The bully’s crowd came in about an hour later. To keep the stings from hurting they had covered the spots with soft mud and so everyone was a sight to behold. All grumbled a good deal under their breath.
“They’ll be more hateful than ever now,” was Andy’s comment. “Better watch ’em.”
“I intend to,” answered Pepper.
On the following morning when Ritter and his cronies appeared at roll call everybody else had to smile. The bully had a big swelling on his nose and another on his chin. Coulter had a puffed-out cheek and Paxton had one eye closed. As they lined up for inspection The Imp could hardly keep from roaring outright.
“Ritter, what is the matter with you?” asked George Strong, as he caught sight of the bully’s face.
“Some friends and I found a hornets’ nest in the woods and the hornets got after us,” was the answer.
“Is that so!” cried the teacher. “I am very sorry to hear it. Who else was stung?”
The bully gave the names.
“We have some salve you can put on the hurts,” continued the teacher sympathetically. “I will get it for you.”
“Oh, we put salve on last night,” said Ritter. “But maybe some more will help,” he added quickly, for the stings were still painful.