“But you can’t help it, you know.”
“Well, that will soon be decided.”
There was no time for any further conversation, for Jim and his followers were close at hand.
Jim opened the campaign by calling Hector to account.
“Look here, you new boy,” he said, “didn’t Bates tell you that I wanted to see you?”
“Yes,” answered Hector, looking up, indifferently.
“Well, why didn’t you come to me at once, hey?”
“Because I didn’t choose to. I sent word if you wished to see me, to come where I was.”
“What do you mean by such impudence, hey?”
“I mean this, Jim Smith, that you have no authority over me and never will have. I have not been here long, but I have been here long enough to find out that you are a cowardly bully and ruffian. How all these boys can give in to you, I can’t understand.”