Here's a Penny (9 page)

The next morning at recess Peter came up to Penny. "Do you want to play ball?" he asked.

"Oh, Peter!" cried Penny. "What do you think! My daddy's going to take me to a real baseball game on Saturday. The kind you hear over the radio."

Peter's big brown eyes grew wide and a light came into them. "Oh, that's wonderful!" he said in a low voice. "That's wonderful. Someday I'm going to see a baseball game. Someday I am. A real baseball game, with uniforms and umpires and home runs and everything."

Peter and Penny went to that part of the playground where the children were allowed to play ball. They used a Softball.

Peter threw it to Penny. When Penny threw it back, Peter said, "You mustn't throw it underhand, Penny. When you pitch a ball, you throw it like this." Peter threw the ball back with a swing of his arm. "See?" he said.

Penny threw it. The ball didn't go very far, but Peter said, "That's the way."

Penny felt all warm inside when Peter praised him.

Just then two ten-year-old boys from the fifth grade came along. "Come on, Peter," cried one of the boys. "Throw it here. Let's have a real game."

"I'm playing with Penny," Peter called back.

"Aw, what do you want to play with a first grade baby for?" said the boy. "He can't play ball."

"Well, I'm showing him how," said Peter, as he threw the ball back to Penny.

Penny tried again to swing his arm the way Peter did. He wanted to show those big boys that he knew how to throw a ball. But he tried so hard he fell down and the ball went up in the air and fell right beside him.

The two big boys roared with laughter. "Some ballplayer!" they screamed. "He can't even stand up. Come on, Peter. Stop wasting your time with that baby."

Penny scrambled up. His face was bright pink and his ears were scarlet.

"I'm playing with Penny," was all Peter said. "Come on, Penny, throw it again."

When the bell rang for the children to return to their rooms, Penny said, "Thanks, Peter. I'm going to be a ballplayer when I get big, too."

"Sure," replied Peter. "We'll be on the team together. But I better be the pitcher."

That evening Penny told Daddy about his game of ball with Peter.

"He's a wonderful ballplayer, Daddy," said Penny. "He's the best ballplayer in the whole school."

"Do you think Peter would like to go with us on Saturday?" asked Daddy.

"Oh, Daddy! I know he would," cried Penny. "Can I ask him?"

"Yes. You ask him tomorrow," said Daddy. "Tell him to be here at the house by one o'clock."

The next morning Penny could hardly wait to see Peter. He reached school before anyone else. He stood right by the front door so that he would be sure to see Peter.

After a while the children began to arrive. They came by ones and twos and in bunches. Before very long Penny saw Peter coming. He was alone. Penny ran to meet him. "Peter!" he cried. "My daddy is going to take you to the ball game, too."

Peter's eyes lit up like two lamps. "He is!" he said. "Your daddy's going to take me to the ball game?"

"Yepper!" said Penny. "You have to be at our house at one o'clock."

"Gee!" said Peter. "That's the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me."

When Saturday afternoon arrived, Peter was at Penny's house long before one o'clock.

While Penny took his bath, Peter sat in Penny's little bedroom chair and talked to Penny's mother. Penny could hear his mother asking Peter about his daddy, who had been a baseball player. Peter spoke in such a low voice Penny couldn't hear what he said.

He heard Mother say something about Peter's mother. The water was running and Penny couldn't hear Peter's reply. While Penny splashed in the tub he could hear the murmur of Peter's voice. Every once in a while Penny could hear Mother say, "I see, dear."

It seemed to Penny as though someone was always telling Mother about something and Mother was always saying, "I see." When Mother said "I see," Penny always felt better and he guessed everyone else did, too.

At one o'clock Daddy started off with the two boys. Mother kissed Penny good-bye and then she kissed Peter. "My, but it is nice, Daddy, to have two little boys to kiss good-bye," she said.

"Hey! What about me?" said Daddy.

"I mean three little boys," laughed Mother, as she kissed Daddy.

Peter and Penny had the most exciting afternoon of their lives. They jumped up and down most of the time. They yelled for the home team until their throats were dry. Then Daddy bought them cold drinks. They ate rolls with hot dogs and plenty of mustard. When the home team scored a home run with all of the bases full, the two boys stood on their seats and jumped up and down until they were limp.

Finally, the home team won the game and it was time to go home. Peter looked up at Penny's daddy. "I didn't know a ball game could be so wonderful. Oh, boy! Wait until I grow up! I'm going to be the best pitcher that ever was."

"And I'm going to be on the team, too, Daddy," said Penny.

"You bet!" said Peter.

On the way home Daddy said, "Now, Peter, where do you live? We'll take you right home."

"Thank you, sir," said Peter. "I live at Trinity House."

"Is that so?" said Daddy.

"What's 'Trinity House'?" asked Penny.

"That's where you live if you don't have any father or mother," answered Peter.

Penny looked at Peter with eyes as round as dollars. "Haven't you any father or mother?" he asked.

"No," replied Peter. "Not since I was a little baby."

"I didn't have any when I was a little baby," said Penny. "But Daddy and Mother looked all over for me, and when they found me then I had a daddy and mother."

"Gee, that was swell!" said Peter.

Just then they reached the gates of the home where Peter lived. "Well, here we are!" said Daddy, turning to Peter.

Peter opened the door of the car. "Thank you very much, sir, for taking me to the game," he said.

"You are very welcome," replied Daddy. "We were glad you could go with us."

Penny looked ready to burst with excitement. "Peter," he said, "Peter, you're going to have a daddy and mother, too."

Peter laughed and said, "Good-bye, Penny. I'll see you on Monday."

"Good-bye," called Penny, as Daddy started the car.

"Oh, Daddy!" cried Penny. "You'll be Peter's daddy, won't you?"

"Peter is a fine, dear boy," replied Daddy. "We will have to talk it all over with Mother."

"Oh, Mother! Mother!" cried Penny, when he reached home. "What do you think! Peter hasn't any mother or father. Isn't that wonderful, Mother? Now we can 'dopt him."

"I know, darling," said Mother. "Peter told me while you were taking your bath. I have been thinking about it all afternoon."

"And are you going to 'dopt him?" asked Penny, leaning close to his mother.

"We'll see," said Mother. "I will have to talk it over with Daddy."

That night, when Mother heard Penny say his prayer, she heard him say, "God bless Daddy. God bless Mummy. And God bless Peter, my really truly brother."

Penny was eating his cereal. It was the Monday after he and Peter had been to the baseball game. Over a large spoonful of cereal Penny said, "Are we going to 'dopt Peter today?"

"Well, dear," said Mother, "Daddy and I have been talking about Peter. We can't decide such an important thing in a hurry, you know. We feel that we want to know Peter better."

Penny's face began to look very long and sad. "I know him," he said.

"Now don't feel unhappy," said Mother. "Daddy and I have decided one thing. We are going to take Peter to the seashore with us for the summer."

"Oh, that's fine!" cried Penny. "Shall I tell him when I see him today?"

"Peter already knows about it," replied Mother. "Daddy went to see him yesterday. He will go with us as soon as school is over. In the meantime, Penny, don't say anything to Peter about our adopting him. Let's keep that a secret between you and Daddy and me."

"All right," said Penny. "But someday we'll tell him the secret, won't we?"

"We'll wait and see, dear," said Mother. "We'll know by the end of the summer."

A week later school was over and Penny and Peter, Daddy and Mother, Really, Truly, and Minnie, all left for the seashore.

The little town where Penny lived in the summer was on a small cove. The house stood on a rocky cliff right by the edge of the water. A flight of stone steps led down to the dock.

The year before, Daddy had bought a beautiful new sailboat. When Daddy wasn't sailing it, the boat was tied to the dock. There it bobbed up and down like a restless pony.

For a long time the sailboat hadn't any name. Daddy and Mother and Penny all tried to think of a name for the boat but nothing sounded just right. Daddy said that the boat belonged to the three of them and so it should be named for all of them.

Daddy tried to make a name out of the first letters of each of their names but Mother said it sounded like one of the kittens sneezing.

At last Mother said that she had a name for the sailboat.

"What is it?" said Daddy and Penny together.

"The
Threeofus
," said Mother.

"Why, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Daddy. "That's exactly right. Now everyone will know that the
Threeofus
belongs to the three of us."

That very day Daddy painted the sailboat's name on her side. All of the neighbors came to look at her and said what a nice name it was.

Penny loved the
Threeofus.
Daddy taught him how to sail it. By the end of the summer Penny could handle either the tiller or the sail.

Peter had never been in a sailboat. The first time Daddy took the two boys out for a sail, Peter said, "Gee! This is almost as wonderful as playing baseball."

Peter asked a great many questions about the boat. Daddy let Penny answer most of them. After all, Peter had taught Penny how to play baseball. Now Penny could teach Peter how to sail a boat.

Before the summer was over both Peter and Penny could sail the boat very well indeed. Daddy said that in another year the boys would be able to take the boat out all by themselves.

"I wish we could take it out alone this year," said Penny. "Just once."