`` I would really like to know what especial kind of deviltry you young fry are up to this time , '' said Uncle Roger one evening , as he passed through the orchard with his gun on his shoulder , bound for the swamp . We were sitting in a circle before the Pulpit Stone , each writing diligently in an exercise book , and eating the Rev. Mr. Scott 's plums , which always reached their prime of juicy , golden-green flesh and bloomy blue skin in September . The Rev. Mr. Scott was dead and gone , but those plums certainly kept his memory green , as his forgotten sermons could never have done . `` Oh , '' said Felicity in a shocked tone , when Uncle Roger had passed by , `` Uncle Roger SWORE . '' `` Oh , no , he did n't , '' said the Story Girl quickly . '' ` Deviltry ' is n't swearing at all . It only means extra bad mischief . '' `` Well , it 's not a very nice word , anyhow , '' said Felicity . `` No , it is n't , '' agreed the Story Girl with a regretful sigh . `` It 's very expressive , but it is n't nice . That is the way with so many words . They 're expressive , but they 're not nice , and so a girl ca n't use them '' The Story Girl sighed again . She loved expressive words , and treasured them as some girls might have treasured jewels . To her , they were as lustrous pearls , threaded on the crimson cord of a vivid fancy . When she met with a new one she uttered it over and over to herself in solitude , weighing it , caressing it , infusing it with the radiance of her voice , making it her own in all its possibilities for ever . `` Well , anyhow , it is n't a suitable word in this case , '' insisted Felicity . `` We are not up to any dev -- any extra bad mischief . Writing down one 's dreams is n't mischief at all . '' Certainly it was n't . Surely not even the straitest sect of the grown-ups could call it so .
If XXXXX down your dreams , with agonizing care as to composition and spelling -- for who knew that the eyes of generations unborn might not read the record ?
agreed insisted kept means passed reached said sighed sitting writing