“I’ll give you a beating.”
“Will you? Come on, then.”
In an instant Tom had flung off his coat and stood in his shirt-sleeves, facing his two foes.
“Stand by me, Edwin—we’ll rush on him together,” said James.
But Tom, stepping to one side, received James singly, and flinging him on his back, made a dash at Edwin and served him in the same way.
“That’s the first round,” said he, squaring off. “Now get up, you loafer, and we’ll try it again.”
But James had been laid flat with so much force that it jarred his frame, and he didn’t like it. The stranger was altogether too strong to make it pleasant.
“Why didn’t you help me?” he asked, turning to Edwin.
“He had you down before I got a chance,” said his cousin.
“You’re a brute and a bully!” he said angrily.