Alice Dale Hardy

“ Fred groaned in anguish and Polly laughed.
“That’s it,” said Fred, bitterly. “Never want to pay a cent in, but always willing to let it all go out. Take the last penny in the bank—what [9] do you care? Why should dues worry you? They’re only something to throw away.”
“Don’t spend your old dues, if you don’t want to,” snapped Ward. “I don’t care whether you put in a furnace or not; I’m never cold. It’s the girls who are making a fuss.”
“A furnace costs a heap of money,” put in Polly, wisely. “We never could afford that. Besides, Mr. Larue wouldn’t let us. We might set fire to the barn.” ”

“ Their tanned faces and bright eyes showed what a healthful summer it had been and their good spirits spoke for their happiness.
[6] “It’s our turn to have a party,” said Margy Williamson, eagerly. “Polly and Artie had us Hallowe’en last year. We can have the kitchen at our house and do anything we please.”
“I thought you’d come to our house; but it’s all right that way,” said Polly. “Shall we dress up?”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s one bit of fun unless we dress up and wear false-faces,” declared Margy.
“We’ll know each other—can’t help it, with only six of us,” demurred Fred. ”

“ It seemed like another Christmas to the members of the Riddle Club, the day after their experience in getting home. Every one was so glad to see them that they were allowed to please themselves pretty much, till Ward made himself sick with too much candy and Margy and Fred quarreled because they wanted to go skating and coasting at the same time; that is, each wanted the other to do his or her way. ”

“ That night it began to snow again, the fine, steady snow that always promises a real storm. When Mr. Marley came home to supper, his overcoat was covered with the white flakes.
“It’s lucky that every one lives near,” said Mrs. Marley, lighting another electric lamp to make the dining-room more cheerful. “No one would want to go very far on a night like this.”
“Oh, they would, Mother, if they were going to the Riddle Club,” Artie assured her. “I’d go anywhere to a Riddle Club meeting.” ”

“ Whatever he chose to do, he did with all his might, and the matter of club dues was a serious matter with him.
“What are we going to spend the money for?” asked Artie, to whom, like Ward, the bank seemed to hold a fortune.
“We’re not going to spend it for anything,” Polly informed him, “till we need something very much.”
“We could buy Christmas presents with it,” suggested Artie, wistfully.
“Artie Marley, I’m surprised!” said Polly. “That money doesn’t belong to us any more. It is club money, and has to be spent for the good of the club. Don’t you understand?” ”

“ As every one will tell you, it is quite impossible to keep your mind on any job and sneeze at the same time. Small wonder that Artie forgot the rope, as Ward had done.
The table teetered a minute over the edge of the loft, then dropped. Fred felt as though his arms were being pulled from the sockets for one brief moment, and then the strain slackened. He looked back. The three girls were holding the rope, their feet braced as they pulled. Ward and Artie stood staring at him.
“Grab that rope!” shouted Fred. “What are you thinking of? Grab hold! Do you want the thing to go bang?” ”

“ Nothing ever daunted Polly. If she could not find what she wanted ready-made, she made it herself.
“And another thing,” said Margy. “Being the Riddle Club, why can’t we ask some riddles? I mean short ones—one apiece.”
“All right,” agreed Jess.
“Maybe we can get some about animals,” suggested Artie.
“Oh, any kind of riddle will do,” declared the president of the club.
The plans for the party made, the six chums made fudge as a grand wind-up to the afternoon. They went home to supper, where the candy apparently made little difference in their hearty appetites. ”

“ Polly was glad to make the flowers, and she stayed after school for an hour or two every afternoon, cutting and pasting.
“I’m so sick of braiding this silly old paper,” Carrie Pepper complained to Mattie Helms. “I think it’s mean we never have any of the fun. All Polly Marley has to do is to sit there and make flowers. Any one can make flowers, and it’s interesting. Not like braiding this stuff.”
“I don’t think her flowers are much,” commented Mattie. “Do you?”
“No, nothing extra,” said Carrie. “There goes Fred Williamson. He looks at me so funny, every time he sees me.” ”

“ The Riddle Club had never bothered much with by-laws.
But Polly thought it time to interfere.
“I think you boys are too silly for words,” she pronounced. “Of course Fred has to collect the dues—that’s his work. But you know, Fred, that if you didn’t pitch into Ward, he’d hand you the ten cents without coaxing. Why you want to argue and get cross is more than I can understand.”
[115] Ward scowled and Fred laughed good-naturedly.
“There’s the bank,” he said. “You can put your money in it or leave it alone. But let me tell you, no club lasts very long without dues.” ”

“ Fred, go ahead.”
“I’ll ask you, Polly. Here is a stinger: What’s the difference between a brand new ten-cent piece and an old-fashion quarter?”
“The difference is exactly fifteen cents,” replied Polly, placidly.
“Wow! I guess you read the same riddle book I did.”
[41] “Here is one for you, Margy,” said Artie. “Why is a lollipop like a horse?”
“When he’s the same color,” said Margy, quickly.
“No, that isn’t the answer. A lollipop is like a horse because the more you lick it the faster it goes.”
“Now, Ward, you ask the last riddle,” said Polly. “Then we’ll go on with our Hallowe’en fun.” ”

“ Jess discovered that her knee was not badly hurt, after all, and Ward was grateful for the rest.
“Looks like more snow,” said Fred, pointing to the sky, now gray and overcast.
“Why can’t you be cheerful?” scolded Margy. “We’ve had all the snow we want for a long time. It’s going to be clear weather—the paper said so,” and Margy looked triumphantly at her brother.
“You have to take the kind of weather you get,” said Artie, sagely. “It doesn’t make any difference what you want.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s going to snow,” announced Polly, rising. ”

“ Fred gazed at the circle in despair.
“You don’t any of you have the right idea [2] about these club dues,” he informed them. “You seem to think I want the money to go off and spend on myself. There’s no use in having a treasurer, unless you’re willing to put something in the treasury.”
“Oh, but, Fred! we are willing,” protested Polly Marley, president of the Riddle Club. “Of course we’re willing. The only reason I didn’t pay to-day was because I didn’t have ten cents.” ”

“ Fred shook his head.
“I wonder——” he said slowly. “Yes, I do believe it will work!”
“What will work?” demanded Margy, eagerly. “What will work, Fred?”
“Well, I’ll step into the first half of the giraffe,” [51] explained Fred, “and Artie can manage the back feet—Ward will get out of breath too quickly to do what I want done. When the bell rings, we’ll go out the back door and amble around to the front of the house and just wrap Mr. Ghost lovingly around with that nice, long, rubber-hose neck. That ought to give our friends a thrill. They won’t know what has them in the dark.” ”

“ JESS HAS LUCK
All of the other members of the Riddle Club stared at Artie in blank wonder.
“Cabbages?” cried Fred.
“What do we pull up a cabbage for?” Margy demanded, curiously.
“To see whether you’ll be rich or poor,” said Artie, as though that settled the matter.
“How will you know whether you’ll be rich and poor?” Ward demanded.
“Not rich and poor,” Artie corrected him. “Who ever heard of any one being rich and poor? Rich or poor, silly.”
“Well, all right,” agreed Ward, amiably. “Rich or poor then. How’ll we know we’re going to be rich or poor by looking at a cabbage?” ”

“ Polly whispered to Margy, as they tiptoed through the lower rooms.
“So do I,” answered Margy. “Oh! What was that?”
It was nothing but a window shade that had rattled against the pane, blown by the draft which came through the broken window. Dora, the Larue maid, had gone to her own home to stay over the holiday, and there was no one but the searchers in the house.
“Well, he isn’t on the first floor,” said Fred, when all the rooms had been carefully examined. “Artie and I will go up to the attic and have a look around there. A turkey might feel more at home in an attic.” ”

“ You come along, Fred, and make her give you the bank. That’s the same as stealing, to take things like that.”
“It isn’t stealing to take one glove,” protested Artie.
“’Tis, too,” insisted Jess. “What good is one glove? No good at all! Carrie Pepper knows those gloves are new. She has to give it back to me, that’s all there is to it.”
“Well, you take my advice and go mighty slow about accusing any one of taking your glove,” said Fred, earnestly. “I’d no more go to her and ask her for the bank than I’d fly. I might as well come right out and say she stole it.”
“She took Polly’s pin, didn’t she?” ”

“ In a moment the three boys and Jess were on their feet, and, joined by Margy and Polly, they rushed pell-mell down the front stairs. The door in the hall was open and Mrs. Pepper stood talking to Mr. Williamson on the porch. The grown-ups caught a glimpse of a flying brown body and then a colorful flash as six gay-colored sweaters dashed past them. Then the chase headed for the Pepper yard. ”

“ Polly Marley was a tactful girl, and she knew when to change a subject.
“We haven’t decided about Hallowe’en,” she reminded them.
“That’s so,” agreed Fred, with relief. “Are we going to have a party?”
“Mother doesn’t want Ward and me to dress up and just go around,” said Jess. “So I think we’d better have a party—just us, you know. We don’t need any one else.”
The six members of the Riddle Club smiled at one another. They had the best of good times when “just us” and no outsiders were invited. Weren’t they back from a summer in camp where they proved their theory once more? ”

“ We’ve all brought our money, and it’s up to you to collect it.”
And Jess walked over and put a shining new dime in the slit in the bank. Artie followed her.
Never had Fred, in his experience as treasurer, found it so easy to collect dues from the entire membership. Even Ward did not argue, but insisted on paying his dime. And none of them would hear of Fred giving the bank to any one else to take care of, or leaving it in the clubroom.
“You’re the treasurer, and you take care of it,” said Polly. “You suit us, and if we don’t fuss about the money that’s lost I don’t see why you should. ”

“ Wicks isn’t poor—not what we call poor,” answered Mr. Marley, who was driving. “She has money enough to live on and owns her house, she tells me. But she is lonely, and sometimes people need friends more than they need money.”
The dazzling sunshine made the fields and laden trees very beautiful to see, but there was a cold wind, and the snow seemed to have melted very little. For some distance the traveling was fairly good, for the postman’s sleigh had broken the road, but when they turned into another road, unbroken drifts confronted them. ”