most young ladies would have stayed in
the house. The Morris children never minded the weather. Even in the
pouring rain, the boys would put on rubber boots and coats and go out to
play. Miss Laura walked along, the high wind blowing her cloak and dress
about, and when we got past the houses, she had a little run with us.

We jumped, and frisked, and barked, till we were tired; and then we
walked quietly along.

A little distance ahead of us were some boys throwing sticks in the
water for two Newfoundland dogs. Suddenly a quarrel sprang up between
the dogs. They were both powerful creatures, and fairly matched as
regarded size. It was terrible to hear their fierce growling, and to see
the way in which they tore at each other's throats. I looked at Miss
Laura. If she had said a word, I would have run in and helped the dog
that was getting the worst of it. But she told me to keep back, and ran
on herself.

The boys were throwing water on the dogs, and pulling their tails, and
hurling stones at them, but they could not separate them. Their heads
seemed locked together, and they went back and forth over the stones,
the boys crowding around them, shouting, and beating, and kicking at
them.

"Stand back, boys," said Miss Laura; "I'll stop them." She pulled a
little parcel from her purse, bent over the dogs, scattered a powder on
their noses, and the next instant the dogs were yards apart, nearly
sneezing their heads off.

"I say, Missis, what did you do? What's that stuff? Whew, it's pepper!"
the boys exclaimed.

Miss Laura sat down on a flat rock, and looked at them with a very pale
face. "Oh, boys," she said, "why did you make those dogs fight? It is so
cruel. They were playing happily till you set them on each other. Just
see how they have torn their handsome coats, and how the blood is
dripping from them."

"'Taint my fault," said one of the lads, sullenly. "Jim Jones there said
his dog could lick my dog, and I said he couldn't--and he couldn't,
neither.

"Yes, he could," cried the other boy; "and if you say he couldn't, I'll
smash your head."

The two boys began sidling up to each other with clenched fists, and a
third boy, who had a mischievous face, seized the paper that had had the
pepper in it, and running up to them shook it in their faces.

There was enough left to put all thoughts of fighting out of their
heads. They began to cough, and choke, and splutter, and finally found
themselves beside the do