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Tom, Ill make a bargain with you, cried Fanny, eagerly. It wasnt my fault that Gus and Frank were there, and I couldnt help their speaking to me. I do as well as I can, and papa neednt be angry; for I behave ever so much better than some of the girls. Dont I, Polly? Bargain? observed Tom, with an eye to business. If you wont go and make a fuss, telling what youd no right to hearit was so mean to hide and listen; I should think youd be ashamed of it!Ill help you tease for your velocipede, and wont say a word against it when mamma and granny beg papa not to let you have it. Will you? and Tom paused to consider the offer in all its bearings. Yes, and Polly will help; wont you? Id rather not have anything to do with it; but Ill be quiet, and not do any harm. Why wont you? asked Tom, curiously. Because it seems like deceiving. Well, papa neednt be so fussy, said Fan, petulantly. After hearing about that Carrie, and the rest, I dont wonder he is fussy. Why dont you tell right out, and not do it any more, if he dont want you to? said Polly, persuasively. Do you go and tell your father and mother everything right out? Yes, I do; and it saves ever so much trouble. Are you not afraid of them? Of course Im not. Its hard to tell sometimes; but its so comfortable when its over. Lets! was Toms brief advice. Mercy me! what a fuss about nothing! said Fanny, ready to cry with vexation. Tisnt nothing. You know you are forbidden to go gallivanting round with those chaps, and thats the reason youre in a pucker now. I wont make any bargain, and I will, returned Tom, seized with a sudden fit of moral firmness. Will you if I promise never, never to do so any more? asked Fanny, meekly; for when Thomas took matters into his own hands, his sister usually submitted in spite of herself. Ill think about it; and if you behave, maybe I wont do it at all. I can watch you better than papa can; so if you try it again, its all up with you, miss, said Tom, finding it impossible to resist the pleasure of tyrannizing a little when he got the chance. She wont; dont plague her any more, and she will be good to you when you get into scrapes, answered Polly, with her arm round Fan. I never do; and if I did, I shouldnt ask a girl to help me out. Why not? Id ask you in a minute, if I was in trouble, said Polly, in her confiding way. Would you? Well, Id pull you through as sure as my names Tom Shaw. Now, then, dont slip, Polly, and Mr. Thomas helped them out with unusual politeness, for that friendly little speech gratified him. He |
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