"Who says he licked me?" demanded the young tyrant, with a frown.
"Why, all the boys say so," stammered Tower.
"Do you say so?" demanded Nicholas, savagely.
"N-no," said Tower, timidly.
"Lucky you don't," said Thorne, significantly. "I'll lick any boy that tells such a lie about me."
Tower was silent.
"The fact is," he continued, in a milder tone, "we were stopped in the middle of the fight. I was called to see a lady visitor. But for that I should have licked him in the end."
"I guess you can lick him," said the young sycophant.
"Of course I can," said Nicholas, loftily.
"Are you going to try it?"