Hesitate to leave the girl — take away the child (6)

I believe the answer is:

dither

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'hesitate' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I can't explain the rest of the clue.

(Other definitions for dither that I've seen before include "Be undecided and somewhat agitated" , "Hesitates, be indecisive" , "Hum and haw" , "Hit red in order to vacillate" , "Confuse" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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