quickly as possible.

Accordingly, he began to force matters, and the third time that Jim
leaped at him, failing as before to land his blow, he received a sudden
shock in the shape of a swift tap directly under the ear that hurled him
to the ground.

There was a buzz of excitement about this time.

Boys who had tamely yielded to the sway of the bully for many moons
began to take notice, and even say things that were not calculated to
soothe the lacerated feelings of Jim who was picking himself up slowly,
and trying to collect his scattered wits.

The bully, of course, had not had enough as yet. This time, however,
when he came on it was with considerable caution, for his rough
experience had begun to teach him that rush tactics were not going to
answer with the boy who knew so well how to handle his fists.

It made no difference, for Darry met him squarely, and after a rapid
interchange of blows that brought out many a whoop from those who looked
on, Jim once more received an unexpected tap that caused him to sit down
a second time.

He was in no hurry to get up now, but sat there in a half-dazed way,
rubbing the side of his head, and gritting his teeth savagely.

The crowd began to cheer, and it must have been a galling sound to that
defeated bully, whose hour had come, as it usually does with most of his
kind.

"Get up!" said one man, jeeringly.

Jim scrambled to his feet, to find his antagonist facing him in a manner
that made him quail.

"Are you done, or shall we go on with it?" asked Darry, calmly, for he
did not seem to have been even winded in the exchange of blows.

"Ah, git out. Me hand is sprained, I tell ye. I fell on it last night.
That's why I couldn't knock yer out. This thing ain't done yet, cub.
I'll git yer as sure as me name is Jim Dilks. I allers do wen I goes
arter a feller."

He turned away with his head tossed in the air as though victory had
really perched upon his banner.

[ILLUSTRATION: HE WAS IN NO HURRY TO GET UP NOW, BUT SAT THERE IN A
HALF-DAZED WAY.]

The laugh that arose must have been galling to his pride, for he stopped
in his tracks and looked around angrily in the hopes of detecting one of
the boys in the act, whom he could trash later on as a sop to his
wounded feelings; but they were shrewd enough to hide their exultant
faces just then.

Darry picked up his coat, and putting it on, strode away.

He was conscious of a feeling of satisfaction, not because he had