James Otis

“ Why not let each one give ten cents for . going to the party?" asked Winny Curtis, in a tone that was very nearly a squeak, so shrill and peculiar was his voice.
"That's the fun of it," replied Aggie, triumphantly. "After we girls have made the neckties and aprons, mother will wrap each one in paper, so that no one can tell which is which. Then when a boy buys one of the packages, he sees what color of necktie he has got, and he hunts for the girl that has an apron like it. He must go in to supper with that girl, and walk home with her after the party is over." ”

“ When school was dismissed, the boys, instead of rushing out at full speed, as was their custom, appeared to have a remarkable amount of trouble to arrange the books in their desks, and Deacon Littlefield was yet more surprised by seeing every one of his boy pupils loitering around as if pained at being obliged to go home. ”

“ Aggie saw at once that there were more difficulties in the way of this manner of giving a party than she had supposed. She knew that Winny, as the only boy present, would not make matters very lively, even though he should be willing to buy a dozen neckties, and escort as many of the girls home.
" We'll have lots of fun," she said, "if you boys will come, for I'm sure the girls will all be there, and while we're enjoying ourselves we shall know that we're doing something to help aunt Betsey, who's a good deal poorer this year than she was last." ”

“ Aggie did not show herself to friend or foe until just as the afternoon recess was ended, and then she entered the schoolroom with such a demure, innocent look on her face that every girl knew she had decided upon some plan that promised success. Even Si Kelly looked anxious when she came in, and he immediately resolved to collect, on the very next morning, the money each of the boys was to pay towards the sleigh-ride, in order that no one might be tempted to join the necktie party. ”

“ A ride to Bucksport in Mr. Grout's handsome sleigh was the one thing the boys could enjoy, and for the moment all desire to go to the party was forgotten. Each boy pledged himself to raise twenty-five cents, and with some little difficulty in "counting noses," after which Si laboriously figured up the total amount, it was learned that they would not only have money enough to hire the sleigh and horses, but there would be a surplus sufficient to buy such a goodly supply of candy and nuts as would make a really respectable feast. ”

“ Of course it is foolish for us to say that we can have very much of 'a party if all the boys stay away."
"We must have it," said Annie Rich, decidedly. "It would never do to let them think that we had given up a good time just because they wouldn't join us."
"Yes, we must have the party," said Aggie, thoughtfully, " and we must make the boys come, if possible. It's no use for me to try to study now, and I'm going to ask the deacon to let me go home. Some of you girls catch Winny Curtis, and find out from him what the boys are going to do. ”

“ If we pay the money now, we can each get a saw, an' have it all cut up before night. The girls won't have any the best of us then; aunt Betsey will be just that much better off; we can have our sleigh-ride, and we can go to the party as well. But if we should do simply one thing or the other, then the girls would be sure to think we had been beaten. Now, if all the fellers will agree to that, I'll get my share of the money right away, an' we'll ask Deacon Littlefield to buy the wood this morning."
Tom saw, even before he had ceased speaking, that the majority of the boys were in favor of. ”

“ A DISTRICT MESSENGER BOY. CHAPTER II. HOME AGAIN. "You see you have to go up that way to get to New York,!" said the boy, pointing with an air of wisdom, "an' if you fellers want to get home real bad, I'll carry you there tomorrow myself in a boat."
"How long would it take you? " asked Joe, just a trifle doubtful as to whether this boy could do as much as he said he could.
"Only two or three hours if we have a fair wind."
"But we was all night comin' down in the steamer," remarked Joe, quickly. ”

“ It is easy to understand that, after all this labor on Dan's part to save his pet, Mr. Hardy readily promised that Crippy should be allowed to die of old age, instead of being killed and roasted, and Dan, with Crippy hugged very close to him, started for home with his father, sure that no boy in all the. wide world would spend a merrier Thanksgiving than he. ”

“ The boys did not have as much sport out of the letter as they had expected. The girls spoke to them pleasantly, without any reference to what had been said or done, and they began to fear that some plan was under way which might promise even better sport than their sleigh-ride.
"They'll get up something to beat us," Tom Hardy said, mournfully. "It's got to be a pretty smart boy who can get the best of a lot of girls, an' I tell you what it is, fellers, they'll serve us out before we get through puttin' on airs." ”

“ He had remained in this sorrowful attitude some moments, with Ned silent by his side, when both were startled by a shout:
"Hello, there I why hain't you up to the office?"
Joe sprang to his feet. He saw just behind him a boy about his own age, in the uniform of a district messenger. "Why, you hain't one of our boys, .are you? Where did you corne from?" continued the newcomer.
Joe looked first at the uniform and then at the boy that wore it, as if uncertain whether he could trust the evidence of his own senses. " Well," said the messenger, "what's the. matter with .you now? ”

“ The good old deacon knew that some great and barely suppressed excitement among the pupils was the cause of the inattentiveness, even on the part of those who were usually the most studious, and he acted as if his life was particularly a burden to him during the hour and a half that elapsed before recess. ”

“ Then Aggie understood from Si's face that he was growing more and more opposed to the plan, and as her freckles came prominently into view again, she said, with a show of dignity that even Deacon Littlefield might have been proud of, as she started down the street: " Come, girls, let's go home, so that we can get over to Maria's house early. We'll have the party, and we'll each buy an apron."
Then Aggie walked away, followed by the girls, each one trying to appear as if perfectly indifferent whether any of the boys came to the party ”

“ But what'll we do to get even? " asked Lute Hubbard, anxiously. "We shall have to get up something that'll be better than the party."
"I guess that won't be very hard to do," replied Si, loftily. "If I couldn't get up a better kind of a time than following girls 'round by their apron - strings! We'll each of us put in twenty-five cents to hire Grout's two-horse sleigh, an' go on a ride to Bucksport for all day." ”

“ It will be just like any party, except that each boy will have to pay attention to the girl whose apron matches his necktie. Now, we want all of the boys to come, because it won't be any fun if there isn't an even pattern of aprons and neckties. We girls are going to Maria Gilman's house tonight to begin the work, and tomorrow morning the boys that will come must tell us, so we'll know just how many neckties to make. ”

“ You see, the trouble is that we've got all this baggage to lug 'round, when it's about as much as we can do to get along ourselves."
"Why don't you leave the things somewhere? You never can find the man that owns 'em, even if you carry them all the way back to New York," said little Ned, sensibly.
" That's so, bub," said Joe, "but all the same, you see he told me to take care of them, an' I've got to do it, or else they'll blame me at the office." ”

“ DEAR RIE: - I am much obliged for the invitation and the necktie. I will be there by eight o'clock if you will do a little favor for me. Us boys have been getting up a sleigh- ride for Saturday afternoon; we shall start about three o'clock from the schoolhouse, and get back to Aggie's in time for the party. Will you go?
I am sure aunt Betsey will feel grateful to you girls when she knows you each gave twenty cents towards making her comfortable, and if it had not been for the "lack of money," we boys would have paid our share. ”

“ Do you call him Crippy?" asked the boy, as he nodded towards the goose.
"Ves, he's Crippy Hardy. Mother was goin' to kill him for dinner to- morrer, so we come down here to get uncle Robert to go up an' see about it."
" How far have you come? "
" Seven miles."
" Did you walk? "
" Every step."
" Well," said the boy, as he looked at Crippy in a critical way, "it seems to me that's a mighty mean kind of a goose ter walk so far fur. He hain't handsome no ways, an' I think he'd look a good deal better on ther table roasted, than he does out here on ther street." ”

“ Joe made sure that the two had gone into the lower cabin, and, running quickly to where Ned sat, he said, "Come up-stairs with me as fast as you can, an' I'll show you what to do." Then, taking the little fellow by the hand, he hurried to the upper deck, not looking around, and hardly daring to breathe until they were in the stateroom, with the door securely fastened and the blind of the window closed.
" There!" he exclaimed, triumphantly, in a whisper, "I guess this fixes Mr. Man, an' when he tries to find you he'll think that stealin' boys hain't so easy as he thought it was." ”

“ Aggie had a large supply of freckles, as even a very near-sighted person could see. "We are going to have just as many boys as girls, and no one is obliged to come. But if any boy is willing to pay ten cents' towards helping Aunt Betsey, he buys a necktie, and the girls each buy an apron. ”

“ The goose was as unable to answer this question as he had been the ones Dan had previously asked, and the only reply he made was a loud cackling, which, in his language, signified that he thought it quite time that he had some dinner.
By this time, and Dan had not been on the doorstep more than five minutes, a crowd of boys gathered around, all disposed to make sport of the goose, and to annoy the boy. . "Say, country, why don't you sell your . goose? ”

“ The girls were so pleased with the scheme that they were almost as noisy as the boys would have been under similar circumstances.
"Now we must each give twenty-five cents," Aggie said, as soon as the tumult had partially subsided, "and we will buy the things for aunt Betsey, so that the boys will know we have really paid the money. Each one decide which boy she will write to, so that everyone will get a letter, and mother says you may all come to my house to-night to make the neckties. ”

“ Nothing more was seen of Master West, and the two boys returned to New York on the same steamer on which they had been involuntary passengers the night previous.
" Hello, there's the man come to look for his valises," said Joe, next morning, as he and Ned stood by the rail while the steamer was being warped into the dock. ”

“ The boys were too much surprised by the question to reply, and Dan continued, earnestly: "This goose is Crippy, an' I've had him ever since he was a baby, an' got his leg broke. We come in here to find uncle Robert so's he could tell mother not to kill poor Crip, an' now we can't find him, an'-an'- well, we're jest two as lonesome fellers as you ever saw, an if you knew jest how we did feel you wouldn't stand there, pokin' fun at us. ”

“ Of course girls don't cheer, when anything pleases them, as boys do, but this particular party of girls were strongly tempted to do so as they left the room, so thoroughly convinced were they that they would soon triumph over those who had tried to humiliate them.
CHAPTER III TOM 'S SCHEME DESPITE all efforts, not a boy had been able to learn what course the girls had decided upon during the meeting in. the classroom. Several of those who were in favor of the sleigh-ride had sisters among the "ten-centers," and they used every effort to learn what had been the result of the meeting ”

“ Then, refusing to answer a single question, but cautioning the girls not to look as if they cared in the slightest because of the letter, Aggie went into the schoolroom, where she had no difficulty in getting permission to go home. As a matter of fact, Deacon Littlefield would have been more pleased than his pupils could have been, if he could have given them all a holiday; for trying to teach a number of boys and girls who were in the highest state of excitement over Aggie's proposed necktie party, was a task.
Maria and Annie "caught" Winny Curtis, as Aggie had proposed ”

“ He concluded by telling the story of their meeting with Master West, and his offer to take them to New York in his yacht.
"Was it Bart West that you met?" asked the boy.
"His name was Bartholomew."
" An' where is the boat? "
Joe explained, as well as he was able, the locality in which they had seen the yacht, and the messenger said, quickly:
"Well, you don't want to have anything to do with that feller, 'cause he's a reg'lar duffer. He's too lazy to work, an' he hangs 'round the city like a loafer. That boat hain't his at all. I know who owns her. ”

“ Now you'd better come up to the office, an' everything'll be all right."
As may be imagined, it was not many moments before Joe and Ned were telling their stories to the manager of the office in which George was employed, and then their troubles were over. The fact that they were in Providence, and safe, was telegraphed to New York at once, and George was. detailed to show the boys around the city until time for the boat to leave, for Mr. Hawley had sent word that Ned should be supplied with what he needed to make him comfortable and happy. ”