Princess Polly At Play Part 16

"I thought you ought to have the fun of springing out at me, after you'd hidden so nicely," Leslie said.

"Better luck next time," said Rose, and together they ran around behind the cottage to learn if the little brook was as clear, and as rippling as when Rose, in the early Summer, had sailed her little boat upon it.

"The brook is here!" cried Harry. "It hasn't run away yet."

A ragged little chap now approached them, but they did not see him.

They were kneeling on the bank and looking at the reflections in a little pool where no ripple stirred the surface.

The comical little fellow might have kept away from them had they been facing him, but as their backs were toward him, he felt quite brave.

He was a droll looking urchin. His trousers evidently belonged to an older brother, as the legs had been rolled over and over in an effort to make them short enough so that he might walk without treading upon them. His blouse must have been the property of the same person, for the sleeves had received the same treatment as the trouser legs, that he might be able to use his hands. Upon his head rested an old straw hat. A big hole in the crown permitted a sprout of red hair to pop out, and a pair of shoes, not mates, completed his odd costume. He continued to approach until he stood within a few feet of Harry Grafton, and then he paused, as if wis.h.i.+ng that one of the group might turn, and greet him.

With chubby hands clasped behind his back he waited. He was evidently in no hurry, but after a time he became impatient.

"h.e.l.lo!" he said, and Harry turned.

"h.e.l.lo, little chap! Who are you?" Harry asked.

Ignoring the question, the small boy eyed Harry for a second, then he lisped:

"Where'th Gyp? Ma thaid: 'Find Gyp.'"

"Are you Gyp's little brother?" Harry asked.

The small head in the big hat nodded.

"What's your name?" inquired Harry.

"Motheth," said the child.

"_Moses!_" cried Harry. "You must be wise. Are you?"

"I do' no', but I got to find Gyp, for Ma thaid I wouldn't have no dinner unleth I found him, an' I want my dinner now."

"And yet you haven't found Gyp," Harry said. "Well, I saw him a little while ago at work on the lawn over at Captain Atherton's house. Run over there and look for him. Scoot! He may go off while you're waiting to think about it."

Wee Moses waited for no urging, but raced across Aunt Judith's lawn, out of the gate, and down the avenue, the tuft of red hair waving like a flaming feather on the crown of his hat.

"Just notice his speed," cried Harry, and Rose and Leslie laughed as the comical figure turned, and bolted up the driveway of the Atherton place.

"That is only one of Gyp's small brothers," Leslie said.

"I never knew that he had one named Moses," said Rose.

"I've heard you tell their names, Harry," Leslie said, "but I never remember them all. I know there is a Mike, and a Pete, and isn't one named Hank?"

"Yes, and there's Luke and a little fellow that they call Sonny while they're trying to decide what to name him," said Harry, "and really he's such a funny looking little fellow that it would be hard work to think of a name that would fit him."

"There is a girl over on the other part of the town whose name is Tulip Rose Lillian b.u.t.trick, and she told the girls that her parents gave her all those names because they couldn't decide which they liked best."

"What an idea!" cried Rose. "Well, I'm glad I haven't Tulip and Lillian added to my name."

"I don't see why those people stopped at all," Harry said, "for there's dandelion, and phlox and marigold, and a whole lot of other flower names. Seems sort of stingy to give her only three."

"Oh, Harry! n.o.body would name a girl 'Phlox,' think how it would look written," Leslie said.

"I guess they don't worry about how it would look written," Harry said.

It was when Rose and Leslie and Harry were resting after an exciting game, that Mrs. Sherwood and Princess Polly arrived.

Then the fun began.

Mrs. Sherwood went in to talk with Aunt Judith, and the four playmates ran over to the Grafton's for a game of tennis. And while they were playing, eagerly hoping to win, each trying to outdo the other, little Sprite Seaford sat in the odd little living room of her home, sorting her treasures, and at the same time thinking what a fine time Princess Polly must be having at Aunt Judith's cottage with Rose and her other playmates.

The pretty sh.e.l.ls, the coral, and the star fish, each had places of their own, but they had been taken out to show to some callers the afternoon before, and Sprite was now engaged in replacing them, each in its own especial place.

Captain Seaford was out fis.h.i.+ng and Mrs. Seaford had gone to the village to do a few errands so Sprite was free to take her time about the task.

Softly she sang as she placed the white sh.e.l.ls in one row, and the pink sh.e.l.ls in another.

A smart tap at the door made her start, then she called:

"Come in," and Gwen entered.

Sprite wished that she had not answered the rap.

"Goodness! What a heap of sh.e.l.ls. What are you going to do with them?

Going to keep them?" Gwen asked, in a manner that implied that she thought he lovely sea treasures simply rubbish.

"_Keep_ them!" echoed Sprite. "Why of course I'm going to keep them."

"They're pretty of course," Gwen admitted, "but it must be a horrid job to keep them in order. Leave them where they are and come out on the beach."

"Oh, I can't," said Sprite, and she was about to say that she must place her sh.e.l.ls and coral in safe positions before going out, but Gwen did not wait to hear what she had intended to say.

Instead, she hurried out, banging the door behind her.

"I'll find someone who'll do as I want to," she declared, and she ran up the beach to find Princess Polly, but Princess Polly and Rose were both at Avondale, and Gwen ran on to the center of the little coast village.

"I'll find someone to play with, I don't care who it is," she said, as she raced along.

When the sea trophies were all in their places, Sprite stepped back to view her work.

A smile curved her lips, and her eyes grew brighter.

"They look finer than they ever did before," she said softly, "and now I'll try to keep them just as they are arranged."