out of my pay, and now I can't get my mother any Christmas present at all." The tears were rolling down her cheeks, and her face worked dreadfully.
"They shan't!" declared Joel, his black eyes flashing.
"An' now you'll make me smash these, I s'pose," said the cash-girl. "You go right away, you bad boy, you. Boo-hoo-hoo!"
"I'll tell 'em I did it," said Joel, bounding off to overtake the floor-walker. "Say, oh, do stop!" for he had almost reached the office door. "Mister, please," and he seized the end of the departing coat, Polly and Ben both calling, astonished as they saw him fly past, to stop.
"Hey? Oh, is that you?" The floor-walker smoothed out his face when he saw who it was.
"Yes," said Joel, "it is, and you mustn't make that girl pay for that doll."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," said the floor-walker, easily, with a smile, "she's a careless thing and I must make an example of her, or she'll break something else. It's all right, my boy," and he put his hand, where the big diamond ring shone up from the little finger, familiarly on the sturdy shoulder.
"It isn't all right," declared Joel, hotly, "and she didn't do it. I knocked her with my arm and that old doll fell off;" he swallowed hard. What an awful hole that would make in his pocket-book! Perhaps he wouldn't be able to buy only half as many things for his Christmas presents as he had scrawled on the list within it, and the blood surged all over his round cheeks to his stubby black hair. "How much did it cost?" he asked faintly.
"Oh, you won't have to pay for it," said the floor-walker, smiling pleasantly, till he showed his white teeth. "Mr. Persons wouldn't ever charge you a cent for it."
"Thank you!" bobbed Joel, in intense relief, "that's awfully good!" and he laughed, too, and gleefully slapped his pocket till, encountering the big pin again, he thought better of that, and said once more, "Thank you, mister," in the exuberance of his delight, and was moving off.
"Oh, no, indeed," repeated the floor-walker, decidedly, "he wouldn't ever think of it; the girl's got to pay," and he turned off, too.
"Hey!" cried Joel, whirling around. Then he ran back to the tall man's side. "Has that girl got to pay?" he demanded, his black eyes flashing and his eyes working dreadfully; "say, tell me, has she?"
"Why, of course," said the man, "don't you worry, he won't touch a cent of your money; and you keep still, I shan't tell him, so he won't know, anyway."
"Well, I shall tell him myself," said Joel, in a burst, and dashing up to the first door he saw, he opened it and plunged in before the floor-walker could stop him.
So Ben and Polly, staring in the direction he had run, of course lost track of him and had nothing to do but to wait there till he came back.
Joel pranced up to the first desk he saw, of which the room appeared to be full, and found himself by the side of a young man, with a very large head of tow-colored hair, who was doing his best to find the bottom of a long column of figures. As he paid no attention to Joel's sudden appearance, the floor-walker had time to add himself to their company. At this the young man deserted his figures, thrust his pencil in the thicket of tow hair, and said, "Hey, that you, McKenzie?"
But Mr. McKenzie paid small heed. "Here, you don't want to come in here," he said to Joel, "I'll fix that up for you." But Joel, not caring to wait for attentions that didn't appear to be forthcoming, dashed off to the next door. "Where's the big man?" he demanded.
"Hey?" The busy worker raised his head in astonishment to stare into the chubby face thrust into his own.
"The big man, the one who's ahead of you all?" said Joel, impatiently, waving his arms around comprehensively to take in the whole counting room.
"Oh, Mr. Persons, I guess he means," contributed the man at the neighboring desk. By this time everybody in the department had become interested, and pens were laid down and heads were bobbed up.
"Yes, yes," cried Joel, quite delighted to recognize the name that in his excitement had slipped away. "Where is he?" drumming on the desk impatiently.
"In there, kid," the bookkeeper stuck his penholder over his shoulder, and following its lead, Joel was soon within a little office, that, if he had taken time to notice, would have showed him "Private" in big letters across the door.
But Joel hadn't time to waste on anything but the matter in hand, and he plunged up to the desk and burst out: "It was my fault, and I want to pay for it. Don't let him make the little girl pay, please don't." He laid hold of the gray-haired man's arm at this last, and held on with a grip, for Mr. McKenzie hurried up.
Mr. Persons dropped his pen in astonishment. His mouth flew open, but he said not a word.
"I'll explain it, sir," began the floor-walker, with deference, but he had a withering look for Joel. "You see, one of the—"
"Oh, don't let him tell it," burst in Joel, in terror, and gripping the arm on the desk worse than ever; "he wants that poor little girl to pay." He brought his black eyes so close to the gray-bearded face that the countenance holding them obscured everything else.
"I'll tell you how it is, sir," said McKenzie, hastily.
"On the contrary, I'll let the boy tell his story," said Mr. Persons, dryly. "Now, then, what is it, my lad?" and he brought his eyes, just as sharp in their way, although the palest of blue ones, to bear on Joel's face.
So Joel, perfectly happy now that he had the telling of the story in his own way, began with great satisfaction, and never stopped to draw breath until he turned to pull out his pocket-book. Then he tugged at Mamsie's big shawl-pin till he grew quite red in the face. At last it was out, and so was the money. "How much is it?" he cried.
"Oh, you want to pay for it?" asked Mr. Persons, with a keen look into his flushed face.
"Yes, sir," Joel bobbed his black head. "How much is it?" he demanded again, this time impatiently. Since it was all settled, he began wildly to think of Ben and Polly and the others.
"Mr. Persons," this time the floor-walker got back of the big office chair, and whispered the information as to who the boy was, without Joel's hearing a word.
Mr. Persons nodded. "Well," he said to Joel, his face not moving a muscle, "you may give me a dollar, my lad, and we'll consider that everything is all squared up in regard to the injury to that doll."
So Joel counted out a dollar from his hoarded silver pieces and put them into Mr. Persons's hand, the floor-walker staring in amazement at his employer. Then he fastened up his pocket again, sticking Mamsie's big shawl-pin in tighter than ever.
"All right, thank you, sir," and he marched out through the rows of men at their desks in the big counting room, all curiously staring at him as he passed.
Outside he found Ben and Polly making anxious inquiries of every one; David following closely, beyond saying a word, and Phronsie, who didn't know that he was lost, only that the poor sick doll had to be left to get a new head on.
"What have you been about, Joe?" cried Ben, for even David was not quite clear how it all had happened.
"Oh, something—" said Joel, carelessly craning his neck to look about on all sides. "Oh, whickets! There she is." And he was gone again, this time in chase of a small cash-girl.
When everything was finally all explained, and the cash-girl had stepped off with a radiant face, Ben drew his charges off into a quiet corner, and said quite decidedly, "See here, now, we'll buy Grandpapa's present first, and make sure of it."
"Yes, do," said Polly, "for we never will get through in all this world. Well, what shall we choose, Ben?"
"What do you choose?" asked Ben, looking only at her.
"Oh, I know, I know," said Joel, eagerly.
"Hush, Joe, let Polly say."
"I don't know," said Polly.
"Polly doesn't know," broke in Joel, "let me tell; I know something splendid, Ben."
"You