ut put it off till he catches up
on his studies," suggested Jasper, "why, he wouldn't be dropped out."

"But the poor brakeman's family, Jasper," said Polly, puzzled that
Jasper should forget the object of the play.

"Oh, I didn't mean that we should put off earning the money, Polly,"
cried Jasper, quite horrified at such a thought. "We must do something
else, so that we can sell just as many tickets."

"But what will it be?" asked Polly, trying not to feel crushed, and
sighing at the disappearance of the beautiful play, for a time at least.

"Well, we could have recitations, for one thing," said Jasper, feeling
dreadfully to see Polly's disappointment, and concealing his own, for he
had set his heart on the play too.

"Oh dear me!" exclaimed Polly, wrinkling up her face in disdain.
"Jasper, do you know, I am so tired of recitations!"

"So am I," Jasper bobbed his head in sympathy, "but we boys have some
new ones, learned for last exhibition, so Pick won't have to take a
moment from his lessons. And then we can have music, and you will play,
Polly."

"Oh Jasper, I've played so much," said Polly, "they're all tired of
hearing me."

"They never would be tired of hearing you, Polly," said Jasper simply.
"Every one of us thinks you play beautifully."

"And tableaux and an operetta take just as much time to rehearse," mused
Polly, thinking very hard if there wasn't something to keep them from
the dreaded recitations.

"And I just loathe an operetta or tableaux," exclaimed Jasper, with such
venom that Polly burst out laughing.

"Oh Jasper, if you could see your face!" she cried.

"I shouldn't want to," he laughed too; "but of all insipid things, an
operetta is the worst; and tableaux--the way Miss Montague drilled and
drilled _and_ drilled us, and then stuck us up like sticks not to move
for a half-hour or so, nearly finished me."

"So it did me," confessed Polly. "And besides, it would take a great
deal more time to go through all that drilling than to rehearse the
play."

"Of course it would," said Jasper, "so tableaux, thank fortune, are not
to be thought of. I think it will have to be recitations and music,
Polly."

"I suppose so," she said with a sigh. "Oh Jasper!" then she sprang off
from her chair, and clapped her hands. "I've thought of the very thing.
I believe Mr. Hamilton Dyce would tell some of his funny stories and
help out the program."

"Capital!" shouted Jasper; and just at this moment the