rree," yelled Joe, dancing wildly in Ben's corner.
"C'est bon stuff, Larree, for sure."

But once more master of his wind, Larry renewed his battering assault
upon Mop's head, inflicting some damage indeed, but receiving heavy
punishment in return. The close of the round found him exhausted and
bleeding. In spite of the adjurations and entreaties of his friends,
Larry pursued the same tactics in the third round, which ended even more
disastrously than the second. His condition was serious enough to bring
Mack Morrison to his side.

"What's up with you, Larry?" said Mack. "Where's your science gone? Why
don't you play the game as you know it?"

"Mack, Mack," panted Larry. "It ain't a game. I'm--I'm fighting, and,
Mack, I'm not afraid of him."

Mack whistled. "Who said you are afraid of him, youngster?"

"He did, Mack, he called me a coward--you remember, Ben, up in the cedar
bush that day we played hookey--you remember, Ben?" Ben nodded. "He
called me a coward and"--grinding the words between his teeth--"he
called my mother a coward. But I am not afraid of him, Mack--he can't
make me afraid; he can't make me run away." What with his rage and his
secret fear, the boy had quite lost control of himself.

"So that's it," said Mack, reading both rage and fear in his eyes.
"Listen to me, Larry," he continued in a voice low and stern. "You quit
this monkey work right now or, by the jumping Jehoshaphat, I will lick
the tar out of you myself when this is over. You're not afraid of him;
I know that--we all know that. But you don't want to kill him, eh? No.
What you want is to make him look like a fool. Well, then, fight, if you
want to fight, but remember your rules. Play with him, make him follow
you round until you get his wind; there's your chance. Then get him hard
and get away."

But the boy spoke no word in reply. He was staring gloomily,
desperately, before him into space.

Mack seized him, and shaking him impatiently, said, "Larry boy, listen
to me. Don't you care for anybody but yourself? Don't you care for me at
all?"

At that Larry appeared to wake up as from a sleep.

"What did you say, Mack?" he answered. "Of course I care, you know that,
Mack."

"Then," said Mack, "for God's sake, get a smile on your face. Smile,
confound you, smile."

The boy passed his gloved hand over his face, looked for a moment into
Mack's eyes, and the old smile came back to his lips.

"Now you're all right," cried Mack in tri