Toady Lion felt that now he had talked quite enough, and began to arrange his brass cannons on the dust, in a plan of attack which beleaguered Cissy Carter's foot and turned her flank to the left.
"Where did you get all those nice new cannons? You haven't told me yet," she said.
"Boughted them!" answered Toady Lion promptly, "least I boughted some, and Hugh John boughted some, an' Prissy she boughted some."
"And how do you come to have them all?" asked Cissy, watching the imposing array. As usual it was the Battle of Bannockburn and the English were getting it hot.
"Well," said Toady Lion thoughtfully, "'twas this way. 'Oo sees Prissy had half-a-crown, an' she boughted a silly book all about a 'Lamplighter' for herself--an' two brass cannons--one for Hugh John an' one for me. And Hugh John he had half-a-crown, an' he boughted three brass cannon, two for himself and one for me."
"And what did you buy with your half-crown?" said Cissy, bending her brows sweetly upon the small gunner.
"Wif my half-a-crown? Oh, I just boughted three brass cannons--_dey was all for mine-self_!"
"Toady Lion," cried Cissy indignantly, "you are a selfish little pig! I shan't stop with you any more."
"Little pigs is nice," said Toady Lion, unmoved, arranging his cannon all over again on a new plan after the removal of Cissy's foot; "their noses----"
"Don't speak to me about their noses, you selfish little boy! Blow your own nose."
"No use," said Toady Lion philosophically; "won't stay blowed. 'Tis too duicy!"
Cissy set off in disgust towards the house of Windy Standard, leaving Toady Lion calmly playing with his six cannon all alone in the white dust of the king's highway.
Cissy found our hero in a sad state of depression. Prissy had gone off to evening service, and had promised to introduce a special petition that he might beat the Smoutchy boys; but Gen'l Smith shook his head.
"With Prissy you can't never tell. Like as not she may go and pray that Nipper Donnan may get converted, or die and go to heaven, or something like that. She'd do it like winking, without a thought for how I should feel! That's the sort of girl our Priss is!"
"Oh, surely not so bad as that," said Cissy, very properly scandalised.