“Well, where is Ben?” cried Percy from the depths of his comfortable chair.
“Go and find him for yourself,” Van was on the point of saying, but a glance at Jasper made him send the words back.
“Sit here, Polly,” Jasper was saying, conducting Polly to the big chair back of the table.
“O Jasper! that looks as if I was going to give a lecture,” laughed Polly; “dear me, how pompous!”
“Well, you must sit there,” declared Jasper, clearing a better space on the table. “Dear me, I make no end of a mess with my papers.”
“Never mind,” said Polly brightly, “I’ll help you, Jasper.” So together they piled the papers up neatly, and Jasper crammed the whole budget into the table-drawer; then he rapped with the paper-weight.
“The meeting will come to order. Does anybody know anything about Ben?” when the door opened, and in stalked that individual.
“Had to go down town to carry my boots to be mended,” he said. “Whew, didn’t I run home, though! Nearly knocked over an old woman with a basket coming around the corner.”
“Did you knock her over, Bensie?” asked Phronsie, leaving the chair she was tugging at to draw it closer to Polly, and coming up to look at him gravely.