"No," said the Hedge boy. The carnage was again renewed. All the spectators were silent but Johnnie Hedge's little brother, who shrilly exhorted him to continue the struggle. But it was not plain that the Hedge boy needed any encouragement, for he was crying bitterly, and it has been explained that when a boy cried it was a bad time to hope for peace. He had managed to wriggle over upon his hands and knees. But Willie Dalzel was tenaciously gripping him from the back, and it seemed that his strength would spend itself in futility. The bear cub seemed to have the advantage of the working model of the windmill. They heaved, uttered strange words, wept, and the sun looked down upon them with steady, unwinking eye. Peter Washington came out of the stable and observed this tragedy of the back garden. He stood transfixed for a moment, and then ran towards it, shouting: "Hi! What's all dish yere? Hi! Stopper dat, stopper dat, you two! For lan' sake, what's all dish yere?" He grabbed the struggling boys and pulled them apart. He was stormy and fine in his indignation. "For lan' sake! You two kids act like you gwine mad dogs. Stopper dat!" The whitened, tearful, soiled combatants, their clothing all awry, glared fiercely at each other as Peter stood between them, lecturing. They made several futile attempts to circumvent him and again come to battle. As he fended them off with his open hands he delivered his reproaches at Jimmie. "I's s'prised at _you_! I suhtainly is!" "Why?" said Jimmie. "I 'ain't done nothin'. What have I done?" "Y-y-you done 'courage dese yere kids ter scrap," said Peter, virtuously. "Me?" cried Jimmie. "I 'ain't had nothin' to do with it." "I raikon you 'ain't," retorted Peter, with heavy sarcasm. "I raikon you been er-prayin', 'ain't you?" Turning to Willie Dalzel, he said, "You jest take an' run erlong outer dish yere or I'll jest nachually take an' damnearkill you." Willie Dalzel went. To the new boy Peter said: "You look like you had some saince, but I raikon you don't know no more'n er rabbit. You jest take an' trot erlong off home, an' don' lemme caitch you round yere er-fightin' or I'll break yer back." The Hedge boy moved away with dignity, followed by his little brother. The latter, when he had placed a sufficient distance between himself and Peter, played his fingers at his nose and called out: [Illustration: "'NIG-GER-R-R! NIG-GER-R-R!'"] "Nig-ger-r-r! Nig-ger-r-r!" Peter Washington's resentment poured out upon Jimmie. "'Pears like you never would understan' you ain't reg'lar common trash. You take an' 'sociate with an'body what done come erlong." "Aw, go on," retorted Jimmie, profanely. "Go soak your head, Pete." The remaining boys retired to the street, whereupon they perceived Willie Dalzel in the distance. He ran to them. "I licked him!" he shouted, exultantly. "I licked him! Didn't I, now?"