few minutes the room was
cleared of all the attackers except two who were sprawling upon the
floor. Their noses were bleeding and they were groaning most
dolefully. The others had made good their escape, though not without
serious injury, for their faces were cut and bleeding, and they limped
as they hurried away from the scene of their defeat.

"Great punkins!" Jake exclaimed. "Is it all over? I was jist
beginnin' when everything stopped. Hi, there, Tom Totten," he cried,
as he tickled the defeated man's ribs with the toe of his boot, "so
this is the way ye spend ye'r evenin's, eh? Why don't ye git up an'
let us see what a purty face ye have? It never was much to look at,
though I guess it's a sight fer sore eyes now. Ho, ho, this is the
best lark I've had in years, hey, Empty?"

"Ye bet," and the lad smacked his lips. "Did ye see the way I landed
one on Jim Parks' nose? It was a bruiser. I bet he's rubbin' it yit
an' roarin' like a bull. My, it was great! I'm sorry it was over so
soon."

But Nell had no such feelings of regret. She was standing in the door
leading into the hallway. Her face was very white, and her body was
trembling. By her side stood Nan, her face beaming and her eyes
sparkling with animation.

"It's just like a story," she exclaimed, clasping her hands before her.
"It's far better than a picture show, for this is real, isn't it, Nell?"

So unexpected was this view of the situation, that they all laughed
except the two men on the floor.

"Ye'r a brick, all right, Nell," Jake remarked. "I like ye'r pluck.
Now, some gals would have yelled an' hollered an' tumbled down in a
faint. But that's not the way with the gals of this house," and he
cast a glance of admiration at Nell.

Douglas had now stepped to Tom's side and was bending over him.

"Get up," he ordered, "and explain the meaning of all this."

Tom slowly obeyed, crawled to his knees and then to his feet. His
companion, Pete Rollins, did the same. They presented a sorry
spectacle, and Douglas could scarcely repress a smile. But Nan laughed
outright when she saw them.

"My, what beauties!" she exclaimed. "This isn't Hallowe'en, Tom. Did
you think it was? You'll know better next time, won't you?"

"'Deed I will, miss," was the emphatic reply. "No more sich doin's fer
me, I tell ye that."

Nell in the meantime had procured a basin of water, a wash-cloth and a
towel. She now stood before the battered men.