“She stuck them out just like this,” declared Joel, running out his feet spasmodically, regardless of his neighbors.
“Look out, Joe,” said Ben, “and keep your feet to yourself. Goodness me! there’s some difference between them and Phronsie’s.”
“I think she put them out like this,” said little Davie, making gentle thrusts with his shoes; “and she didn’t knock folks over.”
“Well, I don’t care,” declared Joel, pulling in his feet as suddenly as he had sent them out, “the doughnuts were good, anyway,” veering off to safe ground.
“So they were,” said Ben, smacking his lips.
“And it was nice to get home to mother,” said Polly with dancing eyes—“and she had two candles lighted in the kitchen. I don’t know when we’d had more than one at a time before; and she said she couldn’t have done better about Phronsie’s shoes if she had gone herself—I always remembered that;” and Polly turned a beaming face over at Mother Pepper, busy darning the Whitney boys’ stockings.
Mrs. Pepper looked up and sent her a bright smile in return—“and Phronsie said she was going to take her shoes to bed with her.”
“Ha, ha!” laughed the Whitney boys.
Jasper tried to pull all the three jackets, but only succeeded in reaching Van, who was nearest. “Be still, can’t you?” he said under his breath, with a glance at Phronsie sitting dewy-eyed and radiant in Grandpapa’s lap.