I won't!" she snapped, angered by his persistence. "Guess I
won't!" she repeated angrily. "'Cause I'm not anybody's girl. So there!"
With nose held regally in the air and knees strangely jointless, she
walked away from the pair.

"Ya-a-a-h," jeered Sid incautiously.

John drove out, full strength, with his right fist upon his adversary's
nose. Sid stepped back in dismay. It wasn't fair, punching without the
preliminary tilt of words and wary skirmishing. Again John set upon him
and he turned, dodged behind a tree, and fled for home. Down the street
they tore at top speed. Inch by inch, the space between the two
diminished as they passed the Alfords, the Harrisons, and finally
arrived at the DuPree iron gate.

"Ma-a-a-a!" yelled Sid, as he struggled with the handle. "Come quick,
come quick."

The gate suddenly yielded. Sid sprang inside, up the front steps, and
into the hallway. There he turned, locked the screen door, and stuck out
his tongue at his adversary.

"Ya-a-a-a!" he taunted.

John contemplated an attack upon the flimsy screening, but a remnant of
wisdom withheld him.

Fletcher,
The Fletcher,
The old fly-catcher!

came the cry from the porch.

"Think you're smart," John glared. "Just dare you to come down here!
Just dare you to!"

"The old fly-catcher" continued. John opened his lips for a reply in
kind.

Sid DuPree
Went out on a spree
And never got back
'Til half-past three.

The hero of the verse was struck suddenly dumb by this display of
poetical ability. Again John repeated his latest composition. He was
beginning to enjoy himself immensely. At the third repetition of the
adventures of Sid, a window creaked noisily up.

"John Fletcher," came the harsh voice from the upper window. "You're a
nasty little boy, and if you don't leave Sidney alone, I'll telephone
your mother."

"Ya-a-a-ah," jeered Sid in an undertone. John looked and longed.

"Go on," urged Mrs. DuPree. "The telephone's right here in the hallway."

He decided that discretion was the better part of valor and crossed over
to his own porch. Once up in his room, he threw himself on the bed, and
as the excitement of the chase wore off began to realize the extent of
the morning's losses.

The athletic field upon which they had labored so long and carefully,
was torn to pieces--gone forever. Worse than that, Louise wasn't his
girl any more. She'd said so herself. No more samples of cookery, no
mo