It was a lesson to us never to sow seed without being quite sure what sort it is.

This is particularly true of the penny packets, which sometimes do not come up at all, quite unlike dragon's teeth.
Of course H.O.and Noel were more unhappy than the rest of us.

This was only fair.
'How can we possibly prevent their getting to Maidstone ?' Dickie said.
'Did you notice the red cuffs on their uniforms?
Taken from the bodies of dead English soldiers, I shouldn't wonder.' 'If they're the old Greek kind of dragon's-teeth soldiers, they ought to fight each other to death,' Noel said; 'at least, if we had a helmet to throw among them.' But none of us had, and it was decided that it would be of no use for H.O.to go back and throw his straw hat at them, though he wanted to.
Denny said suddenly-- 'Couldn't we alter the sign-posts, so that they wouldn't know the way to Maidstone ?' Oswald saw that this was the time for true generalship to be shown.
He said-- 'Fetch all the tools out of your chest--Dicky go too, there's a good chap, and don't let him cut his legs with the saw.' He did once, tumbling over it.

'Meet us at the cross-roads, you know, where we had the Benevolent Bar.

Courage and dispatch, and look sharp about it.' When they had gone we hastened to the crossroads, and there a great idea occurred to Oswald.