nt. He was wild with
rage because Joel won; and he lost his head, or he would have let Joe
alone."

"I see," exclaimed Grandpapa, his eyes shining. "Well, and so you sat up
and watched the affair."

"I couldn't go to bed, you know," said Tom simply.

"And he would have saved us, Dave and me, if that Jenk hadn't locked the
door on us when he slipped in."

"Cad!" exclaimed Tom, between his teeth. "He ought to have been expelled
for that. And then Joe shinned up the conductor--and you know the rest."

Mother Fisher shivered, and leaned over involuntarily toward her boy.

"Mamsie," exclaimed Joel, "you don't know what Tom is to me, in that
school. He's just royal--that's what he is!" with a resounding slap on
his back.

"And I say so too," declared Mother Fisher, with shining eyes.

"_What_?" roared Tom, whirling around so suddenly that Van this time got
out of the way only by rolling entirely off from the rug. "Mrs.
Fisher--you _can't_, after I've told you this, although I'm no-end sorry
about the racket. I didn't want to tell,--fought against it, but I had
to."

"I stand by what I've said, Tom," said Mrs. Fisher, putting out her
hand, when Tom immediately laid his big brown one within it. At this,
Joel howled with delight, which he was unable to express enough to meet
his wishes; so he plunged off to the middle of the library floor, and
turned a brace of somersaults, coming up red and shining.

"I feel better now," he said; "that's the way I used to do in the little
brown house when I liked things."

XIX THE GRAND ENTERTAINMENT

"Ought we to, Mamsie?" asked Polly. Jasper and she were in Mrs. Fisher's
room, and they both waited for the reply anxiously.

"Yes, Polly, I think you ought," said Mother Fisher.

"Oh dear me! Phronsie can't have only a little bit of it," said Polly.

"I know it. But think, Polly, the boys have to go back to school so soon
that even if other people didn't care if it were postponed, they would
lose it. Besides, Tom is to be one of the chief people on the program.
No, no, Polly, there are others to think of outside of ourselves. You
must have your entertainment just as it is planned," Mrs. Fisher brought
up very decidedly.

"Well," sighed Polly, "I am glad that Papa Fisher says that Phronsie can
hear a little part of it, anyway."

"Yes," said her mother cheerfully, "and Helen Fargo is to sit next to
her. Mrs. Fargo is to take her home early, as she has not been very
wel