The words suggested to Fred that he could not afford to sacrifice any strength for his bout with Bart Montgomery by abstaining from food, and, though it was with little relish, he ate his dinner.
When finished, he returned to his questioning, almost taking his mother's breath away by asking:
"Did father make money by his failure?"
An instant Mrs. Markham was too amazed to speak. Then, quickly recovering herself, she replied indignantly:
"No, indeed! Who put such an idea into your head?"
"Bart Montgomery."
Suppressing the groan this reply brought to her lips, for she was well aware of the Montgomery family's pride and trouble-stirring tongues, intuitively her mother's heart felt all her son would be made to suffer by his rich Form mate, and, desirous of knowing the worst, Mrs. Markham asked:
"What did that bully say?"
"He said father failed dishonestly, that his father was the principal creditor, so he ought to know."
"The contemptible brute! Do you suppose if your father had made money by his failure he would now be trying to find a position in order to earn money with which to support us. Fred, your father is an honest man—which is more than Bart Montgomery's mother can say about his father, with all his wealth!"