Glad it didn't make you mad," he ended suddenly.
"He meant it all right, I'm sure," said Jasper, seeing that Polly
couldn't speak.
"Didn't he though!" exclaimed Tom.
"And it didn't come till the day we left Heidelberg," said Polly,
finding her tongue, and speaking rapidly to explain the delay; "that
was a week ago."
"Whew!" whistled Tom; "oh, beg pardon!" for several people turned
around and stared; so he ducked his head, and was mostly lost to view
for a breathing space. When he thought they had forgotten him, he
bobbed it up. "Why, Grandfather picked it out--had a bushel of things
sent up from London to choose from, you know, weeks and weeks ago, as
soon as he got up to London. That's no end queer."
"No," said Polly, "it didn't come till then. And I wrote to your
grandfather the next morning and thanked him."
"Now you did!" exclaimed Tom, in huge delight, and slapping his knee
with one long hand. "That's no end good of you." He couldn't conceal
how glad he was, and grinned all over his face.
At this moment Mrs. Vanderburgh, who, seeing Fanny so happy again,
concluded to stay on the strength of resurrected hopes of Polly
Pepper's friendship, sailed into the opera house, with her daughter.
And glancing across the aisle, for their seats were at the side, she
caught sight of the party she was looking for, and there was a face she
knew, but wasn't looking for.
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