William glared at him fiercely.
"You jus' mind wot you say to me," he began darkly.
Eglantine quickly interposed.
"Nah then, Elbert 'Olmes," she said sharply, tossing her tight curls and feathered hat. "None of your fice 'ere! You mind wot yer syes ter me an' my frens."
The boy grinned and dropped behind with them.
"Wot we goin' ter do, anywyes," he said in a mollifying tone of friendship. "Not much ter do in the country, is there? No pishers, no nuffin'."
"There's gimes," said William, deliberately adopting the accent of his new friends. He decided to adopt it permanently. He considered it infinitely more interesting than that used by his own circle.
"Gimes!" said the boy in the check cap with infinite scorn. "Runnin' rices an' suchlike. An' lookin' at cows an' pickin' flowers. Thanks! Not much!"
William stored up this expression for future use.
"Well, yer needn't of come, Elbert 'Olmes," said Eglantine sharply, "if yer din't of wanted to."