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 over onto my sleeves again. The tree was Bess's and mine, and here that other girl had gone and spoiled it already. Bess lived next door, and we had been chums for five years, ever since her folks moved there; and now to have some other blamed girl hanging around all the time and having to go everywhere, and do everything that we did, whether we wanted her to or not—you see, that was why I cared most. You can stand just about anything when you're in the house; but to have any one tagging everywhere you go—it made me so mad that I sat up all of a sudden and doubled up my fists and opened my eyes,—and there, square in front of me, stood Bess.

My mouth just simply dropped open.

Bess burst out laughing. "Well, for goodness' sake, Chet," she exclaimed, pretending to dodge, "what are you coming at me that way for? You look awfully pleased that I came home. I'm glad I came."

T wasn't much, use," said I, slamming a dried-up apple at a tree.

Bess looked at me with her head on one side. "Trying to be ugly?" she asked.

"Oh, not at you, of course. I just meant that