XIX
CIRCUS PLANS
Joel practised the part of so many animals in the next week thatthe little brown house people became quite accustomed to anystrange grunting or roaring they might chance to hear, as if awhole menagerie were let loose. Only Mamsie forbade that suchnoise should be allowed within doors. And every once in a whileJoel would rush into the kitchen, with "Polly, how does anelephant scream?" and "Tell me, Polly, does a kangaroo cry thisway?" until Polly was quite worn out.
"I guess you'll be glad when that circus of Joe's is over with,"said Ben. "I pity you, Polly. I'd enough sight rather chop woodfor Mr. Blodgett."
"Well, you needn't," cried Polly, "pity me, Ben, for Joel's sovery happy. And poor Mr. Blodgett! O dear, it's too bad hisbarn's all burnt up."
"And the horse and the cow," said Ben, very soberly.
"Hush!" warned Polly, looking around to see if Phronsie heard.Luckily, she was in the bedroom, sitting down by the lowerbureau drawer, which was open, and trying on her red-toppedshoes, getting every button into the wrong button-hole. "Oh,Ben," Polly rushed up to whisper in his ear, "I do think thatwas too dreadful for anything."
"Yes," said Ben; "it was Mrs. Blodgett sent you word she wassorry she hadn't any milk to send to Phronsie now and then."
"Good Mrs. Blodgett!" exclaimed Polly, with the tears in her browneyes. "Oh, I do wish we had something to send her!" she sighed.
And Ben sighed too. Because, as he had been working at DeaconBlodgett's pretty steadily the last few weeks since the fire, hehad noticed how the neighbors and friends had been sending inthings to show how sorry they were for the Blodgett family, andit grieved him dreadfully that the Peppers seemed to be aboutthe only ones left out. So now he preserved a gloomy silence.
"Well, come, dear me," cried Polly, when she saw this, and,remembering her mother's advice, to think first before she spokethe words that might work mischief, she brightened up. "P'r'apssome chance will come to us to show dear Mrs. Blodgett thatwe are sorry for 'em, if we can't send 'em things."
"P'r'aps," said Ben. But he still looked gloomy. "I can do mywork just as well's I know how," he thought; "but I'm going todo that, anyway, so I don't see what other chance there'll be."
"Whom are you going to invite to see your circus, Joel?" askedPolly, a few nights later, when, as usual, after supper, Joelwas haranguing loudly on the great show to take place, and evenlittle David was wound up to such a pitch of enthusiasm that Mrs.Pepper, on seeing his red cheeks, felt a dozen times inclined tosend him to bed ahead of the time. But his happy little faceappealed to her strongly, and she argued to herself, "I don'tknow but what 'twould hurt him quite as much to disappoint him,as to let him sit up half an hour longer. Thank fortune, it'sseven o'clock now!" So David was saved being sent off to bed,until it was time for Joel to go too.
"I ain't a-goin' to invite any one," said Joel; "no, sir-_ree!_Everybody's got to pay to come into my show."
"How much do we pay?" asked Polly. "O dear me, Joe, I don'tb'lieve you'll get many people to see it."
"Pins, I s'pose," said Ben.
"Yes," said Joel, "pins, an' good ones, too, not crooked, bentold things."
"Pins cost money," said Mrs. Pepper, looking up from herwork-basket. "I suppose you know that, Joel?"
"Well, we can't let folks in without paying," said Joel, in deepanxiety. "'Twouldn't be a circus if we did."
"I tell you," said Polly, seeing his forehead all puckered up inwrinkles; "why don't you have some tickets, Joel, made out ofpaper, you know, and marked on 'em for ten cents and fivecents?"
"Where'd you get the paper, Polly?" asked Ben, who was verypractical. "Better not propose anything you can't carry out.Look at Joe's face," he whispered, under cover of the shoutsfrom the two boys.
"O dear me!" cried Polly, whispering back, "we never have anything!It's perfectly dreadful, Ben; and we must help Joe. And you knowyourself there aren't any pins hardly in the house, and Mamsiecouldn't give us one of those."
"You must think of something else besides paper, for that's justas bad as pins," said Ben, with perfect faith that Polly wouldcontrive a good way out of the difficulty.
Polly put her head into her two hands, while Joel wasvociferating, "Oh, tickets! Goody! Polly's going to make 'em!Polly's going to make 'em!" in a way to fill her with dismay,while she racked her brains to think what would satisfy Joel asentrance money to his circus.
"Now, children," she said briskly, lifting her head, her handsfalling to her lap, "Ben says we can't manage the tickets verywell, because we haven't any paper." She hurried on, "Be still,Joe!" as she saw signs of a howl. "But I'll tell you somethingelse you might have, Joel, and we've got plenty of 'em, andthey're round, and oh, so nice!" By this time her voice had sucha confident ring, and she laughed so gayly, that little Daviecried out, "I know it's nice, Polly," and even Joel lookedenthusiastic.
"It's just as nice," declared Polly, clasping her hands. "Oh,you can't think! And I'll help you gather some."
"What is it?" screamed Joel; "do tell, Polly."
"It's cheeses," said Polly; "don't you know, Joe, out in theyard?" They were the little, round, green things, so called bythe children, that grew on a little plant in the grass, and theyused to pick and eat them.
"Oh, they're not money," said Joel, falling back, horriblydisappointed.
"Neither are tickets money," said Polly, airily; "they only meanmoney; and the cheeses can mean it just as well. Besides,they're round."
"And I think the cheeses are a great deal better than anything,to pay with," said Ben, coming to Polly's rescue. "And you cancharge as much as you want to, you know, Joe, 'cause they'replenty."
"So I can," cried Joel, quite delighted at this. "Well, you mustpay fifty, no, seventy-five cheeses to get in, Ben."
"Oh, I guess I shall spend my time picking seventy-fivecheeses!" cried Ben; "you must let me in cheaper'n that, Joel."
"You may come in for ten, then," said Joel, coming down witha long jump, very much alarmed lest Ben should not be able toget in. And as for having the circus without him--why, that wouldbe dreadful!
"You do think up such perfectly beautiful things, Polly," criedDavid, huddling up close to her, and lifting his flushed cheeks.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Polly, catching sight of them, "your faceis awful red." And she caught Mother Pepper's eye.
"I know it," said Mrs. Pepper, the troubled look coming back.She laid down her work. "Come here, David, and let Mother seeyou."
So Davie got up from the ring on the floor, and ran over to hismother, and climbed in her lap. "I don't see what 'tis," shesaid, looking him over keenly. Then she made him open his mouth,and she got a spoon and looked down his throat. "It isn't red,"she declared, "and I don't believe it's sore."
"No," said little Davie, "it isn't sore, Mammy. Mayn't I go back,now?" he asked, looking longingly over at the group on the floor.
"I know what's the matter with Dave," said Ben, wisely. "He'sbeen so many animals this week, Joel's made him, that he's tiredto death."
"I think you're right, Ben," said Mrs. Pepper. "Well now, Davie,Mother is sorry to send you to bed before the time--it's tenminutes yet to half-past seven; but she thinks it best."
"Do you, Mamsie?" said Davie.
"Yes, I do," said Mrs. Pepper, firmly. "I really think it's best.You're all tired out, and to-morrow I guess you'll wake up asbright as a cricket."
"Then I'll go if you want me to," said David, with a sigh, andsliding out of her lap he went slowly out and up to the loft.
"I haven't got to go for ten minutes," sang Joel after him."Goody, ain't I glad!"
"It's too bad Davie had to go," mourned Polly; "but I supposeit's best."
"Yes," said Ben, "he'd be sick if he didn't. It's most too badhe has to go alone, though," and his blue eyes rested on Joel'sface.
Joel began to squirm uncomfortably.
"Don't you think 'twould be nice, Joe," said Polly, "for you togo with Davie? He's so much littler; it's too forlorn
for him togo up to bed alone."
"No, I don't," snapped Joel. "I'm going to stay down and talkover my circus. You may get in for ten cheeses, too, Polly," hesaid magnificently.
"Thank you," said Polly, coldly.
Joel gave her a queer look. "And I'm going to let Sally Brown infor ten. No, she's got plenty of cheeses in her yard, she's gotto pay more," he rattled on. Polly and Ben said nothing.
"I'll go if you want me to, Polly," at last Joel sniffed out.
"I don't want you to," said Polly, still with a cold littlemanner, "unless you want to go yourself, Joel. But I shouldthink you would want to, when you think of poor little Daviegoing up there alone. You know you don't like to do it, andyou're such a big boy."
Joel struggled to his feet. "I'll go, Polly," he shouted. Mamsieflashed him a smile as he dashed past and stumbled up the stepsof the loft.
But the next morning David didn't seem to be bright and wideawake as a cricket, and although there was nothing the matterwith him, except he still had his red cheeks and complained whenany one asked him if he felt sick, that he was tired, that thatwas all, Mother Pepper kept him in bed. And that night he camedown to sleep in Mamsie's big bed, and Polly had a little shake-downon the floor.
"I wish I could ever be sick!" said Joel, when he saw thepreparations for the night.
"Oh, Joel, don't wish such perfectly dreadful things," saidPolly.
"Well, I never sleep with Mamsie," said Joel, in an injured tone."And Davie gets all the good times."
"Now, Joel," said Mrs. Pepper, the morning after that, "I'msorry to disappoint you, but you can't have your circus awhileyet, till Davie gets real strong. So you must rest youranimals," she said with a smile, "and they'll be all the betterwhen the right time comes."
Joel, swallowing his disappointment as best he could, went outand sat on the back steps to think about it. He sat so verystill, that Polly ran out after a while to look at him. "Oh, Joe,you aren't crying!" she said in dismay.
"No," said Joe, lifting his head; "but, Polly, I'm afraid myanimals will all run away if I don't have the circus pretty soon.Don't you s'pose Mamsie'll let me have it in the bedroom Davecould sit up in the bed and see it."
"Dear me, no," cried Polly. "The very idea!" Whenever Polly said,"The very idea!" the children knew it was perfectly useless tourge anything. So now Joel sank back on the doorstep andresigned himself to despair.
"I tell you what I'd do if I were you, Joey," said Polly, kindly,and running down to sit beside him. "I'd think up all sorts ofdifferent things, and get all ready, every speck. There's reallya great deal to do. And then I'd pick cheeses all the spare timeI had. Oh, I'd pick lots and lots!" Polly swept out her arms asif enclosing untold numbers. "And--"
"What do I want to pick cheeses for?" asked Joel, interrupting."The folks that pay has to pick 'em, I sh'd think."
"I know it," said Polly; "but if you pick a good many cheeses,you can give away some tickets, you know--comple--comple--well,I don't just know what they call 'em. But they let folks inwithout paying."
"And that's just what I don't want to do," cried Joe, in highdudgeon. "Hoh, Polly Pepper, I sh'd think you'd know better'nthat!"
"It's just this way, Joel," said Polly, trying to explain. "Folks thatgive a show always send some tickets to their friends, so theydon't have to pay. I should think you'd want to; why, just think,"she jumped off from the step and stood before him in greatexcitement, "I never thought of it before," and the color rosehigh on her cheek. "You can ask dear Mrs. Beebe, and Mr.Beebe, and--"
"I won't have Ab'm," cried Joel; but he was very much impressed,Polly could see, by her plan.
"No, of course not," said Polly. "Ab'm has gone back West."
"And Mrs. Beebe says she ain't ever going to have him again ather house," added Joel.
"Well, never mind; and you can ask Mrs. Blodgett. She was sogood to send Phronsie milk; and she's had her barn burnt."
"Well, Sally Brown'll have to pay," said Joel, as Mrs. Peppercalled Polly to come in to her work. And he jumped off the stepand began to pick cheeses with all his might.