Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times Part 2

The schoolroom windows were open, and Aunt Matilda's shrill, piping voice could be plainly heard, but the children were not near enough to know what she was saying.

They saw her turn to go, and then, when she reached the door, she drew something from her bag, and placed it in Arabella's hand.

"What _do_ you s'pose she's giving her?" whispered Nina.

"_Peppermints_!" said Mollie, but although she had whispered it, she felt that Dorothy had heard it, and knew that both she and Nina had been laughing at Arabella and her aunt. Mollie's cheeks flushed, and she looked down at her shoes. She knew that Dorothy's sweet eyes were looking at her, not angrily, but with a tender grieving.

Dorothy was full of fun, and ready for merriment at any time, but she saw nothing amusing in laughing at a playmate, or friend, and she had asked them all to be kind to Arabella.

Aunt Charlotte turned to the window, and set the little silver bell tinkling, and the pupils at once filed into the schoolroom.

They found Arabella Corryville sitting primly in her place. Her small, thin hands were clasped upon her desk, and she looked at the pupils as they filed in, peeping first over her gla.s.ses, and then through them, as if she were hunting for little faults which she really hoped to find.

Aunt Charlotte had told her that on this, her first day of school, she might listen to the recitations, and on the next day come with her lessons prepared, and then recite with the cla.s.s.

She sat very still, only moving her round eyes to watch the pupils, and as she did not smile, one could not guess if she were pleased with the school or not.

The little girls busied themselves with their books, but Reginald kept his blue eyes fixed upon Arabella, as if he could think of nothing else.

At first she seemed not to notice him, but after a time she moved restlessly on her seat, and wriggled about in a way that delighted the small boy.

Arabella was not used to being stared at. She always stared boldly at other people, but here was some one who looked at her without so much as blinking. She glanced at the clock, and then, as if just remembering something, took a small bottle from her pocket, shook some pills into her hand, swallowed them, and turned to see if Reginald were looking. He was, and Arabella was provoked.

"What you staring at?" she whispered rudely.

"You!" he whispered, not a bit abashed.

"Well, you just _needn't_," said Arabella.

"I know _I needn't_," replied the small boy, "but I like to."

"Why?" she asked.

"'Cause you're funny," Reginald said. It was not strange that Arabella was angry. Would any girl be pleased to have a small boy watching her, and declaring that she was "funny?"

And now Aunt Charlotte was calling the youngest cla.s.s in reading, and Reginald hastily s.n.a.t.c.hed his book, and began to hunt for the lesson.

"The third page, Reginald," said Aunt Charlotte; "you may read the first paragraph."

He found the place, and read the lines without a mistake. It was his first term at school, but his mother had found pleasure in teaching him, and he read quite as well as some of the younger pupils.

"Read the next paragraph, Reginald," said Aunt Charlotte.

"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon his,--on his,--'"

It was a word which Reginald had never seen, and he frowned until an odd little pucker appeared on his forehead.

"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon his,'"--again he paused. The word looked no easier this time than when he had first read the lines.

"I _can't_ p.r.o.nounce that word," he said.

"Read the lines again, and when you come to the word that puzzles you, p.r.o.nounce it as you think it should be," said Aunt Charlotte.

The other pupils were interested, but when Reginald glanced toward Arabella, he saw that she was smiling in evident delight at his discomfiture. He resolved to rush through the reading in a way that would tell her that he could read _anything_. He drew a long breath, and then, as fast as possible, he read:

"'When the king rode over the highway, the sun glistened upon his _carrot_ wheels!'"

Even Aunt Charlotte smiled at the droll error, but Arabella laughed long and loud.

"Order, order!" said Aunt Charlotte.

"The word is _chariot_," she said.

The others read in turn, until they had finished the charming story, and each of the girls wondered why Arabella was not reproved for rudeness.

The arithmetic lesson completed the morning's work, and as they walked home, they talked of the new pupil.

"I don't see why Aunt Charlotte didn't speak to Arabella," said Nina Earl, "she was horridly rude."

"And how queer she is," said Mollie Merton; "just the minute school was out she ran down the path, and across the street to get home before any of us could talk with her. And I _do_ wonder Aunt Charlotte didn't speak to her about laughing so loudly, just because Reginald made a mistake.

I don't believe she could read any better."

"I guess _perhaps_ Arabella didn't mean to be disagreeable," said Flossie Barnet.

She disliked Arabella, but she never could bear to hear any one spoken of unkindly.

"Now, Flossie Barnet, you might just know that Arabella _likes_ to be unpleasant," said Jeanette, and Flossie could not deny it.

Dorothy and Nancy had heard what they were saying, and they thought that it was not at all nice of the girls to speak as if Aunt Charlotte had allowed Arabella to be rude.

"Perhaps Aunt Charlotte thought she wouldn't correct her the very first day," Nancy said, and Nina and Mollie wished that what they had said had not been heard.

Little Reginald seemed, for once, to have nothing to say.

He was skipping along between his cousin Katie Dean and Jeanette Earl, and tightly grasping their hands.

There had been a light shower early in the morning, and here and there a little puddle reflected the blue sky and floating clouds. Reginald saw one just ahead, and laughed softly. Katie and Jeanette were talking with Dorothy, and paying little heed to the small boy who walked between them.

"I thought your cousin was coming to school this morning," said Dorothy.

"She's coming the first of next week," said Jeanette.

"And what is her name?" asked Katie.

They were close to a fine large puddle now, and Reginald with a hop landed both feet in the middle of it.

"Why, Reginald Merton Dean! You naughty boy!" said Katie; "just _look_ at my new shoes! See the dirty water you've splashed on Jeanette's dress!"

"And look at the puddle," exclaimed Reginald, "I didn't spoil the puddle; it looks just same's it did before I jumped in it."