Diddie, too, was crying bitterly; and as soon as Billy ran back to butt
at Dilsey, Chris and Riar caught hold of her hands and drew her up on
the pile.

Poor little Dilsey was now in a very sad predicament. Billy, seeing that
the other children were out of his reach, devoted his entire time and
attention to her, and her only safety was in lying flat on the ground.
If she so much as lifted her head to reconnoitre, he would plant a full
blow upon it.

The children were at their wits' end. It was long past their
dinner-time, and they were getting hungry; their clothes were all muddy,
and Diddie's dress almost torn off of her; the blood was trickling down
from the gash in her forehead, and Chris was all scratched and dirty,
and her eyes smarted from the sand in them. So it was a disconsolate
little group that sat huddled together on top of the lumber, while Old
Billy stood guard over Dilsey, but with one eye on the pile, ready to
make a dash at anybody who should be foolish enough to venture down.

"I tol' yer not to let 'im come," sobbed Dumps, "an' now I spec' we'll
hafter stay here all night, an' not have no supper nor nothin'."

"I didn't let 'im come," replied Diddie; "he come himself, an' ef you
hadn't made us run away fum Mammy, we wouldn't er happened to all this
trouble."

"I never made yer," retorted Dumps, "you come jes ez much ez anybody;
an' ef it hadn't er been fur you, Ole Billy would er stayed at home.
You're all time pettin' 'im an' feedin' 'im--hateful old thing--tell he
thinks he's got ter go ev'ywhere we go. You ought ter be 'shamed er