"See here, you imp, you listen to me!" snarled Plum. "I haven't forgotten what trouble you got me into before. Now you mind me——"
"Oh, let go, please let go!" screamed Frank. "Don't pull my ear off!"
He tried to break away, but the bully held him fast. The next moment, however, Dave stepped between.
"Plum, I want you to let Frank alone," said Dave, quietly but firmly, and at the same time looking the bully squarely in the eyes.
"Look here, this is none of your affair," blustered Plum.
"Let him go, I say—and at once," and now Dave clenched his fists.
"You want more trouble with me, eh?" growled Plum, releasing the small boy and sticking his chin in Dave's face.
"No, I do not want trouble, but I am able to meet it if it comes," answered Dave, not budging an inch. "You ought to be ashamed to bulldoze such a small chap as Frank. Why don't you leave him alone, as the doctor told you to do?"
"See here, I don't want you to preach to me!" roared Plum. "I know my own business and I don't want you to put in your oar!"
"That's the talk," came from Jasniff.