“Oh, dear, dear! what was it?” cried Van and Dick together, while Percy got up quickly, and pushed in between the others. “What was it?” he asked too.
“Those two boys,” said Ben, pointing to Joel and Davie; “they made more noise than a dozen bears, as soon as they woke up and found out how things were. I tell you, it was pretty lively then down in the kitchen.”
“And we hadn’t seen Ben run out the stick with the red blanket on,” said Joel in a dudgeon, flinging himself flat on the grass, to drum his heels on the green sward. “It was mean not to wake us up.”
“Well, you saw it afterward,” said Ben coolly. “And if you’d had your way, Joe, the old broom would have rattled down a dozen times, you wanted to shake it so hard.”
“That was to make folks see it, and come and dig us out,” said Joel, squinting up at the sky.
“Well, let Polly tell the story,” said Jasper, who had been quiet all this time. “And then just think what Mamsie said to those two boys.” Here Polly jumped up to her feet. “Oh, it was so splendid!” and her eyes kindled, and the color came and went in her cheeks; “she said, and these are just her words, ‘Boys, you’ve maybe saved all our lives, by giving up your play yesterday, and getting that meal and those potatoes.’ Just think of that,” cried Polly again, clasping her hands; “Mamsie said that to our two boys. Oh, I’m so proud of them!” With that Polly ran back to the green bank, and in a minute she had her two arms around Joel and David. And Jasper proposed three cheers; and Van led them off, Percy coming in in time for the end, as Phronsie gave a delighted little gurgle.
“’Twasn’t anything,” said Joel, red and shining in his efforts to escape all praise. “Dave and I didn’t do anything.”
“’Twas meal and potatoes,” cried little Dick, stumbling up and down the path, and getting in everybody’s way. And then they all laughed, and settled down for the end of the story.
“Well,” said Polly with a long breath, and beginning again, “you can’t think how glad we were to have work to do on that dreadful day. We washed every dish in the house, over and over, and cleaned and tidied up; and then, when we hadn’t any more work, we sat round and told stories.”