And old Mr. King, who had been consumed with fear that it would have a
disastrous effect on Polly and Jasper, the chief getters-up of the
entertainment, came out of his fright nicely; for there they were, as
bright and jolly as ever, and fully equal to any demands upon them. So
he made up his mind that, after all, he could put up with Cousin Eunice
a bit longer, and that the affair was to be an immense success and the
very finest thing possible.

And everybody else who was present on the eventful occasion, said so
too! And it seemed as if Mr. King's spacious drawing-room, famous for
its capacity at all such times, couldn't possibly have admitted another
person to this entertainment for the benefit of the poor brakeman's
family.

And Joel, who wasn't good at recitations, and who detested all that sort
of thing, and Van, for the same reason, were both in their element as
ticket takers. And the little pink and yellow squares came in so thick
and fast that both boys had all they could do for a while--which was
saying a good deal--to collect them.

And everybody said that Miss Mary Taylor had never played such a
beautiful overture--and she was capable of a good deal along that
line--in all her life; and Phronsie, sitting well to the front, between
old Mr. King and Helen Fargo, forgot that she ever had a hurt arm, and
that it lay bandaged up in her lap.

And little Dick, when he could lose sight of the fact that he wasn't
next to Phronsie instead of Helen Fargo, snuggled up contentedly against
Mother Fisher, and applauded everything straight through.

And old Mr. King protested that he was perfectly satisfied with the
whole thing, which was saying the most that could be expressed for the
quality of the entertainment; and he took particular pains to applaud
Tom Beresford, who looked very handsome, and acquitted himself well.

"I must," said Tom to himself, although quaking inwardly, "for they've
all been so good to me--and for Joel's sake!" So he sang at his very
best. And he played his banjo merrily, and he was encored and encored;
and Joel was as proud as could be, which did Tom good to see.

And Percy--well, the tears of joy came into his mother's eyes, for it
wasn't easy for him to learn pieces, nor in fact to apply himself to
study at all. But no one would have suspected it to see him now on that
stage. And Grandpapa King was so overjoyed that he called
"Bravo--bravo!" ever so many times, which carried Percy on