how a certain amount
of curiosity, for his good sense warned him there must be a story back of
Colon's strange accusation.

"And you didn't interrupt yourself several times to say, 'Oh! excuse me,
while I cough!' and then start in whooping it up so hard Fred here had to
take the receiver down from his ear or go deaf?"

"Oh! Come off, and tell me what all this silly stuff means!" demanded
the still more mystified boy. "Has anybody been playing a rousing good
joke on Fred, and making out to be me?"

"That's about the size of it, isn't it, Fred," Colon assented, eagerly
enough. "It was a rousing enough joke, while it lasted, but the trouble
is that it turned out to be one of those back-action, kicking jokes, that
turns on the jokers, unexpected like. This one left a black eye, and a
whole lot of black and blue marks behind it---that is, we believe so, and
have a pretty good reason, too."

"All right, now tell me what it all means, please," Bristles pleaded,
seeing that the tall chum was really in earnest.

Colon explained, and as he finished, the astonished listener demanded:

"But what d'ye reckon it all means?"

"Both of us noticed that their main plan seemed to be to kick at our
shins every chance they got," explained Fred, "and Colon says they had
heavy brogans on, too. It's a hard thing to say, Bristles, but we
honestly believe they meant to lame us, so we couldn't be in shape to run
to-morrow, and perhaps at the time of the great Marathon, too."

Bristles clenched his hands, and looked savage.

"Well, what d'ye think of that now for a savage trick?" he exclaimed. "I
wouldn't believe it of those Mechanicsburg athletes, who've always seemed
a pretty decent bunch of fellows."

"Hold on," said Fred. "Go a little slow, Bristles."

"What for?" demanded the other, impetuously and fiercely.

"Because you're making the same mistake Colon here did at first," he was
told.

"About the boys up the river, you mean, Fred?"

"Yes. It isn't fair to accuse them without any proof," the other told
him.

"But the Paulding crowd---" stammered Bristles, evidently taken aback.

"Get closer home," warned Colon. "What d'ye want to go climbing all over
the country for, when you've only got to use your nose to smell a rat
right in old Riverport!"

"Jupiter Pluvius! you must mean our old friend, Buck!" ejaculated
Bristles, his elevated eyebrows indicating his astonishment. "Tell me
about that, will you? Has he act