"I very much wish you would, Jack," said Mrs. Sterling. And she looked at
him in such a way, that Jack although he had wild thoughts of taking a
flying leap out of his chair, and off to the small grocery shop,
nevertheless stuck to it manfully and at last found his tongue.
"We might cut out pictures that spell the names of books," he said.
"Capital!" said Mrs. Sterling.
"Well, those are puzzles," said Frick.
"Well, not like the ones you meant," said Joel, leaning back of Jack to
bestow a punch. "Do be still," he added furiously.
"But mine would be puzzles, anyway," declared Frick, unwilling to give up
the point.
"Well, we'd much rather have these, anyway," said Curtis Park, projecting
himself into as much of the circle as possible. "Who cares for your old
puzzles, Frick?"
"Boys--boys," said Mrs. Sterling gently.
"Beg pardon," said Curtis. "But we really do want these that Jack has just
proposed, Mrs. Sterling. At least I do, and I'd give up conundrums to have
them; so please let us have these."
"How is it, Frick?" asked Mrs. Sterling. "Do you give up your puzzles in
favor of our making Jack's pictures?"
Frick wriggled in his chair; he wanted his puzzles dreadfully, and he
couldn't see, since he had proposed them first, why he shouldn't carry the
day, but every boy was looking at him sharply, so he mumbled, "Yes.
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