Chapter FIFTEEN: Gabriel’s Surprise

Jeannette’s and Elizabeth’s arrival at school was a regular triumphant entry. They were quite the heroines of the hour after the experience they had been through, and the pupils were all agog to hear their own account of the adventure. Older pupils, who had never before noticed their existence, stopped to inquire all about the dreadful storm, and offered them fruit and candy.

Naturally the news had spread like wild-fire all through the small school. In addition the class-rooms buzzed with May Day plans, and even although the boys had pooh-poohed the idea, they were not above showing off in anticipation of votes.

It was surprising how rapidly the basket-frames had disappeared. There could be no doubt but that the May Frolic would be a success, for the children were wildly enthusiastic.

Slips of paper and pencils were given out at assembly, and each pupil cast two votes, one for King and one for Queen. Excitement ran high when, to the stirring march played on the piano, the classes one by one filed past the big desk where Miss Helen sat, and dropped pale-pink slips containing the chosen Queen’s name into one big box, and blue slips on which were written the King’s name into another. The votes were to be counted during the day, and the names of the King and Queen of the May would be announced at closing time. It was hard to return to the class-rooms and settle down to work.

“Say, Wiggles,” whispered Gabriel from the seat behind hers, “I’ll let you see all my spelling if you don’t know yours, and I have something to give you at recess,--a surprise for you.”

As Gabriel’s spelling was the worst in the room, Wiggles did not accept his offer, but she beamed at the idea of a surprise, and during the lessons kept wondering what it could be.

She was nearly overcome with curiosity all through the morning, for Gabriel’s black head kept disappearing in his desk, where the surprise had been carefully stowed away, in a most tantalizing manner.

To Gabriel’s idea of thinking, no girl in the school could compare with Elizabeth. He declared that any girl who could skip rope, and run, and walk fences as she did, with the agility of an acrobat, was almost as good as a boy; and on his prowls through fields and woods he was always collecting rare ferns for her garden, or the first fragrant sprays of arbutus, or fragile Indian-pipes, and bringing them to school for her, just to see her blue eyes open with amazement, and to hear her say, “Oh, isn’t that lovely! Where did you ever find it?”

He swelled with importance as he thought how she would clap her hands and spin round on her toes when she beheld the surprise in store for her at recess, as he had never before found anything so unusual.

As Gabriel was always bringing surprises, and delightful ones, too, Polly Wiggles wondered with a little wriggle of impatience if it could be the clump of maiden-hair fern which she had long wanted for her rockery. Only the week before he had given her a little birch-bark box, beautifully made, and heaped with the first wild strawberries, scarlet and tempting, and each one big as her thumb and sweet as honey.

But if Wiggles had known what was to greet her eyes at recess, she never would have sat so quietly, or listened so intently to the teacher’s words.

Arithmetic and reading went on as usual, and then paper was distributed for painting, which was always the first period after recess. Wiggles loathed painting, and it always mortified her to see her own finished daubs.

Alice was very artistic, and did splendid work in both drawing and color work, so she examined with interest the object to be copied, a pretty yellow teapot placed on a small table at the front of the room, where it was in a good position for all the youthful artists to see.

Alice was monitor of the paint-boxes, and went about importantly placing a box and brush at each desk, and tiny glasses of water in which to wash the brushes.

At last arithmetic came to an end, and the bell rang for recess, which was a twenty-minute period of relaxation for the children, during which they might walk about the class-room and talk, or play out-of-doors in the big school-yard.

It was such a beautiful day that most of the children bolted for the school-yard, Alice among the first, expecting Wiggles to follow, and join in a game of Poison Tag, or Illario.

But Wiggles waited with a beating heart to see the surprise.

“I’m so anxious to see it,” she smiled, spinning round in her seat and wondering if Gabriel could be making her a May-basket. She knew that Dick was weaving two, one for Marion, and one for Alice, and that Hugh had already made one for Jeannette, so she was anxious to see if any of her friends remembered her as well.

“I got it for you yesterday,” Gabriel beamed, plunging into his desk and rummaging about for a tantalizing time. “Look here--isn’t it a dandy?”

Now Gabriel had no intention of frightening Wiggles, He was an enthusiastic naturalist, and loved all the small creatures that inhabited the woods and fields. Wiggles had exclaimed with pleasure over a tiny turtle that he had given her, and the thought never entered his mind that, like other small girls, she might be afraid of his unusual surprise. So with a comical air of triumph he held out to her,--not a dainty May-basket, as she half expected, but a wiggling, slimy snake.

His big black eyes danced with pleasure as he coiled the creature in his hands, to place on Polly Wiggles’ lap.

With an exclamation of fright and disgust, Wiggles sprang away, and only with difficulty repressed a shriek, for if there was one thing she detested above all others, it was any kind of a snake. Her white and horrified face told Gabriel even more than her faltering tongue.

“Oh! oh! oh! Keep it away from me. Don’t let it get _on_ me!” she chattered, shivering at the idea.

Gabriel’s face fell.

“I’m sorry, Wiggles,” he mourned, hastily stuffing the snake into his desk like a wad of string. “I wouldn’t have scared you for anything, but aren’t girls queer to be afraid of a little snake like this? It won’t hurt you. Why, Wiggles, it’s most unusual, it’s a----”

“Oh, I don’t care if it’s worth a million dollars,” shuddered Wiggles. “It makes me feel creepy just to think of it. How _can_ you handle it?”

“But you handled a turtle,” exclaimed puzzled Gabriel, much surprised at the distinction shown. “I meant to give it to you for keeps, in a May-basket at first, on May Day, ’cause I thought you’d be kind o’ pleased.”

“I’m sorry, too, Gabriel,” apologized Polly Wiggles, seeing his disappointment, and trying to keep back a shudder. “I honestly did like your little turtle ever so much. That was cunning. But _please_ don’t hang any snakes, or-or--spiders, or _crawly_ things in a May-basket for me, will you? I like flowers and ferns so much better. Let’s--let’s go out now, and play tag.”

To tell the truth, Polly Wiggles was decidedly anxious to get as far away from the snake as possible.

“Don’t tell teacher,” warned Gabriel, banging down his desk-lid. “She might not like it, either, though I can’t see why she should mind my having a nice little snake in my desk.”

Still he knew from past experiences that teachers had most peculiar ideas about what should and should not be brought to school in a boy’s pockets.

“Are you certain-sure that your desk is tight, so it can’t get out?” asked Wiggles nervously, seeing in imagination the slimy, slippery snake crawling over the back of the desk, and down into her own seat.

“Course it’s tight,” Gabriel replied in disgust. “Didn’t you hear how I banged down the lid? You don’t suppose I want that valuable snake walking all over the school, do you?”

“Mercy, I should hope not,” shuddered Polly Wiggles in horror.

Now Gabriel honestly believed the desk was tight, and that the prisoner was safe inside, but in some way the banging had been too hard, and the lid had sprung back a tiny crack, leaving plenty of room for a small wriggling snake to crawl through.

Never had the school-yard looked so attractive to Polly Wiggles. The idea of “telling teacher” never entered her mind. If Gabriel had brought the “surprise” to school with the idea of being unkind and frightening her, it would have been different; but she knew that his intentions had been good, and she had been brought up to scorn tattling.

Recess passed all too quickly. Unfortunately she had a too-active imagination, which made her feel its slippery length coiling around her neck, and it was with lagging feet that she left the pleasant school-yard, and took her seat for the painting lesson. She felt crawly all over. So it was with thankful heart that she heard Miss Mason tell her to move her painting things over to the end aisle where the light was better.

Gabriel, with all memory of the snake erased from his mind, had been sent on an errand into the sixth grade, which was the highest in the school, for all older pupils went to the grammar school in Morristown.

Polly Wiggles need not have worried, however, about sitting in her own seat, for the active little snake no longer rustled about in the dark desk behind her.

It did not take long to move paints and paper over to the other seat, and she heaved a sigh of relief as she at last settled her starched white skirts, and wet her paint-brush.

In back of her sat the artist of the school, Allan Harrison, who was already, with joyful heart, engaged in coloring his beautifully sketched teapot a vivid yellow.

Allan’s work was really remarkable, and several of his other sketches held place of honor on the bulletin board at the front of the room.

Polly Wiggles glanced over her shoulder at his clever fingers, and then, with a sigh of despair, she hopelessly settled herself to the hated task.