"My name's Dick Crozier," added Dick.
"And mine is Bill the Kicker," returned his new acquaintance.
"That is, your nickname," added Dick.
"Call it what you like; that's all the name I want," said Bill the Kicker in such a final manner that Dick said no more.
"Where do you live?" next asked he.
"Up yonder," answered Bill the Kicker, pointing backward with his thumb. "My father works for Farmer Bluff."
"And mine goes up to town every morning," rejoined Dick. "We live beyond the Manor House, up the hill."
This interchange of confidences was a pretty good basis for an acquaintance, and the two boys were soon engaged in a lively conversation.
"There's a hornets' nest up there," said Bill presently, jerking his thumb in the direction of the field. "I see one goin' in just now. I mean to sell it to the Squire's grandsons," added he, nodding to himself.
"What for?" asked Dick, who was a town-bred boy.