ll to Bud Perkins, who was the captain of her side.
Then Tom Steadman, coward that he was, struck her with his heavy
stick, struck fair and straight at her poor little thin shins, a
coward's blow. Libby Anne doubled up into a poor little whimpering,
writhing ball.

A sudden horror fell on the field, and the game stopped. Bud Perkins
looked at her poor quivering little face, white as ashes now, his own
face almost as pale, and then, pulling of his coat, ran over to'
where Tom Steadman stood.

"Drop yer stick, you coward, and stand up to me," he said in a voice
that rang with the blood-lust.

Tom Steadman was older and bigger, and he felt very sure that he
could handle Bud, so his manner was full of assurance.

The school closed in around them and watched the fight with the
stolid indifference of savages or children, which is much the same
thing. Big Tom Steadman dealt his cruel sledge-hammer blows on Bud,
on his face, head, neck, while Bud, bleeding, but far from beaten,
fought like a cornered badger. The boys did not cheer; it was too
serious a business for noisy shouting, and besides, the teacher might
be aroused any minute, and stop the fight, which would be a great
disappointment, for every boy and girl, big and little, wanted to see
Tom Steadman get what was coming to him.

Bud was slighter but quicker, and fought with more skill. Big Tom
could hit a knockout blow, but there his tactics ended. He knew only
the one way of dealing with an antagonist, and so, when one of his
eyes suddenly closed up and his nose began to bleed, he began to
realize that he had made a big mistake in hitting Libby Anne when Bud
Perkins was there. With a clever underarm hold, Bud clinched with
him, and he fell heavily.

Libby Anne, limping painfully, put her "shinny" stick into Bud's
hand.

"Sock it to him now, Bud," she said, "now you've got him."

Bud dropped the stick and tried to laugh, but his mouth would not
work right.

"Get up, Tom," Bud said. "I won't hit you when you're down. Stand up
and let me at you again."

Tom swore threateningly, but showed no disposition to get up.

"I guess he's had enough," Bud said. "He's sorry he hit you now,
Libby Anne. He sees now that it's a dirty shame to hit a little girl.
He never thought much about it before. Come away, kids, and let him
think."

When school was called, the whole story of the fight came out.

Tom Steadman was the only son of one of the trustees--_the_ trustee,