d down upon the unprotected jaw-breakers, grabbed as many as he
could, and fled. While the others were still gazing stupidly at each
other he disappeared around a corner.

Rosie O'Brien was the first to recover speech enough to gasp out:

"Well, what do you know about that?"

Janet McFadden, groaning in helpless rage, worked her arms up and down,
clenched and unclenched her hands, and breathed hard.

"O-oh! Do you know--do you know--sometimes I get so mad that I'd just
like to wring the neck of every boy in the world!"

Margery alone had nothing to say. She stooped to pick up the only two
jaw-breakers that were left. These were on the pavement, for, in
snatching, Willie had knocked them out of her hands.

"I--I don't believe I want any jaw-breakers to-day." Margery spoke with
a slight quaver. "You--you two can have them."

She offered one to Rosie, but Rosie, instead of taking it, threw her
arms impulsively about Margery's neck.

"You poor thing! That'd be nice, now, wouldn't it? And you not have even
one of your own jaw-breakers! No! I just tell you what we'll do: You'll
have one whole one for yourself, and me and Janet'll divide the other.
I'll suck it for a block, and then Janet can suck it for a block."

This was the arrangement finally agreed upon.

"And wouldn't you like to come with us, Margery, while I finish up my
paper route?"

Yes, Margery would just as soon do that as anything else.

Rosie petted and comforted her as best she could, teaching her how to
wrap a paper that is to be thrown on a porch, explaining to her the
scale of profits in the newspaper business, and giving her interesting
bits of family history about the various houses where they stopped.

Had she been alone with Rosie, Margery would have been allowed to forget
somewhat her recent troubles. In fact, she almost did forget them once
or twice at moments when Janet McFadden was busy sucking the
jaw-breaker. But the instant it became Rosie's turn to suck, Janet was
back again on the old subject.

"Ha, ha! Don't you think I know 'em?" The _'em_ of Janet's acquaintance
were, of course, Willie Jones and his kind. "Oh, I tell you, I know 'em
just as well! They're all the same, every last one of them, always
getting the best of us, and then going off by themselves and having a
good time! I tell you, if I had my way, things'd be different! Oh, I
tell you, if we'd all just get together and treat 'em like they ought to
be treated, it--it-