"Let's sprinkle him! We can say we only saw a hat," and immediately
scraping up with his foot a quantity of hay-seed, he liberally sprinkled
the seedy hat. It was like unto like.

"Now look here," said Sid, "that was mean. If your father wore an old hat,
how would you like to have a feller sprinkle hay-seed on it?"

Sid had a good deal of the gentleman about him.

"There he comes! There he comes! Put!" said Wort. A foot-step could be
plainly heard on the stairs, and Wort started for the closet, again
saying, "Put!"

"I am not going to run," said the governor, with his usual resoluteness.

"Nor I," said Sid.

"Nor I," said Charlie.

"Nor I," said Billy.

Others declared the same. They all stood their ground, or floor, rather.
The noise on the stairs was continued, and soon a seed-strewn hat appeared
in sight, and then a big head of hair, and then a man's body. The boys
clustered closely together, and when the man turned toward them, they saw
that the roughly-dressed man had a roughly featured face, but its
expression was kindly.

"He will eat uth up," whispered Pip, trying to get behind Billy Grimes.
The stranger was not a cannibal though. He took off his hat, shook it, and