f toward the
door.

"If you do, I'll throw you out," said Joel savagely.

"Well, I shall; I feel so sniffly and queer. Oh, Joel, what shall I do?
I shall be disgraced for life if I cry here."

"Hang on to me," said Joel stoutly, thrusting out his sturdy arm.

So Alexia hung on to it, and managed to get along very well. And one of
the children, the littlest one next to the baby, created a diversion by
bringing up a mangy cat, and laying it on Mr. King's knees. This saved
the situation as far as crying went, and brought safely away those who
were perilously near the brink of tears.

"Oh dear me!" exclaimed Polly, starting forward, knowing how Grandpapa
detested cats. But Jasper was before her.

"Let me take it, father," and he dexterously brought it off.

"Give it to me," said Polly. "Oh, what is its name?"

The little thing who seemed to own the cat toddled over, well pleased,
and stuck his finger in his mouth, which was the extent to which he
could go in conversation. But the other children, finding the ice now
broken, all came up at this point, to gather around Polly and the cat.

"It's lucky enough that Phronsie isn't here," said Jasper in a low
voice, "for she would never want to leave that cat."

[Illustration: "AND SO WE HAD A LITTLE ENTERTAINMENT, AND SOLD THE
TICKETS, AND HERE IS OUR GIFT!"]

"Just see Polly Pepper!" exclaimed Alexia, with a grimace. "Why doesn't
she drop that dirty old cat?"

"Because she ought not to," howled Joel sturdily. Then he rushed over to
Polly; and although he had small love for cats in general, this
particular one, being extremely ill-favored and lean, met with his
favor. He stroked her poor back.

Arethusa drew near and gazed into Polly's face; seeing which, the cat
was safely transferred to Joel, and Polly turned around to the girl.

"Oh, do you want to learn to play on the piano?" asked Polly
breathlessly, under cover of the noise going on, for all the other
members of the two clubs now took a hand in it. Even Percy unbent enough
to interview one of the Corcoran boys.

"Yes, I do," said Arethusa, clasping her small red hands tightly.

Her eyes widened, and her little thin face, which wasn't a bit pretty,
lightened up now in a way that Polly thought was perfectly beautiful.

"Well, I did, when I was a little girl like you"--Polly bent her rosy
face very close to Arethusa's--"oh, _dreadfully_; and I used to drum on
the table to make believe I could play."

"So d