Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott

ante-room before anyone else could hear the bad news.

“Tell me all about it, and don’t shout. What’s come to the boy?” she

demanded, in a tone that reduced Joe to a whisper at once.

“Go right back and see what has happened to him, then come and

tell me quietly. I’ll wait for you here. I wouldn’t have his mother

startled for the world,” said the good soul, when she knew all.

“Oh, I dar’sn’t! I opened the switch as they told me to, and Bill will

half kill me when he knows it!” cried Joe, in a panic, as the awful

consequences of his deed rose before him, showing both boys

mortally injured and several trains wrecked.

“Then take yourself off home and hold your tongue. I’ll watch the

door, for I won’t have any more ridiculous boys tearing in to

disturb my lady.”

Mrs. Pecq often called this good neighbor “my lady” when

speaking of her, for Mrs. Minot was a true gentlewoman, and

much pleasanter to live with than the titled mistress had been.

Joe scudded away as if the constable was after him, and presently

Frank was seen slowly approaching with an unusually sober face

and a pair of very dirty hands.

“Thank heaven, he’s safe!” and, softly opening the door, Mrs. Pecq

actually hustled the young master into the ante-room as

unceremoniously as she had hustled Joe.

“I beg pardon, but the parlor is full of company, and that fool of a

Joe came roaring in with a cock-and-bull story that gave me quite

a turn. What is it, Mr. Frank?” she asked eagerly, seeing that

something was amiss.

He told her in a few words, and she was much relieved to find that

no harm had been done.

“Ah, the danger is to come,” said Frank, darkly, as be went away to

wash his hands and prepare to relate his misdeeds.

It was a very bad quarter of an hour for the poor fellow, who so

seldom had any grave faults to confess; but he did it manfully, and

his mother was so grateful for the safety of her boy that she found

it difficult to be severe enough, and contented herself with

forbidding any more visits to the too charming No. 11.

“What do you suppose will be done to me?” asked Frank, on whom

the idea of imprisonment had made a deep impression.

“I don’t know, dear, but I shall go over to see Mr. Burton right

after tea. He will tell us what to do and what to expect. Gus must

not suffer for your fault.”

“He’ll come off clear enough, but Joe must take his share, for if he

hadn’t opened that confounded switch, no harm would have been

done. But when I saw the way clear, I actually couldn’t resist going

ahead,” said Frank, getting excited again at the memory of that

blissful moment when he started the engine.

Here Jack came hurrying in, having heard the news, and refused to

believe it from any lips but Frank’s. When he could no longer

doubt, he was so much impressed with the daring of the deed that

he had nothing but admiration for his brother, till a sudden thought

made him clap his hands and exclaim exultingly,

“His runaway beats mine all hollow, and now he can’t crow over

me! Won’t that be a comfort? The good boy has got into a scrape.

Hooray!”

This was such a droll way of taking it, that they had to laugh; and

Frank took his humiliation so meekly that Jack soon fell to

comforting him, instead of crowing over him.

Jill thought it a most interesting event; and, when Frank and his

mother went over to consult Mr. Burton, she and Jack planned out

for the dear culprit a dramatic trial which would have convulsed

the soberest of judges. His sentence was ten years’ imprisonment,

and such heavy fines that the family would have been reduced to

beggary but for the sums made by Jill’s fancy work and Jack’s

success as a champion pedestrian.

They found such comfort and amusement in this sensational

programme that they were rather disappointed when Frank

returned, reporting that a fine would probably be all the penalty

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