'Oh no,' said Jane, 'I hear Redgie's laugh.'
'Aye, but among that party,' said Emily, 'Redgie's laugh is not
always a proof of peace: they are too much in the habit of acting
the boys and the frogs.'
'We were better off,' said Lily, 'with the gentle Claude, as Miss
Middleton used to call him.'
'Miss Molly, as William used to call him with more propriety,' said
Claude, 'not half so well worth playing with as such a fellow as
Redgie.'
'Not even for young ladies?' said Emily.
'No, Phyllis and Ada are much the better for being teased,' said
Claude. 'I am convinced that I never did my duty by you in that
respect.'
'There were others to do it for you,' said Jane.
'Harry never teased,' said Emily, 'and William scorned us.'
'His teasing was all performed upon Claude,' said Lily, 'and a great
shame it was.'
'Not at all,' said Claude, 'only an injudicious attempt to put a
little life into a tortoise.'
'A bad comparison,' said Lily; 'but what is all this? Here come the
children in dismay! What is the matter, my dear child?'
This was addressed to Phyllis, who was the first to come up at full
speed, sobbing, and out of breath, 'Oh, the dragon-fly! Oh, do not
let him kill it!'
'The dragon-fly, the poor dear blue dragon-fly!' screamed Adeline,
hiding her face in Emily's lap, 'Oh, do not let him kill it! he is
holding it; he is hurting it! Oh, tell him not!'
'I caught it,' said Phyllis, 'but not to have it killed.
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