u and
Young Beauty go and bring her!"

Prudy, who was sitting at a little distance, under a swing-table, eating
ginger snaps, was suddenly seized upon by the two little Indian
constables.

"Why, what an idea!" said Prudy, with her mouth full; "I didn't know
that was the way to play it."

"Yes," said Susy, "truants must come to school. If they don't come they
must be arrested."

"Why, I've _been a-resting_ all the time," said Prudy, laughing.

"Well, that doesn't make any difference, Miss Honey Drop," said Johnny,
taking her by the shoulders, while Dotty dragged her feet. There was
great laughing and scrambling, during which Prudy swallowed a crumb the
wrong way, and was finally carried into school on a litter.

"Now, I should judge," said the heartless teacher, looking sternly at
the crimson-faced victim, "I should judge that this wicked creature
ought to have a terrific whipping!"

"That's so!" shouted Johnny; "we found Honey Drop top of a house, firing
mud into a man's eyes."

"Yes, so we did," said Dotty, fully restored to good humor, "black mud;
Honey's a bad Nindian. If you can't whip her hard enough, Joggie will
help."

"There, now!" said the teacher, after dealing several "love-pats" with
great pretended force; "now I should think 'twas time for school to be
out. As you go by me, each of you, I must strike you just as many times
as you were minutes late. Now go home, and eat rice for your dinners."

"Well, I don't think it's much of a play, any way," said Johnny.

"Who said it was?" retorted Florence. "Susy and I didn't want to come
down; we did it just to please you."

"Please _me_!" sniffed Johnny. "_I_ wanted to play poison, out in the
yard!"

"I do wish," thought Susy, privately, "that cousin Flossy would be more
polite to little Johnny. I really think he wouldn't be so rude if she
would treat him as a lady should."

"There's another play we used to have," said Prudy, "where you sit round
on the floor, right among the dishes, and eat your supper."

"Well, I declare for it," said Angeline, "those people off there do need
missionaries more than ever I thought they did."

"Yes," replied Susy, "they tell such horrid stories to their little
children. The children don't dare go out after dark, for they suppose
there are demons up in the high trees, just ready to dart down and
whisk them off."

"Angeline tells just such stories her _own_ self," said Dotty.

"Then she's a heathen," said Floren