“oh dear me!” exclaimed clem. they were all on the cars—the early train—going home; the governess, a middle-aged person who looked after the younger horne children and who was going in to her sister's to pass the night, taking care of the party. “now i've got to sit up till all hours when i get home, to get my lessons.”
polly pepper gave a comfortable little wriggle under her coat. “isn't it nice mamsie makes me get my lessons the first thing, before i play!” she said to herself for about the fiftieth time.
“so have i,” cried lucy bennett, echoing clem's words.
“well, i can't,” cried alexia with a flounce, “because my aunt won't let me sit up after nine o'clock; that is, to study. so i have to get up early in the morning. oh dear!” with a grimace at the thought.
“so do i,” said amy garrett. “dear me!76 and i'm just as sleepy in the morning as i can be.”
alexia yawned at the very memory of it. “well, don't let's talk of it,” she begged. “seems as if miss salisbury's eyes were all over me now.”
“i have miss anstice to-morrow,” said amy, “and it's the day for her black silk gown.”
“horrors!” exclaimed alexia; and, “how do you know she'll wear the black silk gown to-morrow, amy?” from the other girls.
“because she said professor mills from the institute is to be there to-morrow,” said amy. “he gives the art lecture to our class. and you know the black silk gown will surely go on.”
“there's no help for you, you poor child,” cried alexia, exulting that she never would be gathered into miss anstice's class, and that she just hated art and all that sort of thing, despite the efforts of miss salisbury's younger sister to get her interested. “yes, that black silk gown will surely be there. look out now, amy; all you girls will catch it.”
“oh, i know it,” said amy with a sigh. “how i do wish i never'd got into that class!”
“well, you know i told you,” said alexia provokingly;77 “you'd much better have taken my advice and kept out of her clutches.”
“i wish i had,” mourned amy again.
“how miss anstice can be so horrid—she isn't a bit like miss salisbury,” said alexia. “i don't see—”
“she isn't horrid,” began polly.
“oh polly!”
“well, not always,” said polly.
“well, she is anyway when she has company, and gets on that black silk gown; just as stiff and cross and perky and horrid as can be.”
“she wants you all to show off good,” said alexia. “well, i'm glad enough i'm not in any of her old classes. i just dote on miss salisbury.”
“oh alexia, you worry the life out of her almost,” said sally.
“can't help it if i do,” said alexia sweetly. “i'm very fond of her. and as for mademoiselle, she's a dear. oh, i love mademoiselle, too.”
“well, she doesn't love you,” cried clem viciously. “dear me! fancy one of the teachers being fond of alexia!”
“oh, you needn't laugh,” said alexia composedly78 as the girls giggled; “every single one of those teachers would feel dreadfully if i left that school. they would really, and cry their eyes out.”
“and tear their hair, i suppose,” said clem scornfully.
“yes, and tear their—why, what in this world are we stopping for?” cried alexia in one breath.
so everybody else wondered, as the train gradually slackened speed and came to a standstill. everybody who was going in to town to the theatre or opera, began to look impatient at once.
“oh dear!” cried the girls who were going to sit up to study, “now isn't this just as hateful as it can be?”
“i don't care,” said alexia, settling comfortably back, “because i can't study much anyway, so i'd just as soon sit on this old train an hour.”
“oh alexia!” exclaimed polly in dismay, with her heart full at the thought of mamsie's distress, and that of dear grandpapa and jasper. phronsie would be abed anyway by the time the early train was in, so she couldn't worry. but all the others—“oh dear me!” she gasped.
“don't look so, polly,” said alexia, “we'll start pretty soon, i guess.”79
the governess, miss baker, came over from the opposite seat to stand in the aisle. “i think we'll start soon,” she said. but her eyes looked worried.
“what is it—oh, miss baker, what is the reason we're stopping?” cried two or three of the girls.
“i don't know,” said the governess.
a man coming in from outside, where a lot of gentlemen were pouring out of the cars to investigate, furnished the information.
“driving wheel broken,” he said, being sparing of words.
“oh, can't we go out to see?” cried alexia, hopping out of her seat. “come on,” and she was prancing down the aisle.
“no, indeed,” said miss baker in displeasure, “and do you come directly back,” she commanded.
“oh dear me!” grumbled alexia to sally, who had tumbled out after her, “she's worse than miss anstice—stiff, precise old thing!” she came slowly back.
“that a young lady under my care,” said miss baker, lifting her black gloves in amazement, “should so far forget herself as to want to run80 out on that track with a lot of men! i am astonished.”
“there's a girl out there,” said alexia, sinking into her seat crossly, and peering over polly pepper's head.
“and there's another,” proclaimed sally triumphantly.
“well, if they've forgotten themselves so far as to go out there under such circumstances, i shall not let any young lady in my care do it,” said miss baker emphatically.
so, swallowing their disappointment at not being allowed to see all that presented itself, the girls settled back and made themselves as comfortable as possible. meantime almost everybody else poured out of their car. but it seemed to polly pepper as if she never could keep still in all this world. and she clasped her hands tightly together and hoped nobody would speak to her just yet.
“polly,”—alexia gave a little push, as she leaned over,—“isn't it perfectly dreadful to be mewed up here in this way? say, polly, do talk.”
“go right away, alexia.” polly gave a little flounce, and sat quite straight.81
“oh dear me!” exclaimed alexia in astonishment, and falling back.
“and i wish you would let me alone,” cried polly, quite aghast at herself, but unable to stop.
“oh dear me!” alexia kept saying quite faintly, and rolling her eyes.
“well, i'm glad polly has made you behave for once,” said clem, who never could forgive alexia for getting polly so much to herself.
alexia stopped saying, “oh dear me!” and sat quite still. just then polly turned and saw her face.
“oh alexia!” she cried, flying at her, when an awful bump, and then another much worse, and then a grinding noise, perfectly terrible,—and everybody who was left in the car, went tumbling out of their seats.
“oh, we're run into!” screamed half a dozen of the girls. miss baker, who had been standing in the aisle, was down in a heap on the floor.
“oh, oh!” polly had her arms around alexia and was hugging her tightly. “are you hurt?” as they wriggled out of the bunch of girls into which they had been precipitated, up to their feet.
“n—no,” alexia, tried to say. instead, she wobbled over, and laid her head on polly's arm.82
“girls—girls—miss baker!” called polly, not seeing that lady, in the confusion of the other passengers, staggering along the aisle, her bonnet knocked over her eyes, and a girl on either hand to help her along. “clem—oh, somebody help me! alexia is hurt.” but nobody heard in the general tumult.
“oh dear! alexia, do open your eyes,” begged polly, quite gone now with distress. “and to think i was so cross to her!” and she turned quite white.
“dear, dear alexia,” she cried; and because there was nothing else to do, she leaned over and dropped a kiss on alexia's long face, and two tears dropped down as well.
alexia opened her eyes. “that's very nice, polly,” she said, “do so some more.”
“aren't you ashamed!” cried polly, the rosy color coming back to her cheek. and then, remembering, she hugged alexia tightly. “oh, i'm so glad you're not hurt, alexia, so very glad!” she cried gratefully.
“ow!” exclaimed alexia, shrinking back.
“oh, now you are hurt,” cried polly. “oh alexia!” and she turned very white again. “tell me where it is.” and just then some of83 the girls rushed up with the news, corroborated by the other passengers, that the down express had run into them,—been signalled, but couldn't stop in time, etc., etc.,—till polly thought she should go wild before the babel could be stopped. “don't crowd around so,” she cried hoarsely. “alexia is hurt.”
“alexia?” the noise, as far as miss salisbury's girls were concerned, stopped at once; and at last the other passengers were made to understand how it was. and alexia, quite faint now, but having sense enough to hang to polly pepper's hand, was laid across an improvised bed made of two seats, and a doctor who happened to be on the train, one of the party going in to the theatre, came up, and looked her over professionally.
“it's my arm,” said alexia, opening her eyes again; “it was doubled up someway under me. oh dear me! i'm so silly to faint.”
“you're not silly at all,” cried polly warmly, and holding her well hand, while her eyes searched the doctor's face anxiously. “oh, is it broken?” they asked, as plainly as possible.
“not a bit of it,” said the doctor cheerfully, feeling it all over again to make quite sure, while84 alexia set her teeth together, trying not to show how very much it hurt. “it's badly strained,—the ligaments are;—but fortunately no bones are broken.”
“oh dear!” groaned alexia. “now why can't it be broken?”
“oh alexia!” cried polly. and now the tears that had been kept back, were rolling down her cheeks. “i'm so happy, i can't help it,” she said.
“and the very idea, alexia rhys,” exclaimed clem, “to wish your arm had been broken!” and she gave a little shiver.
“it hurts just as much,” said alexia, trying to sit up straight, and making an awful face, “so it might as well be. and i've never been in a railroad accident. but a sprained arm isn't anything to show; any baby can have that—oh dear me!”
“well, you better lie still,” counselled miss baker tartly. “dear me! i little thought when i took charge of you young ladies that any such thing would occur.”
“she acts as if she thought we did it on purpose,” said alexia, turning her face over to hide it on polly's arm again, and wishing her own85 needn't ache so dreadfully. “oh dear! such a time as we've had, polly pepper, with those dreadful briggses,—i mean mrs. briggs,—and now to be all banged up, and this cross old thing to see us home! and now i never'll be able to get through the term, 'cause i'll have to stay at home with this old arm, and aunt will scold.” she was quite out of breath with all her woes.
“oh, yes, you will,” cried polly reassuringly, “i'll run over every day, and study with you, alexia. and you'll soon be all well again. don't try to talk now, dear,” and she patted the poor cheeks, and smoothed her hair. all the while she was trying to keep down the worry over the home-circle who would be thrown into the greatest distress, she knew, if news of the accident should reach their ears.
“can't somebody telephone them?” she cried; “oh, miss baker”—the doctor had rushed off to other possible sufferers—“and tell them no one is hurt;—i mean seriously?”
“there is,” said the governess, quite calmly; “a man has been killed.”
“oh dear!”
“a brakeman,” miss baker hastened to add. “don't be frightened. none of the passengers.”86
“now i know he was brave, and trying to do something to save us,” cried polly, with kindling eyes.
“yes,” said a passenger, coming up to their group, “he was running back with a lantern to signal the train, and he slipped and fell, and the express went over him. but it stopped just in time for us.”
“oh the poor, poor man!” polly was quite gone by this time, and alexia forgot her pain in trying to comfort her.
“but suppose he had children,” cried polly, “just suppose it, alexia.”
“i don't want to suppose it,” said alexia, wriggling. “ugh! you do say such uncomfortable things, polly pepper.”
“i know it.” polly swallowed hard, and held alexia's hand tighter than ever. “well, i won't talk of it any more.”
the governess, who had moved away a bit, now came back with vexation plainly written all over her face. “i must go and see if there isn't some way to get a message to grandpapa king, alexia,” said polly. “i'll be back as soon as i can.” she dropped a kiss on the nearest cheek.
“don't be gone long,” begged alexia.87
“i will go with you,” said the governess, stepping off after her.
“very well,” said polly, going swiftly down the aisle, to see below the car steps a crowd of passengers all in a tumult, and vociferating angrily. in the midst of them, polly saw the face of the doctor who had just fixed alexia's arm.
“oh sir,” she began.
he looked up, and caught sight of the brown eyes. “is the little girl worse?” and he sprang over toward her.
polly, not stopping to think how furious alexia would be, who was quite the tallest of their set, to be designated as a little girl, made haste to say, “oh no, sir; but oh, could you tell me how to let my grandpapa and my mother know we are safe? could you, sir?” poor polly, who had held up so bravely, was clasping her hands tightly together, and the brown eyes were full of tears.
“well, you see,” began the doctor, hating to disappoint her, “it's a difficult matter to get in communication with them at once. we are only five miles out, but—”
“five miles?” echoed polly. “oh then, some one can go to the nearest station, and telephone, can't they, sir?”88
“to be sure; and that's been done. but your family, little girl—how can we reach them?”
“oh, i can run,” cried polly happily, “to the station myself, sir,” and she began to clamber down the car steps.
“come back,” commanded the governess, lifting her hands in horror. “i never heard of such a thing. the very idea! what would your grandfather, mr. king, say to such a thing, polly pepper?”
“mr. who?” cried the doctor. “stay, little girl,” seizing her arm. “mr. who?” he demanded, looking up to the governess on the car steps.
“mr. horatio king,” she replied with asperity, “and you'd better be occupied with something else, let me tell you, sir, instead of encouraging his granddaughter to run off on such a wild-goose errand as this.”
“i certainly shall take pleasure in performing the wild-goose errand myself,” he said. “now polly, i'll send the message; don't you worry,” and he sped off down the track.
