Whereat Jasper picked her up, bag and all, and marched off,
laughing, not to set her down till they reached the corner.
"Well, good-bye. Take care now, Phronsie," and he gave her a kiss.
"Good-bye, Polly, and good luck to your bee."
"And I do hope you'll have splendid success with the letters, Jasper,"
Polly craned her neck around the corner to say, the last thing. Then she
took Phronsie's hand and hurried along to meet a throng of girls, all bound
for Miss Mary's.
There on the big stone steps was Mr. Hamilton Dyce.
"I heard there was to be a bee here this afternoon," he said, looking down
at them all with a smile, "so I thought I'd come."
"I'm coming," announced Phronsie, breaking away from Polly and holding up
her bag; and she began to mount the steps.
"So I perceive," said Mr. Dyce, running down to meet her. "Well, Phronsie,
I must tell you I came partly to see you."
"And I've got a cushion-pin inside," said Phronsie confidingly, as she
toiled up.
"Have you, though?" cried Mr. Dyce. "Take care, don't go so fast. Let some
of these girls race ahead of us; we'll take our time. How d'ye, Polly, and
Alexia, and all the rest of you?"
"But I must hurry," said Phronsie, with a very pink face, as the bevy
rushed by, "for I'm going to work on my cushion-pin."
"So you must. Well, then, here goes!" Mr. Dyce swung her up to his shoulder
and went, two steps at a time, in through the crowd of girls, so that he
arrived there first when the door was opened.
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