"It's me," blurted Joel, forgetting grammar and everything else, and pulling away from her, he slipped off the sofa and began a quick pace to the door.
"Where are you going?" Polly flew after him, and although he ran smartly, she had hold of his jacket-end. "Joel Pepper, you must not go up to Ben's room. Mamsie wouldn't let me."
"But I made him bad," said Joel, his face dreadfully red and twitching violently to get free.
"You made him bad," repeated Polly, faintly, and, tumbling backward in surprise, she let the jacket-end go. "O dear me!"
"And I'm going to make him well," screamed Joel, plunging off. She could hear him clambering up over the stairs two at a time.
"If I could only go too," mourned Polly, having nothing to do but go slowly back and shut herself into Mamsie's room, as bidden.
She threw herself down again on the old sofa, and buried her face in the pillows. It was Joel who bounded in and up to her side, calling, "Oh, Polly!" that sent her flying up to sit straight. "Ben wants you," he cried excitedly.
"Oh, Joel, what is it?" she exclaimed, flying off from the sofa; "what is the matter with Ben?"
"Nothing," said Joel, in high glee. As long as Ben wasn't sick, and he had made matters right with him, the rest could wait. So downstairs Joel ran to Grandpapa, to tell him that he had made a grand mistake; that he did want Ben to go on the expedition, no more nor less than a visit to the Museum.
"I thought so, my boy," said old Mr. King, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, if I were you, I wouldn't go off half-cocked again, especially with Ben. No doubt he was in the wrong, too. There are always two sides to a thing."