aughter of the innocents" if one of them
dared "tell teacher."

Few of the older boys were studying, and none of the bigger girls. The
latter were too much interested in Janice. Looking them over, there was
not one of these Poketown girls to whom Janice felt herself attracted.
Some of them giggled as they caught her eye; others whispered together
with the visitor as the evident subject of their secret observations;
and one girl, seeing that Janice was looking at her, actually stuck out
her tongue--a pink flag of scorn and defiance!

Janice believed that in English, history and mathematics she might
improve by reciting with Miss Scattergood's classes, and she told the
little teacher so.

"You'll be welcome, I'm sure," said the school-mistress, nervously. "Are
you coming Monday? That's nice," and she shook hands with her as the
visitor arose.

Janice passed down the girls' aisle again, trying to pick out at least
one of the occupants of the old-fashioned benches who would look as
though she might be chummy and nice; but there was not one.

"Dear me--dear me!" murmured Janice, when she was outside and stood a
moment to look back at the ugly, red schoolhouse. "It--'it jest
rattles'--_that's_ what it does; like everything about Uncle Jason's,
and like everything about the whole town. That school swings on one
hinge like the gates on Hillside Avenue.

"Oh, dear me! Poketown is just dreadful--it's dreadful!"

CHAPTER VI

AN AFTERNOON OF ADVENTURE

The late spring air, however, was delicious. The trees rustled
pleasantly. The bees hummed and the birds twittered, and altogether
there were a hundred things to charm Janice into extending her walk.
Down at the foot of a side street a bit of water gleamed like a huge
turquoise. There seemed to be no dwellings at the foot of this street,
and Janice, with the whole afternoon before her, felt the tingle of
exploration in her blood.

Just off High Street was another store. It was in a low-roofed building
shouldering upon the highway, with a two-story cottage attachment at the
back. Two huge trees overshadowed the place and lent a deep, cool shade
to the shaky porch; but the trees made the store appear very gloomy
within.

Of all the shops Janice had observed in Poketown it seemed that this
little store was the most neglected and woeful looking. Its two show
windows were a lacework of dust and flyspecks. In the upper corners were
ragged spider webs; and in one web