"Because when I and some of the other fellows were fishing we saw Danny and his crowd smoking in the woods. They offered us some, but we wouldn't take any. Harry said he was sick then, but Danny only laughed at him."
"That Danny Rugg is a bad boy," said Nan, severely. But she was soon to see how much meaner Danny could be.
Workmen had recently finished putting some new water pipes, and a place for the children to drink, in the school yard, and one morning, speaking to the whole school, Mr. Tetlow made a little speech, warning the children not to play with the faucets, and spray the water about, as some had done, in fun.
"Whoever is caught playing with the faucets in the yard after this will be severely punished," he said.
As it happened, Flossie and Freddie were not at school that day,
Freddie having a slight sore throat. His mother kept him home, and
Flossie would not go without him. So they did not hear the warning,
and Bert and Nan did not think to tell the smaller children of it.
Two days later Freddie was well enough to go back to class, and
Flossie accompanied him. It was at the morning recess when, as
Freddie went to get a drink at one of the new faucets, Danny saw
him. A gleam of mischief came into the eyes of the school bully.
"Want to see the water squirt, Freddie?" asked Danny. "That's a new kind of faucet. It squirts awful far."
"Does it?" asked Freddie, innocently. "How do you make it?" He had no idea it was forbidden fun.
"Just put your thumb over the hole, and turn the water on," directed
Danny. "You, too, Flossie. It won't hurt you."
Danny looked all around, thinking he was unobserved as he gave this bad advice. Naturally, Freddie and Flossie, being so young, suspected nothing. They covered the opening of the faucet with their thumbs, and turned on the water. It spurted in a fine spray, and they laughed in glee. That they wet each other did not matter.