“That’s a very nice string,” said Susan.
“It’s just like Pewee’s top-string,” cried Harry Weathervane.
“Is it yours, Pewee?” said Susan, in her sweetest tones.
“No,” said the king, with his head down; “mine’s at home.”
“I found this one, last night,” said Susan.
And all the school knew that she was tormenting Pewee, although they could not guess how she had got his top-string. After a while, she made a dive into her pocket, and brought out another string.
“Oh,” cried Johnny Meline, “where did you get that?”
“I found it.”
“That’s Will Riley’s top-string,” said Johnny. “It was mine. He cheated me out of it by trading an old top that wouldn’t spin.”
“That’s the way you get your top-strings, is it, Will? Is this yours?” asked the tormenting Susan.