"It's blackberries," answered Ben, with a shrewd nod of his head. "Isn't it, Mamsie?"
"Yes, it is," said Mrs. Pepper; "you've guessed it, sure enough, Bensie."
"Hoh--old blackberries!" cried Joel, dreadfully disappointed, and falling back to the other corner.
"The blackberries aren't to be ours," said Mrs. Pepper; "that is--"
"Not to be ours," repeated the children together, while even Ben looked surprised.
"No." Mrs. Pepper laughed outright to see their faces. "You can't guess," she said again, "so I'll tell you. Mrs. Brown is sick, and I'm to make her blackberry jell over here; and she's given me some sugar, besides the pay she'll give me, so now we can have our pie."
There was a perfect babel at this, the five little Peppers having always before them the hope of some day hearing their mother say they should have a blackberry pie--to make up for not being able to accomplish the chicken pie that Polly and all the others had so longed for--and which was quite beyond their expectations. Now the blackberry pie was really coming!
"Make it now. Make it now, Mamsie, do," begged Joel, his mouth watering.
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Polly; "why, it's before breakfast, Joe. The idea of teasing Mamsie to do it now."
"And I can't do it just after breakfast, either," said Mrs. Pepper, "for I must begin as soon as I can on the jell, and you must all help me. There is ever so much you can all be useful in, about making jell. All but Ben, he's got to go to work, you know."