“Were you much hurt?”
“I wasn’t the one that was hurt,” said Tom significantly. “I laid them both flat and threw the ball into a corn-field.”
“Really,” said Mrs. Middleton, who stood in considerable awe of the lawyer’s family, “that was very unprincipled.”
“I regret exceedingly, my young friend,” said Nathan gravely, “that you should have committed an unprovoked assault upon the son and nephew of one of our first citizens.”
“It was their fault,” said Tom coolly. “Why were they so boorish as to decline playing with me?”
“They didn’t know you.”
“They know me now,” said Tom significantly.
“Was the ball lost?” asked Mr. Middleton, disturbed.
“Very likely. It wouldn’t be easy to find it in a corn-field.”
“Then you are responsible for the loss.”