when he heard the account of the adventure, "I say
that letter ought to go to your mother, Polly."

"Oh," said Polly, "it would scare mamsie most to death, Jappy!"

"Don't tell her the whole," said Jasper, quickly, "I didn't mean
that--about the horses and all that--but only enough to let her see how
Phronsie tried to get it to her."

"And I'm going to write to your brother Joel," said Van, drawing up to
the library table; "I'll scare him, Polly, I guess; he won't tell your
mother."

"Your crow-tracks'll scare him enough without anything else," said
Percy, pleasantly, who really could write very nicely, while Polly broke
out in an agony:

"Oh, no, Van, you mustn't! you mustn't!"

"If Van does," said Jasper, decidedly, "it'll be the last time he'll
write to the 'brown house,' I can tell him; and besides, he'll go to
Coventry." This had the desired effect.

"Let's all write," said Polly.

So a space on the table was cleared, and the children gathered around
it, when there was great scratching of pens, and clearing of ideas;
which presently resulted in a respectable budget of letters, into which
Phronsie's was lovingly tucked in the centre; and then they all filed
out to put it into the letterbox in the hall, for Thomas to mail with
the rest in the morning.

GETTING READY FOR MAMSIE AND THE BOYS

"And I'll tell you, Marian, what I am going to do."

Mr. King's voice was pitched on a higher key than usual; and extreme
determination was expressed in every line of his face. He had met Mrs.
Whitney at the foot of the staircase, dressed for paying visits. "Oh,
are you going out?" he said, glancing impatiently at her attire. "And
I'd just started to speak to you on a matter of great importance! Of the
greatest importance indeed!" he repeated irritably, as he stood with one
gloved hand resting on the balustrade.

"Oh, it's no matter, father," she replied pleasantly; "if it's really
important, I can postpone going for another day, and--"

"Really important!" repeated the old gentleman irascibly. "Haven't I
just told you it's of the greatest importance? There's no time to be
lost; and with my state of health too, it's of the utmost consequence
that I shouldn't be troubled. It's very bad for me; I should think you
would realize that, Marian."

"I'll tell Thomas to take the carriage directly back," said Mrs. Whitney
stepping to the door. "Or stay, father; I'll just run up and send the
children out for a littl