Diddie, too, was crying bitterly; and as soon as Billy ran
back to butt at Dilsey, Chris and Riar caught hold of her hands and
drew her up on the pile.
Poor little Dilsey was now in a very sad predicament. Billy, seeing
that the other children were out of his reach, devoted his entire time
and attention to her, and her only safety was in lying flat on the
ground. If she so much as lifted her head to reconnoitre, he would
plant a full blow upon it.
The children were at their wit's end. It was long past their
dinner-time, and they were getting hungry; their clothes were all
muddy, and Diddie's dress almost torn off of her; the blood was
trickling down from the gash in her forehead, and Chris was all
scratched and dirty, and her eyes smarted from the sand in them. So it
was a disconsolate little group that sat huddled together on top of
the lumber, while Old Billy stood guard over Dilsey, but with one eye
on the pile, ready to make a dash at anybody who should be foolish
enough to venture down.
"I tol' yer not to let 'im come," sobbed Dumps, "an' now I spec' we'll
hafter stay here all night, an' not have no supper nor nothin'."
"I didn't let 'im come," replied Diddie; "he come himself, an' ef you
hadn't made us run away fum Mammy, we wouldn't er happened to all this
trouble.
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