ill yer, or I'll
scruntch yer!" he roared to his dog. "Leave that 'ere rarebut alone.
Want him to go sneaking an' telling the perlice, and purtendin' it was
me."

The dog gave up chasing an unfortunate rabbit through the bushes, and
came trotting up, with hanging head and tail, to his master's side,
where he crouched down panting and flinching as Pete raised his hand and
made believe to strike.

"I'll half smash yer if yer don't mind," he snarled.

Then, turning to Tom--

"What yer got there--blackb'rys and mash-eroons?"

"Yes; there are plenty about," replied Tom.

"Know that better than you do."

"I dare say you do," said Tom good-humouredly, as he watched the
unpleasant looks directed at him, the fellow's whole aspect being such
as we read was assumed by the wolf who sought an excuse for eating the
lamb.

All the same, though, Tom's aspect partook more of the good-humoured
bulldog than that of the lamb; though Pete kept to his character well,
and more and more showed that he was working himself up for a quarrel.

"Yah!" he exclaimed suddenly, after edging himself up pretty closely,
and with his hands still in his pockets, thrusting out his lower jaw,
and leaning forward stared over his raised shoulder at Tom. "Yah! I
feel as if I could half smash yer!"

"Do you?" said Tom quietly.

"Yes, I do. Don't you get a-mocking me. Ain't yer feared?"

"No," said Tom quietly, "not a bit. Have sixpence?"

Pete stared, and leaned over out of the perpendicular, so as to get his
face closer to Tom's. "Whort say?"

"Will you have sixpence?" said Tom, thrusting his right hand into his
pocket, and withdrawing the above coin.

"Yerse; 'course I will," cried Pete, snatching the piece, spitting on
it, and thrusting it into his pocket. "Thought your sort allus telled
the truth."

"Well, so we do," said Tom, smiling.

"None o' yer lies now, 'cause it won't do with me," said the fellow
menacingly. "Yer said yer warn't afeard, and yer are. All in a funk,
that's what yer are: so now then."

"No, I'm not," said Tom, in the coolest way possible, for he had made up
his mind to try and carry out the Vicar's plan.

"I tell yer yer are. What yer got here? Yer wouldn't ha' give me
sixpence to let yer alone if yer hadn't been afeard. What yer got here,
I say?"

"You can see," said Tom, without showing the slightest resentment at the
handle of his basket being seized, even though Pete, in perfect
assurance that