>>>  YOU ARE VIEWING A 200 LINE SAMPLE OF EBOOK# E06744  <<<

TITLE: THE ADVENTURES OF JOEL PEPPER
AUTHOR: MARGARET SIDNEY
EBOOK: E06744 (O'Briens Book Cellar)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

THE ADVENTURES OF JOEL PEPPER

By MARGARET SIDNEY

[Illustration: "'WHY, IT'S THE MAN WHO STOLE POLLY'S BREAD!' HE ALMOST
SCREAMED."]

CONTENTS

I. JOEL AND THE SNAKE

II. WHAT DAVE HEARD

III. DEACON BROWN'S NAIL PILE

IV. THE MUFFIN MAN AND THE TRAMP

V. ON BANDY LEG MOUNTAIN

VI. AB'M'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

VII. JOEL GOES A-FISHING

VIII. WHY THEY SAID NO

IX. THE BAG OF RYE FLOUR

X. MAMSIE'S SURPRISE

XI. DR. FISHER'S VISIT

XII. AT GRANDMA BASCOM'S

XIII. PASSENGERS FOR THE BOXFORD STAGE

XIV. DEACON BLODGETT'S BONFIRE

XV. OLD MAN PETERS' CENT

XVI. THE STAGE-COACH RIDE

XVII. THE FIGHT AT STRAWBERRY HILL

XVIII. IN THE LITTLE BROWN HOUSE

XIX. CIRCUS PLANS

XX. CIRCUS OR MENAGERIE?

XXI. JOEL'S CIRCUS

XXII. THE MINISTER'S CHICKENS

XXIII. THE BLACKBERRIES AND THE BULL

XXIV. HOW JOEL STARTED THE FIRE

XXV. JOEL SELLS SHOES FOR MR. BEEBE

XXVI. Miss PARROTT'S COACH AND THE COASTING

XXVII. PRINCES AND PRINCESSES

THE ADVENTURES OF JOEL PEPPER

I

JOEL AND THE SNAKE

"Come on, Dave!"

It was Joel's voice, and Polly pricked up her ears. "'Tisn't
going to hurt you. Hoh! you're a 'fraid-cat--old 'fraid-cat!"

"No, I'm not 'fraid-cat," declared little Davie, trying to speak
stoutly; "I'm coming, Joel," and his little rusty shoes pattered
unevenly down the rickety board walk.

"Jo-_el_!" called Polly, thinking it quite time now to
interfere.

Joel scuttled behind the old woodshed, and several smothered
grunts proclaimed his disapproval at the interruption.

"Now I know you're up to some mischief," declared Polly, "so you
just come into the house, Joel Pepper, and tell me what it is."

"'Tisn't," said Joel, loudly insisting. "_Don't go, Dave_,"
in a loud whisper. Thereupon ensued a lively scuffle, evidently,
by the noise they made.

"I must," said little Davie; "Polly called us."

"No, she didn't call _you_," declared Joel. "You stay here.
She said 'Joel.'"

"Bo-_oys_!" sang out Polly's voice, not to have any doubt
in the matter.

"There, she did call me," cried Davie, wriggling to get free
from Joel's clutch; "she said 'boys!'"

"She's always calling us," said Joel, in an injured voice,
dragging himself away from the charms of the woodshed to
straggle slowly back to the house.

There sat Polly on the big stone that served as a step for the
back door, with her hands folded in her lap. Little Davie
skipped by Joel, and ran up to her, with a flushed face.

"Now I should like to know what you've been up to, Joey Pepper?"
said Polly, her brown eyes full on him.

"Haven't been up to anything," mumbled Joel, hanging his chubby
face.

"Yes, you have, I know," declared Polly, in her most positive
fashion; "now tell me what it is, and right straight off, Joel.
Begin." She kept her hands still folded in her lap. "What were
you going to do?"

Joel squirmed all over the little patch of ground before the
flat doorstone, and dug the toes of his shoes into the dirt.

"Don't do so," cried Polly. "You'll get bigger holes in 'em. Oh,
Joel, to think how naughty you are, and Mamsie away!"

At that Joel gave a loud howl, nearly upsetting Polly from her
stone; then, digging his two fists into his eyes, he plunged
forward and thrust his black head on the folded hands in her lap.
"I ain't naughty," he screamed. "I ain't, and Mamsie won't care.
O dear--ooh--ooh!"

"Tell me what you were going to do, before I can say you are not
naughty," said Polly, dreadfully frightened at his outburst, but
not unfolding her hands.

"I was only going to--going to--going to--" mumbled Joel, trying
to burrow past her hands, and get into the comforting lap.

"Going to do what?" demanded Polly, still not moving.

"I was going to--going to--" said Joel, in smothered tones.

"Stop saying you were going to," commanded Polly, in her firmest
tones.

"You told me to tell you," said Joel. "O dear! I was going to--"

"Well, tell then, at once; what were you going to do? Hurry up,
Joe; now go on."

"I was going to--" began Joel again. "O dear me! I was going to--"
he mumbled, burrowing deeper yet.

"Joel Pepper!" cried Polly, in a tone that brought him bolt
upright, his round face streaked with tears that his dirty
little hands had tried to wipe off, the rest of them trailing
over his round nose. "O dear me! Now you must go into the
'provision room' and stay. Don't you remember Mamsie said you'd
have to go there the next time you wouldn't tell what you'd
done?" And Polly looked as if she were going to cry at once.

"Oh, no--no!" screamed Joel, in the greatest distress, and
clutching Polly's arm. "I'll tell you, Polly; I'll tell." And he
began to rattle off a lot of words, but Polly stopped him.

"No, it's too late now. I've said it, and you must go; for
Mamsie wouldn't like it if you didn't."

Thereupon Joel gave a terrible howl. Little Davie, in distress,
clapped his hands to his ears. "Oh, Polly, don't make him," he
was saying, when heavy steps came around the corner of the house.
"Any ra-ags to sell?" sang out the voice of a very big man.

Joel took one black eye away from his brown hands, and shot a
sharp look at him. Then he howled worse than ever.

"No," said Polly, "not to-day, Mr. Biggs. There was a bagful
Mamsie said I might sell, but I can't get it now."

"Sho! that's too bad," ejaculated Mr. Biggs. "What's the matter
with him?" pointing a square, dingy thumb at Joel. "Stomach-ache?"

"No," said Polly, sadly, "it's worse than that. Please go away,
Mr. Biggs, and come some other day."

"Worse'n stomach-ache," said Mr. Biggs, in astonishment, and
slapping his big hands together; "then I can't take him with me.
But t'other one might go, if you say so, marm." He always called
Polly marm, and she liked it very much. He now pointed to David.

"Where are you going?" asked Polly, while

David took away his hands from his ears to hear, too.


<<<  END OF SAMPLE... (THE FULL EBOOK HAS 451237 TOTAL CHARACTERS)  >>>