The Moffats (5 page)

"Whatever for?" he asked.

"'Cause I..." And swiftly Jane told him about Mr. Pennypepper, jail, Mrs. Shoemaker sitting on the box. Suddenly Chief Mulligan broke into laughter. It started with a chuckle but turned into a loud, hearty laugh. Then into great guffaws. His stomach shook. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He had to put Jane down. He had to sit down on the curb and laugh some more.

Jane watched him in fascination.

Why, he's nice
, she thought.

His face grew redder and redder and the tears coursed down his round cheeks. Jane felt in her pocket for her handkerchief. She offered it to him gravely.

"There are tears in your whiskers," she said.

"Oh-oh-oh," gasped the Chief of Police. He mopped his face and blew his nose very loudly. Suddenly he stopped laughing.

"Little girl," he said, "don't you be afraid of a policeman anymore or of anything. Remember this. A policeman is for your protection. He's nothing to be scared of."

Gathering himself together, Chief Mulligan stood up. He smoothed down his uniform, took Jane by the hand. In silence and great dignity they marched up the block. At the yellow house he shook hands with her.

"If I can ever be of any service, call on Chief Mulligan of the police force," he said.

Then he clicked his heels together and saluted.

All the Moffats were looking out the window and saw him. Jane sauntered nonchalantly into the house.

From that day on, Jane and the Chief of Police were fast friends. She always left a May basket at his door and sent him a Valentine she'd made.

However, she still walked on tiptoe when she passed his house, in order not to disturb him should he be napping. And she was still very careful not to step on his grass. Yes, and she was just as strict as ever about Rufus and Joe ringing their bicycle bells at that end of New Dollar Street.

This morning what a hustle-bustle in the yellow house! And no wonder! It was the first day of school. Not only was it the first day of school for Sylvie, Jane, and Joey, it was also the very first day of school for Rufus. Rufus had never been to school before except for one day last year when Jane brought him to her class for Visiting Day. That day had been more like a party than school, with cookies and oranges, singing games and a spelling bee, instead of lessons. Aside from that day, Rufus had never been to school before. Why should he have been? He was only five and a half. In spite of this, though, he could already print his name RUFUS MOFFAT and count very rapidly up to twenty.

Rufus was so happy he was going to start school, his face was shining. Jane was going to take him this first day. She was going to show him where Room One was and introduce him to the first-grade teacher, Miss Andrews. Rufus was radiant as Mama gave him a final going-over, jerking his red tie in place, pulling his stockings up tight, and tying his shoelaces in a double bow.

"There," she said. "Be a good boy. Do as the teacher says and wait for Jane when school is over."

Then she kissed them both good-bye and watched them from the window in the Grape Room all the way down the street. She waved her blue-checked apron after Jane and Rufus, the smallest and last of her children to be starting off to school.

"My, my, it'll be lonesome here without any baby around the house," she said as she started to wind the bobbin on the sewing machine.

Rufus and Jane walked hand in hand. They each had a shiny red apple to eat during recess. When they reached Mr. Brooney's delicatessen store at the end of New Dollar Street, a lively sight greeted them. There was Hughie Pudge, kicking his feet against the big bread box in front of the store, screaming and yelling, "Won't go, won't go!"

His older brother, Chester, was doing his best to quiet him and to pull him away.

"Come on," said Chet. "School's not bad. You know what Mother said. You don't want to grow up to be a dunce, do you? Oh, well, if you do, all right." And with this, Chet shrugged his shoulders and pretended he was going to go off and leave Hughie, hoping his little brother would follow him. But no. Hughie merely howled the louder. So Chet came back and stood beside him helplessly.

"What's the matter?" asked Jane, while Rufus tugged at her arm, impatient to be on his way.

"Aw—Hughie doesn't want to go to school. It's his first day. He did the same thing last year, howled like this, and it ended by his staying home the whole year. Now he's got to go, Mother says, or else he'll grow up a dunce."

Rufus examined Hughie in amazement. Not want to go to school! Imagine! Why, he had looked forward to this day for years, it seemed to him.

Jane tried to take Hughie's hand. "Look," she urged, "Rufus is going to school. You could go with him. You'll be in the same room. Maybe you can sit together. The teacher's nice. Sometimes she has cookies," said Jane.

"Sure," said Rufus, holding out his chubby hand. "Everybody has to go to school. Even God had to go to school."

For a moment Hughie surveyed Rufus with a trace of interest. Hopefully the three others grabbed him by the arm, thinking victory was certain. But Hughie shook them free and started running back toward home. Way down the street they could see Mrs. Pudge shooing with her apron and making gestures with her arms that meant, "Go on, go on!" Jane, Chester, and Rufus soon caught up with Hughie. Jane grabbed one arm firmly and Chet the other, and they started to drag him ignominiously in the right direction.

"School is nice," pleaded Jane.

"No, no," screamed Hughie.

"Well," said Jane, dropping his arm in disgust, "if he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to. We might as well leave him, Rufe, or else we'll be late for school."

"What's this, what's this?" a voice boomed behind them. They turned around. Mr. Pennypepper, the new Superintendent of Schools!

"What seems to be the trouble?" asked Mr. Pennypepper, rocking from heel to toe and clinking the keys in his pocket.

"Hughie doesn't want to go to school, sir," answered Chester, red as a beet.

Mr. Pennypepper put on his glasses and examined Hughie critically. Hughie stopped his blubbering and hung his head.

"Nonsense," said Mr. Pennypepper with an air of finality. "We're all going to school."

He took Hughie by one arm and Rufus by the other. Jane took Rufus's other arm and Chester took Hughie's. In this manner, they all proceeded until they reached the boys' school yard.

Here Mr. Pennypepper left them. His last words were, "Now then, Hughie, I see you have changed your mind. That's fine. But," he said, leaning down and whispering in Rufus's ear, "in case he changes his mind again and runs away from school, I want you to bring him back. Yes, I want you to watch out for him today; your responsibility until twelve o'clock."

With that, he tipped his hat to the four children and marched up the front steps of the school.

Jane, Rufus, and Hughie stood together for a while watching boys and girls arriving in ones, twos, and threes. Rufus felt rather confused and was glad Jane was right there. But now someone appeared in one of the school windows and rang a bell vigorously.

"First bell," said Jane, speaking from experience. "Now I'll have to go into the girls' school yard until it's time to go in. But, Rufus, when we go in, I'll show you and Hughie where Room One is."

And so she left.

For a moment Rufus had a rather queer feeling. All alone. None of the other Moffats. Not Mama, Sylvie, not Joey or Jane. Yes, even Rufus felt a slight impulse to run home and play as he used to. Play what? he asked himself. Mud pies? he asked himself sarcastically. Pooh! He was too old for all that business now. He was going to school. Soon he would be going home to lunch with all those throngs he'd always envied. With something to show Mama, too, maybe. Moreover, he had to mind Hughie.

He looked at Hughie, who was still a bit stunned at the turn of events. The loud voice of authority that had brought him here was evidently holding him as in a spell, which the second pealing of the bell did not even break. And he did not think of rebelling when Rufus grasped his hand firmly and led him into that hated school.

Jane met them in the hall as she had promised. In no time at all she introduced them to Miss Andrews, the first-grade teacher, and Rufus took such a liking to her he immediately handed her his red apple.

Room One was filled with boys and girls, but Rufus didn't recognize any of them except Nelly Cadwalader, who lived across the street from the Chief of Police. Rufus was glad Hughie was there, sitting right behind him. He was glad their seats were on the aisle by the window. They could look out on the railroad tracks. He could count the trains in the freighters better from here than he could from the hitching post in front of the yellow house. But of course he wouldn't have much time for watching trains, he chuckled, if he ever wanted to catch up with Joey in school.

First the teacher asked all the boys and girls what their names were. Then she passed books around to all of them. Readers, they were. Rufus opened his. He liked the smell of the shiny printed pages. He liked the pictures, but goodness! Would he ever be able to read those words? Now the teacher was writing on the blackboard. Occasionally the white chalk would squeak. She was making the letters of the alphabet. That Rufus knew.

Oh, he was enjoying himself hugely. All the new smells! First his new book, then the chalk dust whenever the teacher made lines on the board. And best of all this desk! All his own! Rufus liked it here. He turned around to see if Hughie wasn't liking it, too.

The whisper he was going to say, "Gee, it's great, isn't it?" froze on his lips. Hughie wasn't there. The seat back of Rufus where Hughie should have been was empty.

Rufus looked at the teacher. N O P Q, she wrote in firm strokes. And at that moment, Hughie Pudge, who had been standing behind the big chart that had a picture of Little Bo-Peep on it, walked out the door. Miss Andrews didn't see him, for her back was to the door. Many of the children saw him, but they thought nothing of it. Lots of them had the idea you could get up and go outdoors or even go home if you felt like it. Imagine! Of course they soon learned differently, but anyway, today—the first day of school—they saw nothing strange in a boy simply walking out of the classroom.