Page:Arthur Stringer-The Loom of Destiny.djvu/155

Thicker than Water only about six feet apart, and Mary Edith told all about coming over on the "Teutonic," and Georgie boasted how he and his father, the Great Man, had had dinner on the "Terrible" and he hadn't been a bit afraid of the guns. Then they sat down on the grass together and glorified England, and sang the charms of Oxford, and dilated on the beauties of London and Weymouth, and belittled America, and railed at New York until they found they'd forgotten nearly all the really nice things they wanted to say, and simply sat and looked at each other.

Then all of a sudden a piece of mud hit Mary Edith on the ear.

"That's Freckles," said Mary Edith, quietly. And the next moment a very freckled face appeared slowly above the top of the board fence. It was followed by a very lanky boy, who, after throwing another piece of mud at Mary Edith, turned a handspring over the top of the paling and nearly fell over Georgie in landing.

"This is Freckles, Georgie," said Mary Edith, casually. "He lives in our house with 143