Margaret Sidney

Five Little Peppers at School Margaret Sidney

Publisher Marketing: "Come on, Pepper." One of the boys rushed down the dormitory hall, giving a bang on Joel's door as he passed. "All right," said Joel a bit crossly, "I'm coming." "Last bell," came back on the wind. Joel threw his tennis racket on the bed, and scowled. Just then a flaxen head peeped in, and two big eyes stared at him. "Ugh!"-Joel took one look-"off with you, Jenkins." Jenkins withdrew at once. Joel jumped up and slammed the door hard, whirled around in vexation, sprang over and thrust the tennis racket under the bed, seized a dog-eared book, and plunged off, taking the precaution, despite his hurry, to shut the door fast behind him. Jenkins stole out of his room three doors beyond, and as the hall was almost deserted about this hour, so many boys being in recitation, he had nothing to do but tiptoe down to Joel's room and go softly in. "Hullo!" A voice behind made him skip. "Oh, Berry,"-it was a tone of relief, -"it's you." "Um," said Berry, "what's up now, Jenk?" He tossed back his head, while a smile of delight ran all over his face. "Hush-come here." Jenk had him now within Joel's room and the door shut. "We'll have fun with the beggar now." "Who-Dave?" "Dave? No. Who wants to haul him over?" cried Jenk in scorn. "You are a flat, Berry, if you think that." "Well, you are a flat, if you think to tackle Joe," declared Berry with the air and tone of one who knows. "Better let him alone, after what you got last term." "Well, I ain't going to let him alone," declared Jenk angrily, and flushing all up to his shock of light hair; "and I gave him quite as good as he gave me, I'd have you know, Tom Beresford." "Hoh, hoh!" Tom gave a howl of derision, and slapped his knee in pure delight. "Tell that to the marines, sonny," he said. Contributor Bio:  Sidney, Margaret Margaret Sidney was the pen name for Harriet M. Stone who was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Although her life spanned more than half of the 19th century, we know little about her until the 1880's when her novel Five Little Pepper and How They Grew appeared in the magazine Wide Awake. To this day Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, remains on of the seminal books of American children's fiction.