Katy’s face grew solemn again, and she was turning to go, with the meekness which, to Johnny, was another of her offences. But a few of the boys who were standing near, and who had heard the conversation, saw how anxious Johnny was to get rid of her, and one of them called out mockingly, loud enough to be heard all over the playground,—
“Boys! Here’s a young lady friend of Johnny Leslie’s, with some wittles to sell! His friends in this crowd ought to patronize her!”
The mischief was done, now; the boys flocked around Katy, and being, most of them, good-natured fellows, as boys go, they said nothing unmannerly to her, but they contrived, in their politely worded remarks, which she did not in the least understand, to sting Johnny to the verge of desperation. And yet, when he thought it over afterwards, nothing had been said which was really worth minding; it was the manner, not the matter, and the mocking laughter, which had roused him.
“I think your friends are real nice, Johnny Leslie,” said Katy, as she turned, with her empty basket, and her hand full of small coins, to leave the yard, “and I won’t come back, if you don’t like me to, but I don’t see why you don’t!” and she walked dejectedly away.
But before she reached the gate, Johnny had fought his battle—and won it. He sprang after her, and held open the gate, as he would have done for his mother, saying, loud enough for every one to hear him,—
“I’m glad you’ve had such good luck, Katy! Come back every day, if you like, and you wait for me here after school, and I’ll show you a first-rate place to buy things, where the man won’t cheat you!”
She thanked him all too profusely, as she went slowly through the gate, and then he turned, feeling that his face was fiery red, to receive the volley which he fully expected, and had braced himself to bear. But it was not exactly the sort of volley for which he was prepared.
“Hurrah for Johnny Leslie!” called one of the little boys; the others caught it up with a deafening cheer, and an unusual amount of “tiger,” and Johnny saw that they were quite in earnest.
And then came back to his mind once more the words which had so often come there, since he had read the quaint and beautiful story of “The Pilgrim’s Progress from this world to a better,”—“The lions were chained.”