mother. Your friend,

"JASPER ELYOT KING."

"Oh, lovely! lovely!" cried Polly, flying around with the letter in her
hand; "so he is coming!"

Ben was just as wild as she was, for no one knew but Polly just how the
new friend had stepped into his heart. Phronsie went to sleep happy,
hugging "Baby."

"And don't you think, Baby, dear," she whispered sleepily, and Polly
heard her say as she was tucking her in, "that Jasper is really comin';
really--and the big, be-you-ti-ful doggie, too!"

PHRONSIE PAYS A DEBT OF GRATITUDE

"And now I tell you," said Polly, the next day, "let's make Jasper
something; can't we, ma?"

"Oh, do! do!" cried all the other children, "let's; but what'll it be,
Polly?"

"I don't know about this," interrupted Mrs. Pepper; "I don't see how you
could get anything to him if you could make it."

"Oh, we could, mamsie," said Polly, eagerly, running up to her; "for Ben
knows; and he says we can do it."

"Oh, well, if Ben and you have had your heads together, I suppose it's
all right," laughed Mrs. Pepper, "but I don't see how you can do it."

"Well, we can, mother, truly," put in Ben. "I'll tell you how, and
you'll say it'll be splendid. You see Deacon Blodgett's goin' over to
Hingham, to-morrow; I heard him tell Miss Blodgett so; and he goes right
past the hotel; and we can do it up real nice--and it'll please Jasper
so--do, mammy!"

"And it's real dull there, Jasper says," put in Polly, persuasively;
"and just think, mammy, no brothers and sisters!" And Polly looked
around on the others.

After that there was no need to say anything more; her mother would have
consented to almost any plan then.

"Well, go on, children," she said; "you may do it; I don't see but what
you can get 'em there well enough; but I'm sure I don't know what you
can make."

"Can't we," said Polly--and she knelt down by her mother's side and put
her face in between the sewing in Mrs. Pepper's lap, and the eyes bent
kindly down on her--"make some little cakes, real cakes I mean? now
don't say no, mammy!" she said, alarmed, for she saw a "no" slowly
coming in the eyes above her, as Mrs. Pepper began to shake her head.

"But we haven't any white flour, Polly," began her mother. "I know,"
said Polly; "but we'll make 'em of brown, it'll do, if you'll give us
some raisins--you know there's some in the bowl, mammy."

"I was saving them for a nest egg," said Mrs. Pepper; meaning at some
future time to indulge