FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171  
172   173   174   175   176   177   178   >>  
s. The linden on the Fletcher lawn was coated with fairy lace work, and the denuded lilac bush across the way shone black through its glassy covering. The long expanse of dark, cement walk which flanked each side of the snowy road was coated with ice and made walking for pedestrians a matter of some danger. As he jerked his tie into position, Perry Alford shot past on his skates, and he hurried down to breakfast. He'd have a little of that sport before school, himself. But as he rose joyously from the table, he stopped short. There was that report card; and he knew that his plans were shattered. Mrs. Fletcher's remarks upon his many deficiencies would consume every minute of the time before school. "My report," he said briefly. She looked at it. "John!" He gazed out of the window in a forlorn effort to appear unconcerned. "Reading, 'F'," quoted Mrs. Fletcher, "and last month it was 'G'." He drew out his watch and set the big hand forward ten minutes. If he used a little strategy, he could at least shorten the lecture by that amount of time. "Arithmetic, 'P'," she went on. "And geography, 'P'. And you told me you had all your lessons done when I gave you permission to go skating those evenings. I'm very much displeased with you." He grew desperate. When Mrs. Fletcher began to talk about being displeased and grieved, there was trouble ahead. He drew a much-chewed pencil from his coat pocket and handed it to her. "Hurry and sign, Mother," he begged. "It's school time." She scribbled a reluctant signature at the bottom and looked at it thoughtfully. "I'll keep this to show to your father this evening." "I've had it three days already," he blurted. "It's got to go back today." He snatched the card from her hand, showed his watch as she protested, and fled for his coat. Once at the corner, he stopped running and smiled. The escape had been fairly easy and with a minimum of fuss, and he was immeasurably light-hearted, now that the report card bugaboo was off his mind. At Southern Avenue, he caught up with Sid, Silvey, and Perry Alford. Bits of ice dropped from the trees to the walk as they sauntered along, and water dripped from the icicles on the eaves of the apartments and stores as the morning rise in temperature began to take effect. "Feel's as if it's going to thaw," said Silvey as they came to a very slippery stretch of walk. So the quartette slid up and down on the ice as long after the se
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171  
172   173   174   175   176   177   178   >>  



Top keywords:

Fletcher

 

school

 

report

 
coated
 
Alford
 

looked

 
stopped
 

displeased

 

Silvey

 

desperate


father
 

evenings

 

evening

 

reluctant

 

trouble

 
chewed
 

pocket

 

handed

 

Mother

 
grieved

pencil

 
signature
 

bottom

 

scribbled

 

begged

 

thoughtfully

 

sauntered

 
icicles
 

dripped

 

dropped


quartette

 

caught

 

Avenue

 

apartments

 

slippery

 

effect

 

stores

 

morning

 

temperature

 

Southern


protested

 

stretch

 

corner

 

smiled

 

running

 

showed

 
snatched
 

blurted

 

escape

 

hearted