ou're a bloodthirsty kid," marvelled Clint.

"I am?" Amy seemed surprised. "Don't you believe it, Clint. I'm as
easy-going and soft-hearted as a suckling dove, whatever that is. Only,
when some low-life like Dreer says this is a rotten school I don't care
for it. And when he does a trick like the one he did with poor old
Penny's fiddle I want to fight. Not, though, that you could call that
little affair a fight," he added regretfully. "Why, the silly chump
wouldn't even guard!"

"Do you reckon he will tell Josh?" asked Clint uneasily.

"No, I don't. He wouldn't care to have Josh know about the violin
business. What he will do is to put arsenic in our tea some day,
I guess."

"That's all right, then," laughed Clint. "I don't drink tea."

"Or, maybe, he'll drop a bomb through the transom some dark night."

"We'll keep it closed."

"Well, if I have to teach him behaviour again I won't stop so soon,"
said Amy. "I'm not sure I don't wish he _would_ try some trick with me.
I--do you know, Clint, I don't think I quite like that fellow!"

"Honest? I'd never have suspected it," Clint laughed. "Say, how many
cuts did you take?"

"Two. And there's going to be trouble. But it was worth it!"

There was trouble, and Amy had to visit Mr. Fernald the next day and
explain, as best he could, why he had missed two recitations.
Unfortunately, Amy couldn't confide to the principal the nature of the
business which had interfered with his attendance at classes, and his
plea of indisposition was not kindly received. Still, he got off with
nothing more serious than a warning, and thought himself extremely
fortunate. Clint, who had cut only one "recit," received merely a
reprimand from "Horace" and an invitation to make up the lost work.

Amy confided to Penny that evening that he and Dreer had had a
misunderstanding regarding the respect due from a student to his school
and that Dreer had sustained a cut cheek. And Penny nodded
understandingly and said: "Much obliged, Byrd. I wish I might have
seen it."

"Yes, it would have done you a lot of good," replied Amy cheerfully.

CHAPTER XVIII

A RAID ON THE SECOND

"Boots" gave Clint a fair chance to win back his place as first string
right tackle. Every day he was used for half the scrimmage and Robbins
for the other half. Robbins worked desperately, but by Friday Clint had
proved his superiority, though perhaps by no great margin, and Robbins
became second choice again. Scrim