Dorothy Daintys Gay Times | Page 5

both she and Nina had been
laughing at Arabella and her aunt. Mollie's cheeks flushed, and she
looked down at her shoes. She knew that Dorothy's sweet eyes were
looking at her, not angrily, but with a tender grieving.
Dorothy was full of fun, and ready for merriment at any time, but she
saw nothing amusing in laughing at a playmate, or friend, and she had
asked them all to be kind to Arabella.
Aunt Charlotte turned to the window, and set the little silver bell
tinkling, and the pupils at once filed into the schoolroom.
They found Arabella Corryville sitting primly in her place. Her small,
thin hands were clasped upon her desk, and she looked at the pupils as
they filed in, peeping first over her glasses, and then through them, as if
she were hunting for little faults which she really hoped to find.
Aunt Charlotte had told her that on this, her first day of school, she
might listen to the recitations, and on the next day come with her
lessons prepared, and then recite with the class.
She sat very still, only moving her round eyes to watch the pupils, and
as she did not smile, one could not guess if she were pleased with the
school or not.
The little girls busied themselves with their books, but Reginald kept

his blue eyes fixed upon Arabella, as if he could think of nothing else.
At first she seemed not to notice him, but after a time she moved
restlessly on her seat, and wriggled about in a way that delighted the
small boy.
Arabella was not used to being stared at. She always stared boldly at
other people, but here was some one who looked at her without so
much as blinking. She glanced at the clock, and then, as if just
remembering something, took a small bottle from her pocket, shook
some pills into her hand, swallowed them, and turned to see if Reginald
were looking. He was, and Arabella was provoked.
"What you staring at?" she whispered rudely.
"You!" he whispered, not a bit abashed.
"Well, you just needn't," said Arabella.
"I know I needn't," replied the small boy, "but I like to."
"Why?" she asked.
"'Cause you're funny," Reginald said. It was not strange that Arabella
was angry. Would any girl be pleased to have a small boy watching her,
and declaring that she was "funny?"
And now Aunt Charlotte was calling the youngest class in reading, and
Reginald hastily snatched his book, and began to hunt for the lesson.
"The third page, Reginald," said Aunt Charlotte; "you may read the
first paragraph."
He found the place, and read the lines without a mistake. It was his first
term at school, but his mother had found pleasure in teaching him, and
he read quite as well as some of the younger pupils.
"Read the next paragraph, Reginald," said Aunt Charlotte.

"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon his,--on
his,--'"
It was a word which Reginald had never seen, and he frowned until an
odd little pucker appeared on his forehead.
"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon
his,'"--again he paused. The word looked no easier this time than when
he had first read the lines.
"I can't pronounce that word," he said.
"Read the lines again, and when you come to the word that puzzles you,
pronounce it as you think it should be," said Aunt Charlotte.
The other pupils were interested, but when Reginald glanced toward
Arabella, he saw that she was smiling in evident delight at his
discomfiture. He resolved to rush through the reading in a way that
would tell her that he could read anything. He drew a long breath, and
then, as fast as possible, he read:
"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon his
carrot wheels!'"
Even Aunt Charlotte smiled at the droll error, but Arabella laughed
long and loud.
"Order, order!" said Aunt Charlotte.
"The word is chariot," she said.
The others read in turn, until they had finished the charming story, and
each of the girls wondered why Arabella was not reproved for rudeness.
The arithmetic lesson completed the morning's work, and as they
walked home, they talked of the new pupil.
"I don't see why Aunt Charlotte didn't speak to Arabella," said Nina
Earl, "she was horridly rude."

"And how queer she is," said Mollie Merton; "just the minute school
was out she ran down the path, and across the street to get home before
any of us could talk with her. And I do wonder Aunt Charlotte didn't
speak to her about laughing so loudly, just because Reginald made a
mistake. I don't believe she could read any better."
"I guess perhaps Arabella