e. She was
returning from the village, and hastened to stop what she believed was
a village fight. Her astonishment was great when she saw her small
nephew. The village lads at once took to their heels. Bobby, in an
agony of fright and woe, stooped to pick up the two pieces of his stick
which had been flung upon the ground, and the wretched little dog crept
out of his hiding-place.

'Bobby, what is the meaning of this? You fighting with boys on the
high-road! Where is your nurse?'

Bobby was beside himself with passion and grief. He held out his
broken stick.

They've killed mine Nobbles! I hate them! I wish I could kill them
dead! They was teasing the poor little dog, and me and Nobbles ran out
to make them stop, and he took Nobbles away, and he beat me with
Nobbles, and broked him dead! And I hate him!'

Bobby literally was beside himself with grief. He flung himself down
on the grass by the roadside, clasping the remains of Nobbles in his
arms, and sobbed in the most bitter and heart-broken fashion.

Miss Egerton occupied herself with releasing the dog from the saucepan.
It seemed to know who had befriended it, for it crept up to Bobby and
began to lick his curly head with a little whine of sympathy. Then
Miss Egerton spoke very sharply:

'Get up at once, Bobby, and don't be such a baby! Come indoors with me
to Nurse. No, little dog, you are not to follow us; go home, and keep
out of the way of boys in future.'

Bobby was too overwhelmed with the fate of Nobbles to think of the dog
he had rescued, so he followed his aunt through the orchard and garden,
and flung himself into the arms of his nurse, who, hearing his sobs,
came to meet him.

'He's dead! He's broken in two! Oh, mine Nobbles! mine Nobbles!'

'Here, Nurse, take him up to the nursery. He has been trying to act as
champion to an ill-used dog, and come off rather the worse in the
encounter. You must not let him stray into the road by himself. I
don't know what his grandmother would say if she had seen him just now.'

Nurse picked up Bobby as if he were a baby and carried him upstairs.

'Hush! now, Master Bobby. Tell me what you've been doing. Let me see
Nobbles; I expect he can be mended.'

Hope leaped into Bobby's heart; he put the two pieces of stick upon the
table. Nurse, seeing his grief, pointed triumphantly to Nobble's
little smiling face, which was quite uninjured.

'Nobbles is all right,' she said. 'We can have