“I don’t see how you can,” said Polly slowly. She hated to say it, but when a boy was naughty, why of course he ought not to have goodies.
Joel threw himself flat on the floor, and sobbed as if his heart would break.
“And I can’t have any, either,” Polly leaned over him to say it, “because I got angry.”
This was so very dreadful that Joel raised his head to look at her, the tears dripping off from his round cheeks. And the old kitchen became so very still, you could have heard a pin drop.
Peletiah slipped off from his chair and came slowly up. “And I was naughty, too,” he said, “’cause I was going home.”
“Then Ezekiel will have the whole pie,” cried Joel, and down went his head again to the floor, where he kicked and screamed so that all the pins in the world dropping couldn’t possibly have been heard.
Did ever anybody see such a party! Polly clasped her hands tightly and said to herself, “I won’t cry! Oh, if Mamsie were only here!”
But it wouldn’t do any good to keep saying that to herself. She must do something. She swallowed very hard. “I’m going to play ‘Old Father Dubbin,’” she cried, and spun out to the middle of the old kitchen floor.
Up came Joel’s head. “Are you really going to play ‘Old Father Dubbin,’ Polly?” he cried, blinking through his tears.
“Of course, I am,” cried Polly gayly, running into the bedroom to kneel down before the bottom drawer of Mamsie’s big bureau. Here Polly kept the things for that much-prized play of “Old Father Dubbin.” Phronsie’s red-topped shoes were there, too, and the other few treasures possessed by the “Five Little Peppers.” All except the fish-hooks, and the dried bugs, and such choice possessions that Joel and David exulted in. Those Mother Pepper said must be kept up in the loft.