Five Little Peppers at School Part 19

The dog, in seizing the cake, had taken Joel's thumb as well.

"Let go there," cried Joel; "well, you can't swallow my thumb," as the cake disappeared in one lump; and he gave a sigh for the plums with which Mamsie always liberally supplied the school cakes, now disappearing so fast, as much as for the nip he had received.

The dog turned his black, beady eyes sharply for more cake. When he saw that it wasn't coming, he licked Joel's thumb; and in his cramped quarters on top of a heap of shoes and various other things not exactly cla.s.sified, he tried hard to wag his stump of a tail.

"Whickets! there goes that bell! Now see here, don't you dare to stir for your life! You've got to stay in this closet till to-morrow--then I'll see what to do for you. Lie down, I tell you."

There was a small scuffle; and then the dog, realizing here was a master, curled himself on top of some tennis shoes, and looked as if he held his breath.

"All right," said Joel, with an approving pat. "Now don't you yip, even if Dave opens this door." Then he shut it carefully, and rushed off down to the long dining-room to the crowd of boys.

Joel ate his supper as rapidly as possible, lost to the chatter going on around him. He imagined, in his feverishness, that he heard faint "yaps"

every now and then; and he almost expected to see everybody lay down knife and fork.

"What's the matter with you?" He was aroused by seeing the boy next to him lean forward to peer into his face. And in a minute he was conscious that on the other side he was just as much of an object of attention. He buried his face in his gla.s.s of milk; but when he took it out, they were staring still the same.

"Ugh! stop your looking at me," growled Joel.

"What's the matter with you, anyway?" asked the other boy.

"Get away--nothing," said Joel crossly, and bestowing as much of a kick as he dared on the other boy's s.h.i.+n.

"Ow! There is too."

"You're awfully funny," said the first boy, "you haven't spoken a word since you sat down."

"Well, I ain't going to talk, if I don't want to," declared Joel. "Do stop, Fletcher; everybody's looking."

But Fletcher wouldn't stop, and Joel had the satisfaction of seeing the whole table, with the under-teacher, Mr. Harrow, at the head, making him, between their mouthfuls, the centre of observation. The only alleviation of this misery was that Percy was at another table, and with his back to him.

David looked across in a worried way. "Are you sick, Joe?" he asked.

"No." Joel laughed, and began to eat busily. When he saw that, David gave a sigh of relief.

Mr. Harrow was telling something just then that seemed of more than common interest, and the boys, hearing Joel laugh once more, turned off to listen. "Yes," said the under-teacher, "it was a dog that was--"

"Ugh!" cried Joel. "Oh, beg pardon," and his face grew dreadfully red, as he tried to get as small as possible on his chair.

"It's a dog I used to own, Joel," said Mr. Harrow, smiling at him. "And I taught him tricks, several quite remarkable ones."

"Yes, sir," mumbled Joel, taking a big bite of his biscuit; and for the next quarter of an hour he was safe, as the funny stories lasted till back went the chairs, and the evening meal was over.

To say that Joel's life was an easy one till bedtime, would be very far from the truth. Strange to say, David did not go to the closet once. To be sure, there was a narrow escape that made Joel's heart leap to his mouth.

"Let's have Mamsie's cake, Joe, to-night," said David in an aside to him. The room was full of boys; it was just before study hour, and how to tell David of the dog, was racking Joe's powers of mind.

"Ugh!--no, not to-night, Dave." He was so very decided that although David was puzzled at his manner, he gave it up without a question. And then came study hour when all the boys must be down in "Long Hall," and Joel lingered behind the others. "I'll be down in a minute." He flew over to the closet, broke off another generous wedge of Mamsie's cake, stifling a second sigh as he thought of the plums. "You haven't eaten my half yet," he said as the dog swallowed it whole without winking. "Keep still now." He slammed to the door again, and was off, his books under his arm.

And after the two boys went up to bed, David was too tired and sleepy to talk, and hopped into his bed so quickly that long before Joel was undressed he was off to dreamland.

"That's good,--now I haven't got to tell him till morning." Joel went over to the other bed in the corner, and listened to the regular breathing, then tiptoed softly off to the closet, first putting out the light. "I know what I'm going to do." He got down on all-fours, and put his hand out softly over the pile of shoes, till he felt the dog's mangy back. "I'm going to take you in my bed; you'll smother in here. Now, sir!" The dog was ready enough to be quiet, only occupied in licking Joel's hands. So Joel jumped into his bed, carrying his charge, and huddled down under the clothes.

After being quite sure that he was really to remain in this paradise, the dog began to turn around and around to find exactly the best position in which to settle down for the night. This took him so long, interrupted as the process was with so many lickings of Joel's brown face, that it looked as if neither would get very much sleep that night; Joel, not averse to this lengthy operation, hugging his dog and patting him, to his complete demoralization just as he was about to quiet down.

At last even Joel was tired, and his eyes drooped. "Now go to sleep"--with a final pat--"I'm going to call you Sinbad." Joel, having always been mightily taken with Sinbad the Sailor, felt that no other name could be quite good enough for his new treasure. And Sinbad, realizing that a call to repose had actually been given, curled up, in as round a ball as he could, under Joel's chin, and both were soon sound asleep.

It was near the middle of the night. Joel had been dreaming of his old menagerie and circus he had once in the little brown house, in which there were not only trained dogs who could do the most wonderful things,--strange to say, now they were all of them yellow, and had stumpy tails,--but animals and reptiles of the most delightful variety, never seen in any other show on earth; when a noise, that at once suggested a boy screaming "_Ow!_" struck upon his ear, and brought him bolt upright in his bed. He pawed wildly around, but Sinbad was nowhere to be found.

XI THE UNITED CLUBS

The whole dormitory was in an uproar. "_Ow!_ help--help!" Mr. Harrow, having gone out after dinner, had retired late, and was now sound asleep, so another instructor scaled the stairs, getting there long before Mrs. Fox, the matron, could put in an appearance.

In the babel, it was somewhat difficult to locate the boy who had screamed out. At last, "In there, Farnham's room," cried several voices at once.

"Nightmare, I suppose," said the instructor to himself, das.h.i.+ng in.

But it was a real thing he soon saw, as a knot of boys huddled around the bed, where the terrified occupant still sat, drawing up his knees to his chin, and screaming all sorts of things, in which "wild beast" and "cold nose" was all that could be distinguished.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JUST THEN SOMETHING SKIMMED OUT FROM THE CORNER.]

"Stop this noise!" commanded the instructor, who had none of Mr.

Harrow's pleasant but decided ways for quelling an incipient riot. So they bawled on, the boy in bed yelling that he wouldn't be left alone.

Just then something skimmed out from the corner; the boys flew to one side, showing a tendency to find the door. Even the instructor jumped.

Then he bethought himself to light the gas, which brought out the fact that there certainly was an animal in the room, as they could hear it now under the bed.

"Boys, be quiet. Mrs. Fox's cat has got up here, probably," said the instructor. But the boy in the bed protested that it wasn't a cat that had waked him up by thrusting a cold nose in his face, and jumping on top of him. And he huddled worse than ever now that it was under him; yet afraid to step out on the floor.

Even the instructor did not offer to look under the bed, when Joel Pepper rushed in, his black eyes gleaming. "Oh, it's my dog!" he cried.

"It's Joe Pepper's dog!" cried the whole roomful, nearly tumbling over each other.

"And when did you begin to keep a dog, Joel Pepper?" hurled the instructor at him, too angry for anything, that he hadn't impressed the boys with his courage.

But Joel was occupied in ramming his body under the bed as far as possible. "Here, Sinbad," and he presently emerged with a very red face, and Sinbad safely in his arms, who seemed perfectly delighted to get into his old refuge again. David had now joined the group, as much aghast as every other spectator.

"Do you hear me, Joel Pepper?" thundered the instructor again. "When did you get that dog?" This brought Joel to.

"Oh, I haven't had him long, sir," he said, and trembling for Sinbad, as he felt in every fibre of his being that the beast's fate was sealed, unless he could win over the irritated teacher. "He's a poor dog I--I found, sir," wis.h.i.+ng he could think of the right words, and knowing that every word he uttered only made matters worse.

"David," cried the instructor, catching Davie's eye, down by the door, "do you know anything about this dog?"

"No, sir," said David, all in a tremble, and wis.h.i.+ng he could say something to help Joel out.