o?"

"Let's go out and confront 'em," suggested Bert. "If they have the
nerve to meet us face to face--well, I don't believe they will
have--that's all."

"Come on!" urged Jack, and he caught hold of Tom's arm and led him
forth to face their common enemies. The meeting of the chums, that had
started off so jollily, was now a session of indignation.

CHAPTER II

BRAZEN DEFIANCE

Talking over the unexpected news George Abbot had brought to them, and
planning what they would say to the two lads who had done so much to
injure them, our hero and his chums hurried out of the dormitory and
across the school campus.

"Where did you see 'em, George?" asked Jack, looking at the small youth
who had such fondness for asking questions.

"They just got in--fine big auto--they're over at 'Pop' Swab's soda
emporium, filling up on ginger ale, and poking fun at some of the new
fellows."

"Just like 'em," murmured Tom. "We'll do something more than poke fun
at 'em when we see 'em."

"That's what," added Jack.

"Maybe they aren't going to stay--they may have just come here for a
bluff, and are going away again," suggested Bert.

"How about that, George?" asked Tom, and the small lad, who was too
much engrossed with the possibility of some excitement presently to ask
his usual number of questions, replied:

"I guess they're going to stay all right. I heard Sam tell Nick to
hurry up and pick out a room in Hollywood Hall, or all the best ones
would be gone."

"By Jove!" ejaculated Jack. "They mean to stay all right!"

"If we let 'em," added Bert significantly.

"Come on," urged Tom. "If we're going to have a run-in with 'em, let's
have it in the open, before they get in the dormitory."

And while our hero and his chums are thus hastening to meet the lads
who had played such a mean trick on them that summer may I be permitted
a few pages in which to make my new readers a little better acquainted
with Tom Fairfield?

Tom, aged about sixteen, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Brokaw Fairfield.
He lived in the village of Briartown, on the Pine river, and had much
sport running his motorboat on that stream.

In the first volume of this series, entitled, "Tom Fairfield's
Schooldays," I related how Tom's father and mother had to go to
Australia to claim some property left by a relative. As it was not
convenient to take Tom along he was sent to school--Elmwood Hall--where
he boarded and studied.

Tom at once made fri