Ginger Pye Read Online Free PDF Page B

meaningless garble,
her imitation of the minister, to a quiet exhortation to Jerry and Uncle Bennie to go to Sunday school, to go often, and to be good boys, and not to spend their Sunday school pennies on peanuts, but to put them in the plate.
    She paused. She moved her eyes as far to their corners as she could, in order to see, without turning her head, whether or not the minister was there. She thought he was.
    Jerry and Uncle Bennie laughed and laughed. They were in stitches. They didn't know that Rachel thought she saw the minister, and they laughed harder at the funny face she was making, her eye-rolling, than they had at her speech.
    "Laugh not in church," counseled Rachel.

    "It's a wonder something doesn't smite her down," marveled Jerry.
    "Sm-i-te her down," echoed Uncle Bennie.
    "Attend the Friday evening lectures on Jerusalem," suggested Rachel. "They are free. And there are colored slides," she added. "Above all, come with clean hands," she said as an afterthought.
    Then, with great dignity, she backed down out of the pulpit and, wiping her brow on her duster, sat down with Jerry and Uncle Bennie.
    "Hey," she whispered. "Turn around, Jerry, and see if the minister is standing in the side door."
    "Jiminy crickets," muttered Jerry. He turned around but there was no one in the doorway, or in any of the doorways.
    "He was there," said Rachel. "I think he was. Will I be cast out of the church?"
    "Might be," said Jerry. He suddenly realized how tired he was. And here his sister was, getting herself cast out of churches on the day he was earning his dollar to buy the puppy that was over in Speedys' barn. Perhaps getting himself cast out too, and even Uncle Bennie, as partners. It would only be fair, since Rachel had helped with the dusting of the pews, to ask to be cast out of the church along with her, if she were singled out. But he was annoyed
with her. Then Rachel looked so unhappy he said, "Shucks. He probably wasn't there at all. You're always thinking things."
    Their work was finished and they tiptoed across the church and down the long twilit chancel to the Parish House where they left the dusters in the little closet in which they had found them. Then they went out of the Parish House door into the late-afternoon waning sunlight.
    There, in the garden in front of the Parish House, was the Reverend Gandy plucking off dead chrysanthemums and withered leaves. He had his long black clericals on under his regular suit jacket. He smiled benignly at the children.
    "We've been dusting the pews, sir," explained Jerry.
    "Ah-h-h," said the minister. "You are the youngest pew dusters I have ever seen."
    The three children smiled. Had he been standing in the doorway or hadn't he?
    "Come to the lantern slides in the fall," suggested the Reverend Gandy. "They are in color."
    "And free," said Uncle Bennie.
    "We will, we will," cried Jerry and Rachel hastily, and they ran as fast as they could, yanking Uncle Bennie's red wagon behind them.
    "We won't miss one," Rachel shouted over her shoulder to the Reverend Gandy, who nodded approvingly and then stooped to pluck a flower; and the three children dashed across the Green as the clock in the other church, the little white church, struck five.

3. The Mysterious Footsteps
    Mrs. Speedy's was the last house on Elm Street on the way out to the reservoir. She owned several cows and had quite a dairy. It was far from the Green but the children could easily get there before six o'clock. Nevertheless, they ran practically all the way in order to have a little leeway. Supposing that other person, who wanted the same puppy as Jerry, should already be hanging around waving his dollar, hoping Jerry wouldn't show up? Then Mrs. Speedy might think a bird in the hand's worth two in the bush and let him have it a few minutes ahead of time.
    Why had that other person picked out the same puppy as Jerry anyway, they wondered. All the puppies were very nice and when Mrs. Speedy told the person this