"You got away from us this afternoon, Gabe Werner, but you're not going to do it this time," continued Jack, and caught the rascal by the arm.
"Hi! you let go of me," howled the bully roughly, and shoved Jack back against the building.
At this Randy leaped forward and also caught hold of Werner. Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown were about to jump in to the assistance of their friend when Fred and Andy interfered.
"You leave them alone," ordered Fred, with flashing eyes. "He's one of the meanest fellows in the world. He threw pepper in Jack's eyes and in the eyes of Ruth Stevenson."
The loud talking so close to a window of the restaurant attracted the attention of the men inside, and the fellow named Jake Tate thrust his head out to see what was going on.
"Say, what do you know about this?" he exclaimed, turning to his companions. "Those four young Rovers are out here right by the window!"
"You don't say so!" burst out Carson Davenport.
"If they are by this window maybe they were spying on us," put in the man named Jackson.
In the meanwhile there was something of a fight going on outside. Gabe Werner had tried to break away, and then launched a blow at Jack, who returned by hitting him a crack in the jaw.
"See here, you leave Werner alone!" blustered Slugger Brown.