ey felt splendid when he got them on again. One of his
feet went through the side of the trouser leg that was torn before it got
to the end, and made the fellows laugh.

When the boys first started Jim said he had got to go ahead so as to be
sure that they found the right patch. He now said that Bunty Williams had
two patches, one that he was going to sell the melons out of, and the
other that he was going to let them go to seed in; and it was the second
melon patch that he had deserted.

But pretty soon after they got over the river he came back and walked with
the rest of the boys, and when they came to a piece of woods which they
had to go through, he dropped behind. He said it was just the place for
Indian, and he wanted to be where he could get at them if they started up
when the boys got by, as they would very likely do.

Some of the big fellows called him a cowardy-calf; but he said he would
show them when the time came, and most of the little boys believed him and
tried to get in front. It was not long before he stopped and asked, What
if he could not find the right patch? But the big boys said that they
reckoned he could if he looked hard enough, and they made him keep on.

One of the dogs treed a squirrel, and Jim offered to climb the tree and
shake the squirrel off; but Hen Billard said his watermelon tooth was
beginning to trouble him, and he had no time for squirrels. That made all
the big boys laugh, and they pulled Jim Leonard along, although he held
back with all his might and told them to quit it. He began to cry.

Pony Baker did not know what to make of him. He felt sorry for him, but it
seemed to him that Jim was acting as if he wanted to get out of showing
the fellows where the patch was. Pony lent him his handkerchief, and Jim
said that he had the toothache, anyway. He showed Pony the tooth, and the
fellows saw him and made fun, and they offered to carry him, if his tooth
ached so that he could not walk, and then suddenly Jim rushed ahead of the
whole crowd.

They thought he was trying to run away from them, and two or three of the
big fellows took after him, and when they caught up with him, the rest of
the boys could see him pointing, and then the big boys that were with him
gave a whoop and waved their hats, and all the rest of the boys tore along
and tried which could run the fastest and get to the place the soonest.

They knew it must be something great; and sure enough it was a watermelon