might.

"Now will you?" he heard, as he rushed forward toward the group, all of
whose constituents were so much excited by their struggle that they did
not hear his approach.

"No," shouted Vane, throwing himself upon them, but not so cleverly as
he had meant, for his toe caught in a protruding root, and he pitched
forward more like a skittle-ball than a boy, knocking over the two gipsy
lads, and himself rolling over amongst the beech-mast and dead leaves.

Distin's two assailants were so startled and astonished that they, too,
rolled over and over hurriedly several times before they scrambled to
their feet, and dived in among the trees.

But Vane was up, too, on the instant.

"Here, Dis!" he shouted; "help me take them."

Distin had risen, too, very pale everywhere in the face but about the
nose, which was very ruddy, for reasons connected with a blow, but, as
Vane ran on, he did not follow.

"Do you hear? Come on!" cried Vane, looking back. "Help me, and we can
take them both."

But Distin only glanced round for a way of retreat, and, seeing that
Vane was alone, the two gipsy lads dodged behind a tree, and cleverly
kept it between them as he rushed on, and then sprang out at him, taking
him in the rear, and getting a couple of blows home as he turned to
defend himself.

"History repeats itself," he muttered, through his set teeth; "but they
haven't got any sticks;" and, determined now to make a prisoner of one
of them, he attacked fiercely, bringing to bear all the strength and
skill he possessed, for there was no sign of shrinking on the part of
the two lads, who came at him savagely, as if enraged at his robbing
them of their prey.

There were no sticks now, as Vane had said; it was an attack with
nature's weapons, but the two gipsy lads had had their tempers whetted
in their encounter with Distin, and, after the first fright caused by
Vane's sudden attack, they met him furiously.

They were no mean adversaries, so long as spirit nerved them, for they
were active and hard as cats, and had had a long experience in giving
and taking blows. So that, full of courage and indignation as he was,
Vane soon began to find that he was greatly overmatched, and, in the
midst of his giving and taking, he looked about anxiously for Distin,
but for some time looked in vain.

All at once, though, as he stepped back to avoid a blow he saw Distin
peering round the trunk of one of the trees.

"Oh, there you are," he