Five Little Peppers at School Part 1

Five Little Peppers at School.

by Margaret Sidney.

PREFACE

The story of young people's lives is not complete without many and broad glimpses of their school days. It was impossible to devote the s.p.a.ce to this recital of the Five Little Peppers' school life, in the books that showed their growing up. The author, therefore, was obliged unwillingly to omit all the daily fun and study and growth, that she, loving them as if they were real children before her eyes, saw in progress.

So she packed it all away in her mind, ready to tell to all those young people who also loved the Peppers, when they clamored for more stories about them--just what Polly and Joel and David did in their merry school days. Ben never got as much schooling as the others, for he insisted on getting into business life as early as possible, in order the sooner to begin to pay Grandpapa King back for all his kindness. But Jasper and Percy and Van joined the Peppers at school, and a right merry time they had of it!

And now the time seems ripe to accede to all the insistent demands from those who love the Five Little Peppers, that this record of their school days should be given. So here it is, just as they all gave it to

MARGARET SIDNEY.

_Five Little Peppers at School_

I HARD TIMES FOR JOEL

"Come on, Pepper." One of the boys rushed down the dormitory hall, giving a bang on Joel's door as he pa.s.sed.

"All right," said Joel a bit crossly, "I'm coming."

"Last bell," came back on the wind.

Joel threw his tennis racket on the bed, and scowled. Just then a flaxen head peeped in, and two big eyes stared at him.

"Ugh!"--Joel took one look--"off with you, Jenkins." Jenkins withdrew at once.

Joel jumped up and slammed the door hard, whirled around in vexation, sprang over and thrust the tennis racket under the bed, seized a dog-eared book, and plunged off, taking the precaution, despite his hurry, to shut the door fast behind him.

Jenkins stole out of his room three doors beyond, and as the hall was almost deserted about this hour, so many boys being in recitation, he had nothing to do but tiptoe down to Joel's room and go softly in.

"Hullo!" A voice behind made him skip.

"Oh, Berry,"--it was a tone of relief,--"it's you."

"Um," said Berry, "what's up now, Jenk?" He tossed back his head, while a smile of delight ran all over his face.

"Hush--come here." Jenk had him now within Joel's room and the door shut. "We'll have fun with the beggar now."

"Who--Dave?"

"Dave? No. Who wants to haul him over?" cried Jenk in scorn. "You are a flat, Berry, if you think that."

"Well, you are a flat, if you think to tackle Joe," declared Berry with the air and tone of one who knows. "Better let him alone, after what you got last term."

"Well, I ain't going to let him alone," declared Jenk angrily, and flus.h.i.+ng all up to his shock of light hair; "and I gave him quite as good as he gave me, I'd have you know, Tom Beresford."

"Hoh, hoh!" Tom gave a howl of derision, and slapped his knee in pure delight. "Tell that to the marines, sonny," he said.

"Hush--old Fox will hear you. Be still, can't you?"--twitching his jacket--"and stop your noise."

"I can't help it; you say such very funny things," said Beresford, wiping his eyes.

"Well, anyway, I'm going to pay him up this term," declared Jenkins decidedly. He was rus.h.i.+ng around the small room; the corners devoted to David being neatness itself, which couldn't truthfully be said of Joel's quarters. "I'm after his new tennis racket. Where in thunder is it?"

tossing up the motley array of b.a.l.l.s, dumb-bells, and such treasures, that showed on their surface they belonged to no one but Joel.

"Great Scott!" Tom cried with sudden interest, and coming out of his amus.e.m.e.nt. "You won't find it."

"Saw him looking at it just now, before he went to cla.s.s," cried Jenkins, plunging around the room. "Where is the thing?" he fumed.

Berry gave a few swift, bird-like glances around the room, then darted over to the end of one of the small beds, leaned down, and picked out from underneath the article in question.

"Oh! give it to me," cried Jenk, flying at him, and possessing himself of the treasure; "it's mine; I told you of it."

"Isn't it a beauty!" declared Berry, his eyes very big and longing.

"Ha, ha--ain't it? Well, Joe won't see this in one spell."

Jenkins gave it a swing over his head, then batted his knee with it.

"What are you going to do, Jenk?" demanded Berry, presently, when he could get his mind off from the racket itself.

"Do? Ha, ha! Who says I can't pay the beggar back?" grinned Jenk, hopping all over the room, and knocking into things generally.

"Hush--hush," warned Berry, plunging after him; "here's old Fox," which brought both boys up breathless in the middle of the floor.

"She's gone by"--a long breath of relief; "and there she goes down the stairs," finished Berry.

"Sure?" Not daring to breathe, but clutching the racket tightly, and with one eye on Berry, Jenk cried again in a loud whisper, "Sure, Berry?"

"As if any one could mistake the flap of those slipper-heels on the stairs!" said Berry scornfully.

"Well, look out of the window," suggested Jenk suddenly. "She'll go across the yard, maybe."

So Berry dashed to the window, and gave one look. "There she sails with a bottle in her hand, going over to South" (the other dormitory across the yard). "Most likely Jones has the colic again. Good! Now that disposes finely of old Fox," which brought him back to the subject in hand, the disposal of Joel's racket.

"Give me that," he said, hurrying over to Jenkins.

"No, you don't," said that individual; "and I must be lively before old Fox gets back." With that, he rushed out of the room.

"If you don't give me that racket, I'll tell on you," cried Beresford in a pa.s.sion, flying after him.

"Hus.h.!.+" Jenk turned on him suddenly, and gripped him fast. "See here,"