"Take it yourself, then!"
The stone struck Belcher full in the face, breaking two of his front teeth and knocking him down.
Seeing what he had done, Blake sobered in an instant and ran to the aid of his fallen schoolfellow.
"I didn't mean to, Belcher," said Roger, bending over him remorsefully, and evidently afraid he had killed him.
The boys began to express their indignation quite loudly, but Blake made no attempt to defend himself, only hanging over the injured lad, and declaring how sorry he was.
"Come," pleaded he, "try to get up, and let me help you down to the schoolhouse—I'll pay the doctor anything in the world to make you well again."
But Whitmarsh, as soon as he recovered a little, showed that he resented his sympathy as bitterly as he did his blow.
Pushing away his hand spitefully, he staggered to his feet with the help of another boy, and holding his handkerchief to his bloody face moved off the green, sobbing with pain and revengeful rage.
By the time school commenced he had been assisted to wash and bind up his bleeding mouth, when he started for home, giving Roger a look which was very seldom seen on his face, but which meant plainly enough: