she's a stranger. She
doesn't belong to our village. I don't like strangers.'

'She's no more a stranger than you were when you first came here,' his
mother said; 'and the fact of her being a stranger ought to make you
kind to her.'

'I'm thinking of calling on her mother,' old Mrs. Platt said, looking at
her little grandson with her keen grey eyes; 'shall I take you with me to
see the little girl?'

'I've seen her enough, granny. Please, I think I'd rather not.'

The subject was dropped, but Teddy's thoughts were busy. He ran down to
the village green after tea, and there met one or two of his special
chums, to whom he confided the events of the afternoon. They highly
applauded the scene at the bridge, but Teddy shook his curly head a
little doubtfully.

'Men ought always to give way to women, I've heard mother say; but I
couldn't turn back, you see--it would have disgraced my button.'

'Tell you what,' cried Harry Brown, commonly known as 'Carrots' from his
fiery hair, 'you could 'a done what the goats did in the primer at
school--you ought ter have laid flat down and let her walk across you.'

'She would have hurt dreadful,' Teddy observed thoughtfully. 'Besides,
she's so proud, I don't think I would have liked to do that.'

'No,' put in Sam Waters; 'you did fine. I say, let's come up to the
turnpike and see if she's about there. I'll give her a word, if she
begins to sauce me.'

Teddy agreed to this, and the trio trotted off along a flat, dusty road,
Teddy beguiling the way by some of his wonderful stories till they came
in sight of the low thatched cottage, covered with roses, that guarded
the turnpike.

They soon saw the young damsel, for she was swinging on the gate, her
dark hair flying in the wind, and her eyes and cheeks bright with the
exercise. She looked at the boys, then laughed.

'Poor little button-boy!' she said; 'you have to be taken care of by two
bigger ones.'

'We've come to see you,' said Sam valiantly, 'because we ain't going to
stand any cheek from you; so you had better look out.'

Nancy stopped swinging, and resting her fat little elbows on the topmost
bar, asked saucily, 'Did the button-boy tell you to come and help him
fight me? Are you all three going to try?'

'We don't fight girls,' said Teddy.

'You push them into the water.'

'I didn't.'

'I told mother about it. She thought you was a very rude boy not to wait
till I crossed over.'

There was silence, then Carrot