The Corner House Girls at School

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Corner House Girls at School, by Grace Brooks Hill

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Title: The Corner House Girls at School
Author: Grace Brooks Hill
Illustrator: R. Emmett Owen
Release Date: April 11, 2007 [EBook #21034]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE CORNER HOUSE GIRLS AT SCHOOL
BY GRACE BROOKS HILL
Author of "The Corner House Girls," "The Corner House Girls Under Canvas," etc.
ILLUSTRATED BY R. EMMETT OWEN

GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Copyright, 1915 By BARSE & CO.
Printed in the United States of America

[Illustration: Agnes stooped lower and shot up the course, passing Trix not three yards from the line.]

CONTENTS
I A Goat, Four Girls, and a Pig
II The White-headed Boy
III The Pig is Important
IV Neale O'Neil Gets Established
V Crackers--and a Toothache
VI Agnes Loses Her Temper and Dot Her Tooth
VII Neale in Disguise
VIII Introductions
IX Popocatepetl in Mischief
X The Ice Storm
XI The Skating Race
XII The Christmas Party
XIII The Barn Dance
XIV Uncle Rufus' Story of the Christmas Goose
XV Sadie Goronofsky's Bank
XVI A Quartette of "Lady Bountifuls"
XVII "That Circus Boy!"
XVIII Snowbound
XIX The Enchanted Castle
XX Trix Severn in Peril
XXI A Backyard Circus
XXII Mr. Sorber
XXIII Taming a Lion Tamer
XXIV Mr. Murphy Takes a Hand
XXV A Bright Future

THE CORNER HOUSE GIRLS AT SCHOOL
CHAPTER I
A GOAT, FOUR GIRLS, AND A PIG
When Sam Pinkney brought Billy Bumps over to the old Corner House, and tied him by the corner of the woodshed, there was at once a family conclave called. Sam was never known to be into anything but mischief; therefore when he gravely presented the wise looking old goat to Tess, suspicion was instantly aroused in the Kenway household that there was something beside good will behind Master Sam's gift.
"Beware of the Greeks when they come bearing gifts," Agnes freely translated.
"But you know very well, Aggie, Sammy Pinkney is not a Greek. He's Yankee--like us. That's a Greek man that sells flowers down on Main Street," said Tess, with gravity.
"What I said is allegorical," pronounced Agnes, loftily.
"We know Allie Neuman--Tess and me," ventured Dot, the youngest of the Corner House girls. "She lives on Willow Street beyond Mrs. Adams' house, and she is going to be in my grade at school."
"Oh, fine, Ruth!" cried Agnes, the twelve-year-old, suddenly seizing the eldest sister and dancing her about the big dining-room. "Won't it be just fine to get to school again?"
"Fine for me," admitted Ruth, who had missed nearly two years of school attendance, and was now going to begin again in her proper grade at the Milton High School.
"Eva Larry says we'll have the very nicest teacher there is--Miss Shipman. This is Eva's last year in grammar school, too, you know. We'll graduate together," said Agnes.
Interested as Tess and Dot were in the prospect of attending school in Milton for the first time, just now they had run in to announce the arrival of Mr. Billy Bumps.
"And a very suggestive name, I must say," said Ruth, reflectively. "I don't know about that Pinkney boy. Do you suppose he is playing a joke on you, Tess?"
"Why, no!" cried the smaller girl. "How could he? For the goat's there."
"Maybe that's the joke," suggested Agnes.
"Well, we'll go and see him," said Ruth. "But there must be some reason beside good-will that prompted that boy to give you such a present."
"I know," Dot said, solemnly.
"What is it, Chicken-little?" demanded the oldest sister, pinching the little girl's cheek.
"Their new minister," proclaimed Dot.
"Their what?" gasped Agnes.
"Who, dear?" asked Ruth.
"Mrs. Pinkney's new minister. She goes to the Kaplan Chapel," said Dot, gravely, "and they got a new minister there. He came to call at Mrs. Pinkney's and the goat wasn't acquainted with him."
"Oh-ho!" giggled Agnes. "Light on a dark subject."
"Who told you, child?" asked Tess, rather doubtfully.
"Holly Pease. And she said that Billy Bumps butted the new minister right through the cellar window--the coal window."
"My goodness!" ejaculated Ruth. "Did it hurt him?"
"They'd just put in their winter's coal, and he went head first into that," said Dot. "So he didn't fall far. But he didn't dare go out of the house again until Sam came home after school and shut Billy up. Holly says Billy Bumps camped right outside the front door and kept the minister a prisoner."
The older girls were convulsed with laughter at this tale, but Ruth repeated: "We might as well go and see him. If he is very savage----"
"Oh, he isn't!" cried Tess and Dot together. "He's just as tame!"
The four sisters started for the yard,