Five Little Peppers Abroad | Page 9

know he will," declared Jasper, eagerly
feeling this minute as if the most unheard-of things were possible.
"And beside, your sister--I mean the Pepper girl--Miss Pepper--" Tom
corrected himself clumsily. "She can't bear me--I won't come."
"Oh, yes, she can now," said Jasper, just as eagerly, "especially since
I've told her all you've told me."
"Well, I hate girls anyway," declared Tom, in his most savage fashion;
"always have hated 'em, and always shall. I won't come!"

III
PHRONSIE GOES VISITING
"Grandpapa," said Phronsie, softly, as she clung to his hand, after they
had made the descent to the lower deck, "I think the littlest one can eat
some of the fruit, don't you?" she asked anxiously.
"Never you fear," assented old Mr. King, "that child that I saw
yesterday can compass anything in the shape of food. Why, it had its
mouth full of teeth, Phronsie; it was impossible not to see them when it
roared."
"I am so glad its teeth are there," said Phronsie, with a sigh of
satisfaction, as she regarded her basket of fruit, "because if it hadn't any,
we couldn't give it these nice pears, Grandpapa."
"Well, here we are," said Mr. King, holding her hand tightly. "Bless
me--are those your toes, young man?" this to a big chubby-faced boy,
whose fat legs lay across the space as he sprawled on the deck; "just
draw them in a bit, will you?--there. Well, now, Phronsie, this way.
Here's the party, I believe," and he led her over to the other side, where
a knot of steerage passengers were huddled together. In the midst sat a
woman, chubby faced, and big and square, holding a baby. She had a
big red shawl wrapped around her, in the folds of which snuggled the
baby, who was contentedly chewing one end of it, while his mother had
her eyes on the rest of her offspring, of which there seemed a good
many. When the baby saw Phronsie, he stopped chewing the old shawl
and grinned, showing all the teeth of which Mr. King had spoken. The
other children, tow headed and also chubby, looked at the basket
hanging on Phronsie's arm, and also grinned.
"There is the baby!" exclaimed Phronsie, in delight, pulling
Grandpapa's hand gently. "Oh, Grandpapa, there he is."

"That's very evident," said the old gentleman. "Bless me!" addressing
the woman, "how many children have you, pray tell?"
"Nine," she said. Then she twitched the jacket of one of them, and the
pinafore of another, to have them mind their manners, while the baby
kicked and crowed and gurgled, seeming to be all teeth.
"I have brought you some fruit," said Phronsie, holding out her basket,
whereat all the tow headed group except the baby crowded each other
dreadfully to see all there was in it. "I'm sorry the flowers are gone, so I
couldn't bring any to-day. May the baby have this?" holding out a pear
by the stem.
The baby settled that question by lunging forward and seizing the pear
with two fat hands, when he immediately sank into the depths of the
old shawl again, all his teeth quite busy at work. Phronsie set down her
basket on the deck, and the rest of the brood emptied it to their own
satisfaction. Their mother's stolid face lighted up with a broad smile
that showed all her teeth, and very white and even they were.
"Grandpapa," said Phronsie, turning to him and clasping her hands, "if I
only might hold that baby just one little bit of a minute," she begged,
keenly excited.
"Oh, Phronsie, he's too big," expostulated Mr. King, in dismay.
"I can hold him just as easy, Grandpapa dear," said Phronsie, her lips
drooping mournfully. "See." And she sat down on a big coil of rope
near by and smoothed out her brown gown. "Please, Grandpapa dear."
"He'll cry," said Mr. King, quickly. "Oh, no, Phronsie, it wouldn't do to
take him away from his mother. You see it would be dreadful to set that
child to roaring--very dreadful indeed." Yet he hung over her in distress
at the drooping little face.
"He won't cry." The mother's stolid face lighted up a moment. "And if
the little lady wants to hold him, he'll sit there."
"May I, Grandpapa?" cried Phronsie, her red lips curling into a happy
smile. "Oh, please say I may, Grandpapa dear," clasping her hands.
"The family seems unusually clean," observed Mr. King to himself.
"And the doctor says there's no sickness on board, and it's a very
different lot of steerage folks going this way from coming out, all of
which I've settled before coming down here," he reflected. "Well,
Phronsie--yes--I see no reason why you may not hold the baby if you
want to." And before