Ben lay on the ground, glaring about him in sullen silence.
"Going to get up?" demanded Hoof. "Two!"
"Oh, Ben, don't let Prescott whip you as easily as that," implored several of Alvord's backers.
"Get up!" commanded Hoof, putting the toe of his boot lightly against Alvord's body. "Three!"
Still Ben refused to stir.
"Dick Prescott wins the fight," announced Hoof judicially. "Ben refused three times to get up and go on."
As soon as Prescott began to don his discarded coat, Ben got to his feet.
"Now, I have something to say to you, Alvord," announced Dave, going over to the worsted one. "You insulted six of us and called us liars. Dick is only one. You'll have to fight the rest of us, one a day, or else apologize before the crowd."
"I won't apologize," glared Ben.
"All right, then. You'll fight me after school to-morrow," Darrin declared.