-respect, can he?"

"Yah! what do you know about self-respect or honor?" laughed Merritt.
"You haven't got either and----"

He was obliged to retreat and leave the sentence unfinished to avoid the
swinging blow that Herring aimed at him, the third boy narrowly missing
catching it in his stead.

"Here! Look out what you are about!" he roared. "Look where you're
hitting, can't you?"

"Pete Herring means to do Jack an injury, Art," said Harry who had seen
the three talking together, "and we shall have to watch him."

"I guess Jack can watch himself," chuckled Arthur. "He is not afraid of
Pete Herring and he is not a boy to be caught napping."

"But some one threw him down the ravine."

"Yes, but it won't happen again and so we won't have to keep a watch
upon this fellow. I'd like to know if it were really Pete who did it.
Dick met him and Merritt right after the thing happened and puts it down
to one of them."

"I think it was Pete myself," said Harry, "and that's why I think he
needs looking after."

The new number of the Academy magazine was expected to come out in a day
or so and promised to be a very interesting one, Percival and the
assisting members of the editorial staff having gone over the proofs and
found them satisfactory.

There was still some little matter to go in and Jack promised to furnish
this, taking or sending it to Mr. Brooke who did the printing.

On Friday afternoon, having written the last of his copy, Jack took
Percival's runabout which he now had permission to do at any time, and
set off for Riverton and the office of the _News_.

He saw Dick as he was leaving and said:

"I am going down with the last of the matter for the magazine. Will you
come along?"

"No, I guess not. I am getting up for examination next week. I am a bit
behind in my work. You won't hurt the machine."

"Very good. Brooke will want to print the paper and have it sent up
to-morrow and so I am giving him the last of the stuff for it. It will
not take long to set it up and then he can print it to-morrow."

"All right, I can trust you with it. Guess I don't have to revise what
you write."

The run to Riverton was made in a short time and Jack left the car
outside and went into the office, being somewhat surprised to hear the
sound of presses going as he entered.

They were not usually started till the next day but Jack surmised that
the editor might be running off some special job to save time and went
stra