“What do you mean, throwing those stones at us?” demanded George.

“I wasn’t throwing them,” said the girl.

“Don’t tell lies,” said George scornfully. “You know you were.”

“I wasn’t. I was just spitting them,” said the awful girl. “Watch!” She slipped a stone into her mouth, took a deep breath and then spat out the stone. It flew straight at George and hit her sharply and squarely on the nose. George looked so extremely surprised that Dick and Julian roared with laughter.

“Bet I can spit stones farther than any of you,” said the ragamuffin. “Have some of my damsons and see.”

“Right!” said Dick promptly. “If you win I’ll buy you an ice-cream. If I do, you can clear off from here and not bother us any more. See?”

“Yes,” said the girl, and her eyes gleamed and danced. “But I shall win!”

Chapter Five

Ragamuffin Jo

George was most astonished at Dick. How very shocking to see who could spit damson stones out the farthest.

“It’s all right,” said Julian to her in a low voice. “You know how good Dick is at that sort of game. He’ll win — and we’ll send the girl scooting off, well and truly beaten.”

“I think you’re horrible, Dick,” said George, in a loud voice. “Horrible!”

“Who used to spit cherry-stones out and try and beat me last year?” said Dick at once. “Don’t be so high-and-mighty, George.”

Anne came slowly back from her pool, wondering why the others were up on the rocks. Damson stones began to rain round her. She stopped in astonishment. Surely — surely it couldn’t be the others doing that? A stone hit her on her bare arm, and she squealed.

The ragamuffin girl won handsomely. She managed to get her stones at least three feet farther than Dick. She lay back, laughing, her teeth gleaming very white indeed.

“You owe me an ice-cream,” she said, in her sing-song voice. Julian wondered if she was Welsh. Dick looked at her, marvelling that she managed to get her stones so far.

“I’ll buy you the ice-cream, don’t worry,” he said. “Nobody’s ever beaten me before like that, not even Stevens, a boy at school with a most enormous mouth.”

“I do think you really are dreadful,” said Anne. “Go and buy her the ice-cream and tell her to go home.”

“I’m going to eat it here,” said the girl, and she suddenly looked exactly as mulish and obstinate as George did when she wanted something she didn’t think she would get.

“You look like George now!” said Dick, and immediately wished he hadn’t. George glared at him, furious.

“What! That nasty, rude tangly-haired girl like me!” stormed George. “Pooh! I can’t bear to go near her.”

“Shut up,” said Dick, shortly. The girl looked surprised.

“What does she mean?” she asked Dick. “Am I nasty? You’re as rude as I am, anyway.”

“There’s an ice-cream man,” said Julian, afraid that the hot-tempered George would fly at the girl and slap her. He whistled to the man, who came to the edge of the rocks and handed out six ice-creams.