"It's no wonder that you are the best wrestler in the parish," Douglas remarked to Jake.
"Why?" the farmer asked, with his mouth full of pancake.
"Because of what you eat. Wouldn't any one be strong with such food as this?"
"But you put me down, though," Jake acknowledged, "an' you haven't been eatin' sich grub."
"Ah, it wasn't my strength, remember. It was simply a little trick I learned years ago."
"Will ye larn me the trick?" Jake asked. "I'd like to try it on Joe Preston the next time we have a bout together. My, it would surprise him."
"What, were you two wrestling this morning?" Mrs. Jukes enquired.
"Yep, an' he put me down," her husband explained. "Ye should have seen the way he did it, Susie. I struck the ground kerflop, right on my shoulders, an' they are sore yit from the thump."
No one noticed the look of wonder mingled with admiration upon Empty's face as Jake uttered these words. He forgot to eat, as he watched Douglas across the table. Any one who could put down the champion of Rixton was a marvel in Empty's eyes, and worthy of more than a passing notice. He had not forgotten how this stranger had taken his part down by the big elm, and would not let Jake hit him the second time.
Mrs. Jukes was almost as much surprised as Empty. Though she could handle her husband and make him do what she wished, she, nevertheless, had a great admiration for his prowess as a wrestler, and was proud of his standing in the community. It was his local renown which had appealed to her when she was teaching school in Rixton, and had enabled Jake to capture her from his rivals, for Susie Perkins had been greatly admired and sought after by the young men of the place.