with the hair all hanging down on his face?”

“Oh, that’s Arthur Duncan.” Dicky’s whole face shone. “He’s a dandy.
He can lick any boy of his size in the neighborhood. I bet he could
lick any boy of his size in the world. I bet he could lick his
weight in wild-cats.”

Maida’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t like him,” she said. “He’s not
polite.”

“Well, I like him,” Dicky Dore maintained stoutly. “He’s the best
friend I’ve got anywhere. Arthur hasn’t any mother, and his father’s
gone all day. He takes care of himself. He comes over to my place a
lot. You’ll like him when you know him.”

The bell tinkling on his departure did not ring again till noon. But
Maida did not mind.

“Granny,” she said after Dicky left, “I think I’ve made a friend.
Not a friend somebody’s brought to me—but a friend of my very own.
Just think of that!”

At twelve, Maida watched the children pour out of the little
schoolhouse and disappear in all directions. At two, she watched
them reappear from all directions and pour into it again. But
between those hours she was so busy that she did not have time to
eat her lunch until school began again. After that, she sat
undisturbed for an hour.

In the middle of the afternoon, the bell rang with an