soon in the carriage.

"Promise me, Jasper, do," implored Polly, when Grandpapa was explaining to Cathie about the great actor they were to see, and Clare was listening to hear all about it, too.

"Oh, I won't," promised Jasper, "if you don't wish me to."

"I really wouldn't have you for all the world," declared Polly; and now that this fear was off from her mind, she began to pick up her old, bright spirits, so that by the time the carriage stopped at the theatre, Polly was herself again.

Jasper watched her keenly, and drew a long breath when he saw her talking and laughing with Grandpapa.

"You are going to sit next to me, Polly," said the old gentleman, marshalling his forces when well within. "And Jasper next. Then, Cathie, you will have a knight on either side."

"Oh, I can't sit between two boys," cried Cathie, forgetting herself in her terror.

"I won't bite you," cried Clare saucily.

"I will see that Clare behaves himself," said Jasper.

"You'll do nicely, my dear," said Mr. King encouragingly to her; then proceeded down the aisle after the usher. So there was nothing to do but to obey. And Cathie, who would have found it a formidable thing to be stranded on the companionship of one boy, found herself between two, and Polly Pepper far off, and not the least able to help.

"Now, then," said Jasper, taking up the program, "I suppose father told you pretty much all that was necessary to know about Irving. Well--" And then, without waiting for a reply, Jasper dashed on about the splendid plays in which he had seen this wonderful actor, and the particular one they were to enjoy to-night; and from that he drifted off to the fine points to be admired in the big playhouse, with its striking decorations, making Cathie raise her eyes to take it all in, until Clare leaned over to say: