who pretended not to see them at all, but just kept passing his Rocket
ball from one hand to the other, trying to juggle it like the trick
men in the circus.

When they saw that ball, all the boys suddenly grew very polite to
Marmaduke.

"Lend us your ball, Marmy!" they said.

"Wouldn't you like to have it!" he replied, still juggling the ball,
but he watched them out of the corner of his eye. They had been pretty
mean to him, but he supposed he ought to be decent even if they
weren't, and besides it would be fine to play a real game with "sides"
instead of one just by himself.

"All right," he said, after making them wait long enough to want that
ball very much, "if you'll play 'sides' 'stead of' two o' cat,' and
let me be captain."

"Aw!" said Dicky, "you're not big enough."

"All right," replied Marmaduke, still juggling that fine Rocket ball,
"you'll have to play with some ole rock then."

"Aw, come 'n, have a heart!"

Marmaduke thought it over for a little while. To "have a heart" was
like "heaping coals of fire" on people's heads, in minister's
language, he supposed. And he wasn't so fond of that. But anyway he
gave in.