Half a Dozen Girls | Page 7

Florence thoughtfully, "and there are five of us."
"Doesn't he take her home to England, I'd like to know? There's a picture in the history where he shows Pocahontas to the queen. One of us can be king, and the other queen."
"But at court there are always lots of people round," remonstrated Florence, with an eye to the truth of the situation.
"Never mind; we can make believe that the queen has sent them off, so as not to scare Pocahontas; that's what they call poetical license," said Polly. "Jean can see about that. There are lots of splendid things to wear, right here in this garret. Don't you suppose your mother would let us take them, Molly?"
"Yes, I know she will," replied Molly.
There was silence for a moment, while the girls considered the matter. Then Polly returned to her first charge.
"But it will take a good while to get ready to start this, so I'd like to suggest our doing something else, while we wait."
"Polly has something in her head," said Jean. "Tell us what 'tis, Poll,"
"Well, I'll tell you," said Polly, as she rose and began to walk up and down the floor. "Aunt Jane was scolding, the other day, because I hadn't read 'Pilgrim's Progress.' She said it was a living disgrace to me, and that I must do it, right off. Now, what if we have a reading club and do it together? Have any of you read it? I don't believe you ever have."
The girls admitted that they had not.
"That's just what I thought," said Polly triumphantly. "It's so stupid that I can't do it alone, for I read the first page yesterday, and I know. But we don't any of us want to be 'a living disgrace'; so what if we read aloud an hour every other afternoon? 'T wouldn't take us so very long, and," here she laughed frankly, "I don't suppose it would hurt us any."
"I don't know but we ought to," remarked Molly virtuously, while Jean added,--
"I've heard people say it was like measles. You'd better take it young, if you did at all."
"When shall we begin?" demanded Polly, fired with enthusiasm at the prospect.
"To-morrow," said Molly; "and you'd better come here to read, for we can be nice and quiet up here. Come to-morrow at three, and we'll read till four."
"Oh!" exclaimed Florence, suddenly springing up, as a small, dark body came flying in at the open window above her head, and went tumbling across the floor and down the stairs.
"What was that?" asked Molly, rolling off the bed.
"A green apple. I think," replied Polly, as she ran after it and seized it. "Yes; here it is."
"That's Alan's doing," said Molly sternly, "I do wish he'd ever let us alone."
"I don't," said Polly, coming to his defence; "he's ever so much fun. I get tired of all girls."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Jean quickly, bowing low, in answer to the compliment.
But Polly missed the bow, for her curly head was out of the window, and she was laughing down at a slender, light-haired lad who was just taking fresh aim at the open window.
"Come up here, Alan!" she called.
"Oh, don't, Polly!" remonstrated Molly from within. "He'll laugh at us, and spoil all our fun."
"No, he won't," answered Polly valiantly; then, more loudly, "What did you say, Alan?"
"What are you girls about up there?" he inquired.
"Come up and see." And she drew in her head just in time to escape a second missile.
"All right; I'll come if you'll promise to play something, and not spend all your time gabbling." And Alan vanished through the side door. A minute or two afterwards, his shoes were heard clattering up the attic stairs.
The four girls, whom he found sitting in a row on the edge of the bed, were such good friends of him and of each other, that the five were commonly spoken of as "the V," or, sometimes, as "the quintette." Alan Hapgood, who was regarded as the point of the V, was a wide-awake, irrepressible youth of twelve, who had a large share in the doings of his older sister and her friends. They did their best to spoil him by their unlimited admiration; but, to be sure, the temptation to do so was a strong one, for Alan was a lovable fellow, always merry and good-natured, generous and accommodating to his friends, and quick to plan and execute the pranks which added the spice of mischief to the doings of the V. In person he was tall for his age, and slight, with thick, yellow hair, that lay in a smooth, soft line across his forehead, large gray eyes, and a generous mouth, full of strong, white teeth which were usually in sight, for Alan was nearly always laughing,--not a handsome boy, exactly,