"Oh, Papa Fisher!" cried Polly, in a tremor of delight. She seized his hand and began to dance up and down, while Ben said, "Whew!" and stood quite still. But the color flew all over his round cheeks.
"I thought Jasper would have to rest all day," said Polly, still hopping about and clinging to the long fingers.
"So I thought," said Doctor Fisher, with a wise little nod. Then he set his big spectacles straighter on his nose, and took a sharp look first at one flushed face and then the other. "I can trust you both," he said. "The truth is, Jasper wants you, and I don't believe it will hurt him."
"Can we go now?" cried Polly, impatiently. "Can we, Papa Fisher?"
"There, there," said the little doctor, "not so fast, Polly, my child. You see, Jasper isn't really sick now, only I didn't want him to get about too fast after his journey. But it's dull for him alone, that's a fact, and he's been asking for you both. The fact is, he teased," and Doctor Fisher burst out laughing at the recollection of Jasper's face. "So you can go up, but don't for goodness' sake let the children know. If Joel were—" and he broke off, quite alarmed, and mopped his face with his big silk handkerchief.
"We'll creep up the back stairs," said Polly, tiptoeing to the door. "Come, Ben. Oh, do hurry!"
"That isn't saying you are safe from Joel," said Doctor Fisher, grimly, "by any means. Well, go along and be careful."
So Polly and Ben, peering on either hand, hurried up the back stairs, softly. "There isn't so very much danger," said Ben, under his breath, "that Joel will hear us, because he's got Pip somewhere."
"We better be careful, though," whispered Polly, who knew by experience Joel's capacity for finding out things.
"Yes, that's so," said Ben, "you never can tell where Joe will pop up. Well, here we are," as they hurried into Jasper's room.