"There won't be time anyway, now! I wish there
wasn't such a thing as shoes in the world!" And she gave a flounce
and sat up straight in front of her mother.
"Polly!" said Mrs. Pepper sternly, deftly fastening the little buttons
tightly into place with quick, firm stitches, "better be glad you've
got them to sew at all. There now, here they are. Those won't come
off in a hurry!"
"Oh, mamsie!" cried Polly, ignoring for a moment the delights of
the finished shoe to fling her arms around her mother's neck and
give her a good hug. "You're just the splendidest, goodest mamsie
in all the world. And I'm a hateful, cross old bear, so I am!" she
cried remorsefully, buttoning herself into her boots. Which done,
she flew at the rest of her preparations and tried to make up for
lost time.
But 'twas all of no use. The day seemed to be always just racing
ahead of her, and turning a corner, before she could catch up to it,
and Ben and the other boys only caught dissolving views of her as
she flitted through halls or over stairs.
"Where's Polly?" said Percy at last, coming with great
dissatisfaction in his voice to the library door. "We've called her, I
guess a million times, and she won't hurry."
"What do you want to have her do?" asked Jasper, looking up from
the sofa where he had flung himself with a book.
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